Help!: Laying Porcelain kitchen tiles - HELP

[nathsea]

Hi all,

First post here, just wondered if you could tell me if i am about to do this OK?

We have brought the following tiles

Homebase - Make a House a Home

I know i probably shouldnt of brought them from Homebase but the wife wanted them

Old tiles have been cleaned off floor, which is a concrete floor, not heated.

I think I will need to do the following

1 ) seal the floor, is this necessary on a concrete floor?

2) Using an adhesive for Porcelain tiles (something with Porcelbond?) Lay a bed of adhesive notched with a 10mm trowel?

3) Lay the tiles

4) Do i need to seal the tiles at this stage they are not polished, in fact they are quite matt and textured.

5) Grout the gap, I was thinking of leaving a 3-5mm gap for these larger tiles, and advice on what type of grout and colour would be great.

6) Seal the grout

7) take pictures and post here!

I look forward to hearing your opinions and advice on this matter, have I made any huge errors ?

Cheers
Nathan

[JC tiling]

i seal al my porcelain tiles and n/stone tiles that way u can never be rong mate..
you could lay 18mm ply and just tile straight on top of that..?! i would leave a 4mm grout gap/ use a 10mm notch trowel and for addy i use.. mapei product if u got to a shop or check out some of the sites on here they will keep u right.
hope it turns out great and look forward to pics.

[nathsea]

i seal al my porcelain tiles and n/stone tiles that way u can never be rong mate..
you could lay 18mm ply and just tile straight on top of that..?! i would leave a 4mm grout gap/ use a 10mm notch trowel and for addy i use.. mapei product if u got to a shop or check out some of the sites on here they will keep u right.
hope it turns out great and look forward to pics.

Thanks for your quick reply,

Cannot really lay any ply, as exterior door wont fit if i do !

So with the sealer do i lay my tiles and then seal them?

Cheers
Nathan

[grumpygrouter]

If the tiles are full body porcelain, it is not usually necessary to seal them. Porcelain is virtually impervious to fluid penetration.procelain that needs sealing is used polished. This opens up microscopic pores on the surface of the tile which can grab onto grout or dirt. Full body porcelain doesn't normally have this problem. As you have a textured surface (doesn't look too bad to me) you may want to consider using a temporary sealant prior to grouting which will aid your clean off.

Concrete sand/cement screed doesn't really need any special prep other than a good clean but I prefer to "lock in" any residual dust with a diluted soultion of an acrylic primer before starting. You didn't say what style of fixing you are using, but if you are going to go "brick bond" you will need to make sure your floor is flat first. This may entail using a levelling compound first.

For adhesive you will need a flexible adhesive such as Mapei Keraflex Maxi or other manufacturers equivalent and the size of grout joint is up to you though BS recommend a minimum of 3mm. As your tiles are from Homebase I would be inclined to up this a little as you may find the sizes are a little inconsitant. I would use a thick bed/solid bed trowel for this job.

[nathsea]

Grumpy,
Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I have managed to get the majority of the old tile adhesive off the floor leaving a couple of areas were it is raised by only perhaps 1 - 2 mm at the most, will this be taken up by the adhesive?

Newbie question but what do you mean by a thick bed / solid bed? Is it as it sounds, and i dont use a notched trowel on it?

Cheers
Nathan

[amazon tiling]

You seem to have got it all right, but remember to use a 10mm curved trowel as you need 100% coverage on a floor.

[grumpygrouter]

Grumpy,
Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I have managed to get the majority of the old tile adhesive off the floor leaving a couple of areas were it is raised by only perhaps 1 - 2 mm at the most, will this be taken up by the adhesive?

Newbie question but what do you mean by a thick bed / solid bed? Is it as it sounds, and i dont use a notched trowel on it?

Cheers
Nathan

when tiling onto a floor, it is important to have 100% coverage on the back of the tile so that you have no "voids" underneath. If a tile has a void and pressure is applied to that area of the tile (stilletto heal?) then you can punch a hole in the tile. A half round trowel with a 20mm diameter notch will give pretty much a solid bed under your tile, sometimes you may even need to go a little bigger depending how flat the floor is and how "good" your tiles are.

if you are SURE your residual adhesive is no more than 1 or 2mm you will be fine. You will know if it isn't cos you tiles won't lay flat!

[beanz]

You may also need to check the tiles, to make sure they are flat. Sometimes cheaper tiles can end up curved, especially at these sort of sizes. This will also leave voids under the tile, and will be really noticeable in a Brick Bond pattern.

[365drills]

You seem to have the right idea!
Grouting? Dont use white or cream on floors. Dirt ruins them! I used grey grout on floor tiles.



And if you have any holes to drill (radiators) dont forget us.... Although on a Kitchen floor its unlikely.



And also.... (I always say this too) think about using a tiler to do the work. The money you pay in wages might save you on wastage, breakages plus they will bring spead and experience.

R