The time has come where I can't put off the tiling any longer, She who must be obeyed has spoken!

Floor is 22mm chipboard with 6mm hardi glued and screwed with UFL covered in flexible SLC, all feels pretty solid even with our combined weight of 30+ stone jumping up and down on it, recomendations on the adhesive please for 60 x 40 honed limestone.

Walls are a combination on blown concrete block, concrete block and stud, all have been covered in either 6mm or 12mm hardi glued and screwed, again what adhesive would you use for 60 x 40 polished limestone.

Another question on the fitting, my plan is to mark the wall one tile high, batten and then tile everything above the batten, tile the floor completly and then fit the bottom row of wall tiles all round, there is a lot of cutting on this row as part of the floor is split level and going round the shower tray etc, how does this sound? I want to do it that way to protect the floor from damage.

The en suite will have a lot of Roper Rhodes furnitue in it, is the correct method to tile behind or tile up to units?

Re the adhesive, I work slowly so nothing that will go off quickly.

Last thing, what size notch on the trowel?

Oh and is there an out of work Tiler in Hereford that works for P nuts to save me the headache of all the above?

Thanks to anyone that replies

Regards
Blowky.

hi blowky you seem to have prepped well although personally i would have removed the chip board and replaced with 18mm marine ply but it seems that it will be too late now. as for adhesives you will need a single part flexible adhesive pref white as im sure that you will be grouting with a natural colour. also the grey adhesive can bleed through light colour tiles. best to find a tile supplier near to you and buy from them as most diy shops only sell basic materials and charge more for it. i tend to use bal spf white and or mapei kare flex white. you can use these for both the walls and floors. you will also need to use a flexible grout. as to setting out you need to make sure that you are not going to leave slither cuts( small difficult cuts) at the top row. better to measure the height of the room and devide by the height of the tiles not forgetting to allow for spacers. usually best to finish top and bottom tiles by having to cut the tile as close to half as possible. you will also have to ensure that the tiles do not finish at slither cuts below or above the window. so take your time and remeasure if necc. on floors i tend to use a flat bed trowel and screed the back of the tile to ensure full coverage. on the walls allowing that they are flat and true a notched 10mm trowel should be fine. remember to take your time and check your levels every so often to make sure. hope this helps chris. oh and you may also need to seal the tiles before fitting and after grouting as limestone is porous and accepts water quicker than my wife accepts a vodka and coke.

Thanks for the reply Chris.
I pretty much know how the tiles will be laid out as I have dry laid most of the floor tiles to get some lines to work to, any cuts will be just under half a tile, either width or length so no small slivers.
What do you think of my idea to batten all round one tile high and do all the walls, then the floor and finish with the last row of wall tiles, would a prof tiler do it like this? This method will ensure that I dont drop a tile on the floor and knacker it up.
Regards
Steve.

hi steve the way that you are doing it is the way i would do it although others do it differently. but you have to make sure that your battons are level 100% to ensure that you do not stray off true you need a very good spirit level not a cheap one. personally i would batton the window wall first assuming that there is one and make sure that the cuts fall correctly there then continue the batton around. remember that the best finish isnt neccessarily the quickest finish so take your time and good luck. in the ensuite if you can remove the furniture i would and tile behind as in the future you may want to remove or replace items so best to tile behind.

Might be better to tile walls first (except for last cut too floor) then do floor as it will let you get into the swing of things without worrying about mess on your nice Limestone tiles.

Originally Posted by obobsmith

Might be better to tile walls first (except for last cut too floor) then do floor as it will let you get into the swing of things without worrying about mess on your nice Limestone tiles.

read the post right lol. yep walls first then floor I'm away to get new reading glasses now.

Your approach and prepping seem okay, well done.
I always use rapid setting flexible adhesive and grout when working with natural stones, as it reduces the amount of moisture that can be absorbed and natural tiles often tend to be larger format so rapid set is best for them.

If you mix only small amounts at a time you should be safe no matter how slow you tile, but as Chris says, just take your time and keep it level.

Good luck and don't forget the pics!

Thanks Guy's, I will put some photo's on when it's done. I'm going with 3mm spacers, is that okay? Some people advise using 2mm but given that the tiles are cut and probably not 100% spot on perfect then the 3mm will allow me a little more room for movement.

3mm will be most sensible and still look good.
This is 40 x 40 limestone, with a 3mm gap......

nice work captain what grout did you use? cant really see in the picture.

Originally Posted by CJ CERAMICS

nice work captain what grout did you use? cant really see in the picture.

Thanks CJ.
That grout was Ardex FS limestone, 3mm joint width. Sealed with Lithofin Stain Stop (1 coat prior to grout & 2 after grout)

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Thanks CJ.
That grout was Ardex FS limestone, 3mm joint width. Sealed with Lithofin Stain Stop (1 coat prior to grout & 2 after grout)

thanks m8

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Thanks CJ.
That grout was Ardex FS limestone, 3mm joint width. Sealed with Lithofin Stain Stop (1 coat prior to grout & 2 after grout)

How do find the ardex grout Captain

Originally Posted by whitebeam

How do find the ardex grout Captain

I'm an Ardex kind of guy, so gonna say that I have no problems with it. I always use the Ardu-flex products (FL & FS) so no need for admix and perfect for all types of tile and application.

Now that they have introduced the new colour range I have no need to look at Mapei.

I guess it's like any product, though, you just get used to using it.
I'm happy using Mapei and Bal but 'cos I can only get Ardex local to me, that is my preference.

Sorry to hijack your thread Blowky!

how do you find the lithofin? cos it gives me the most horrendously monstrous headaches which last for days even with good ventilation and my mask on.

Originally Posted by CJ CERAMICS

how do you find the lithofin? cos it gives me the most horrendously monstrous headaches which last for days even with good ventilation and my mask on.

I keep the windows and doors open, never have a problem CJ. I guess I'm just lucky - lol.

[quote=Captain Slow;208737]I keep the windows and doors open, never have a problem CJ. I guess I'm just lucky - lol.[/quote
i wish i was laying travertine floor tomorrow so taking aspirin with me lol

[quote=CJ CERAMICS;208738]

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

I keep the windows and doors open, never have a problem CJ. I guess I'm just lucky - lol.[/quote
i wish i was laying travertine floor tomorrow so taking aspirin with me lol

Enjoy & don't forget some pics!

Perhaps change your make of sealer and see if you react the same