Spot fixing - Tile Advice

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

what i find fascinating is how peeps arrive at using this method of fixing, do they spot the floor then bed the tile, ?or are they spotting the tile then laying the whole thing on the floor/wall ? surly they must know that there will be voids under the tile that will not be supported,? is this method more prevalent in one part of the country than another ? shouldn't the we as tilers of the UK chip in a few quid-each and have a national wide campaign against this problematic method of fixing ? there must be peeps on this forum that have used this way of fixing in the past before being enlightened that could fess-up and tell us a bit about it ? without us all ridiculing them of course !! what are you thoughts

 

[The D]

Spot fixing started in the sixties and the spots have got bigger as the tiles have got bigger and the plasterers have lost the skill to actually get a wall flat.

 

[Aston]

you're brutal deano, brutal ;0)

 

[The D]

you're brutal deano, brutal ;0)

sorry m8 :lol:

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

Spot fixing started in the sixties and the spots have got bigger as the tiles have got bigger and the plasterers have lost the skill to actually get a wall flat.

OK well is used on floors as well, what about the other questions ? are you saying its a method that has been developed by the everyday tiler to get -over uneven walls or what, more info please if you can deano, where did the sixties bit come from,? there have been un-flat walls from the time wall were first build imo

 

[The D]

ok the history of spot fixing as I see it
Back in the days of sand and cement fixing a blob of sand and cement was applied to the back of a 4 by 4 or a 6 by 6 tile and it was taped in to place creating a solid bed. with the introduction of the early pre mixed adhesives the tilers started putting five spots on the back of the tiles and it has gone on from there.
It is not a recognised method and defiantly should not be used to fix large format tiles or floor tiles. There is a method that I do use it is still not best practise but is some times necessary if the client will not go down the root of paying to prep the job correctly and that is “bedding out” this is when a wall or floor is so uneven that you apply the adhesive to the surface and then you apply more adhesive to the back of the tile to fill the hollow spots and ensure maximum contact. But there is no substitute for correct prep IMHO

 

[Marksmithtiling]

Spot fixing started in the sixties and the spots have got bigger as the tiles have got bigger and the plasterers have lost the skill to actually get a wall flat.

With you on the plastering .... always around windows

 

[White Room]

With you on the plastering .... always around windows

And that is a sad truth....

 

[ishi69]

Yep I'm saddened to have to agree with you both.

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

Years ago i don't think tiling was a separate trade, it was encompassed by mason's plasterers so they would have naturally fixed in mortar, even when i was a young lad and we fixed in sand and cement i cant remember blobbing ,we used to screed,then the tiles that had been soaked and drained were slurry d with neat OPC then positioned on the screed then a flat section of wood placed over them then beaten down......or the screed sprinkled with opc, then splashed with water tiles layd/beaten down

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

I see where everyone is coming from, but my stand has to be, if we can prep walls/floors to the best standard possible ie. get them right plumb, level, and lineable. There would be no need for dot and dab. Just my take on it.

 

[bugs183]

I think it comes down to not wanting to spend money on adhesives, and believe big tiles are stronger and easier to fix.
As Deano says the old school way with sand and cement wall fixing was to spot them, but how many people these days especially younger folk even knew tiles were fixed with sand and cement?
It's just human nature being what it is and in tiling people don't like paying money on adhesives and still believe and say 'oh i got bigger tiles cus it's easier for you to fix'

 

[Aston]

i agree that some of the standard of plastering is not as good as it was but i was also under the assumption, that floating out a wall to accomodate tiling along with floor screeding was part of a tilers duties?

 

[bugs183]

I don't agree with that. I've been tiling over 20 years and i've never screeded a floor (done wetroom shower bases), with the advent of adhesives the screeding in my view has been passed to professional screeders.
I've been asked but always say get a screeder, no one has ever said it was my job.
Same as plastering. Plasterers used to tile back in the day, but with the advent of adhesives the two trades have parted. So if a plasterer has done the job, you expect him to have done his job well and made it flat and plumb.
I'm not knocking lads here that do it all, but on the whole tilers tile and plasterers and screeders prepare the substrates.

 

[White Room]

I always considered it as part of the plasterers job, any job where even kitchen worktops were going I would make sure they were flat as the same for areas of tiling.