Help am i messing up???

[liam999uk]

Hi am a newbie, never tiled before in my life and just looking for some advice! I have started tiling my bathroom using mapei tubbed adhesive. I'm worried now that im using the wrong gear because the tiles are 460mm x 310mm, this is for the walls by the way. Should i be using a powdered adhesive for this as they are cement based?? ive done a few rows of tiles now so am worried that its gonna not work right. The tiles that are on have set hard so am i worrying about nothing. Also what isnt helping me is that the walls are'nt brilliant so im having to bed the adhesive thicker in places! i've had to use about a third of a 15kg tub on 11 tiles at the moment!! lol just shows how much of a novice i'am really lol cheers

[doug boardley]

I'd take them off and re-do with powdered adhesive if I were you Liam, you don't say if your tiles are ceramic, porcelain, slate etc

[liam999uk]

they are ceramic mate

[Jason]

Mapei is a trusted brand for Addy and if there ceramic tiles then you may just get away with what you've done. The concern I'd have is those deep areas you talk about, you say the addy has set hard but has it set all the way through those deep areas? Get a thin nail and without being to heavy see if you can tap it through the addy with a hammer between the tiles. If it seems to pierce the surface easily and then puts up no resistance then it's just too thick and may need to be pulled down and plastered or dry lined.
I take it that tub of Mapei is for ceramic tiles?

I always use a powdered addy myself, what ever you decide to do now I'd at least complete the rest of the job with a powdered addy (bal's my favorate)

[Dave]

They might seem solid..! .. what you will have is a picture frame effect of hard adhesive where the air has got in....it will still be softish towards the centre...

300x300 is the max size IMO fpr dispersion addys....but i only use cement based now.....

[liam999uk]

hi cheers for the help well ive took the unused tub of adhesive back and am gonna go for the powdered route just to be safe!! ive only tiled a row above the bath so im gonna leave them for a while and hopefully ill get away with it! lol anyways what adhesive would suit my purpose?? i'm not having to put a really thick layer on on every tile just the odd few. how hard does the adhesive set? is it rock solid or does it have a bit of give? i've put a nail down and it will go into the adhesive but needs a bit of preesure to get in though! cheers

[liam999uk]

also will the adhesive ever dry if it is still soft in the centre??? surely over time it will set hard or will the air just not be able to reach the middle???

[garretridge]

also will the adhesive ever dry if it is still soft in the centre??? surely over time it will set hard or will the air just not be able to reach the middle???

tubbed gear put on thick might never dry out totally most of the guys on here dont use tubbed gear anymore cement based addy is the only way to be sure there wont be any come back from customers so you are doing the right thing better to be safe than sorry!

[Dave]

If the substrate is porous it will loose it's moisture that way....and the tile biscuit can absorb moisture as well....but it takes time...

[liam999uk]

sound well ive tried moving a full tile and it aint shifting so hopefully the ones that are on now will stay in position and over time dry out!!! HOPEFULLY!! anyways what adhesive should i be getting?? the thickness will be upto 8mm at the most and thats the very most! it will probably be no where near that for the most of the tiles but there may be the odd tiles which may have to be thick.