Bathroom practice advice

[kaharrison9]

Hi all
Have the possibility of 2 bathrooms to do and was hoping somebody could explain to us how one makes a decision wether they are going to use a tubbed or cement adhesive?
Also same with the trowels,how do you decide wether you can use a 6mm or need to move up to a 10mm.
Would think a lot depends on the tile size and if so does anybody have a sort of size ratio or rough measurements regarding adhesive and trowels.
Cheers for any thoughts
Kev

[uug197h]

we use bag adhesive all the time, most customers tell you they are getting small tiles but when you get there they have got 600x 400 so if you go with baged adhesive its good for everything

[Leatherface]

Depends upon size of tiles, thickness, type of tiles, type of adhesive.
Manufacturers usually recommend max bed thickness on packaging or tubs. With tub adhesive usually no more than a 6mm trowel is recommended, otherwise it is likely that the adhesive will not dry,or you may get shrinkage if you apply too thickly. Also tub adhesive not suitable for large format tiles, as again the adhesive will not dry.
Safe bet is to use cement based for everything, make sure you prime Gypsum based substrates with the appropriate primer. Cement based adhesives will withstand a thicker bed ( ie deeper notched trowell ) if necessary as they do not need air to dry, as they dry using a chemical reaction.

[kaharrison9]

Great replies lads thanks
As you say it does makes sense to use a cement adhesive all the time and that's what i'll do to counter any drying out problems.
Apart from experience is there any indicators like a tile size that i could use as a guide to say anything larger than that has to be a 10mm trowel.
Cheers again
Kev

[LM Ceramics]

i will use tubbed adhesive when it is appropriate obviously using large format tiles then i will use a cement based adhesive i know we all have different methods or probably im just lazy LOL

[uptonboy]

i use cement based addy for almost everything, sometimes use tubs for kitchen splashes, but even then often use a rapid cement so can get it grouted etc and paid

[Thespanishtiler]

go with cement based addy, mix an amount you can work with in its open time and maybe use standard set at first till you get the hang of it, it works out cheaper than tubbed and is easier to clean down.

[CDS]

We specialise in bathrooms - as a general rule I price for bagged spf and then if conditions / tile size dictates we'll use tubbed addy. Depending on your source tubbed generally works out cheaper and the cm loves it if you shave a few quid off your estimate when you give them the final bill!

If there if any question about movement in walls (particularly stud/timber frame walls) then its bagged addy everytime - but if walls are solid then i'll go down the tubbed route. Don't forget tanking around showers.

[brian c]

We specialise in bathrooms - as a general rule I price for bagged spf and then if conditions / tile size dictates we'll use tubbed addy. Depending on your source tubbed generally works out cheaper and the cm loves it if you shave a few quid off your estimate when you give them the final bill!

If there if any question about movement in walls (particularly stud/timber frame walls) then its bagged addy everytime - but if walls are solid then i'll go down the tubbed route. Don't forget tanking around showers.

sometimes the customer is just not interested in the tanking...infact im finding more and more dont want the extra cost...so explain to them the pitfalls.