Gap between tops and tiles?

[brendanbreeze]

Hello All,

Just a quick question?

I have to remove some old tiles and replace with new in a kitchen. The work tops have recentley been replaced and there is a bit of a gap in places between them and the tiles ( the tops are not right up against the walls) and the tiles I will be fitting are thinner than the ones already in place.

So my quetion is this...How do I make up this gap? Can I just spread the adhesive on extra thick?

Obviously I'll be using silicone once the gap is a sensible size.

Cheers - Brendan

[Sir Ramic]

I would strip the old tiles off and clean up the walls. Then apply some silicone into the gap. i usually use a strip of foam to pack out and this will stop the silicone falling down the back of the units. Then tile in your preferrred method. Finally silicone again and you should be fine ...hope that helps

[mikethetile]

its a shame the kitchen fitter didnt scribe the back of the top to allow for tiling tut tut

obiously hasnt tiled any of his own installations

you can silicone flush and then when its cure enough you can tile

dont use grippfill are anything similar as tops need to be changed occasionaly

and if the top wont pull out the plaster can come away and pop the tiles off

get in the habit off packing your tiles off the top 2mm to allow for top changes

its also a better seal if theres a gap for silicone between top and tiles

[brendanbreeze]

Thanks, But still a bit confused.

Once I've removed the old tiles there's going to be a sizeable gap between the tops and the walls which will be far to big to silicone. Even if I do fill this gap the first row of tiles is going to sit well back from the tops unless I actually put something behind the tile...hope this makes sense?

[mikethetile]

if the kitchen fitter has left the top forward of the existing tiles

hes messed up

how are you supposed to tile that

if its not too big a gap you can tile and then put a wider silicone bead on to cover the gap

other than that its a chat with your customer about getting the fitter back

no one likes to do that as you just want to go in and tile

how big is the gap

[brendanbreeze]

Well there's gaps of around 3mm in places at the moment, but like I said, the new tiles are thiner than the existing tiles so this could increase to 5/6mm. Not sure if I'm worrying too much over such a small gap?

Those foam strips that were mentioned earlier may come in handy. Where can I get them and how do they fit?

Thanks again

[doug boardley]

you could sit your tiles on 3mm glazing packers from worktop and then silicon it (after you've grouted) if there's not too much of a gap

[mikethetile]

it doesnt sound too much and you should be able to get over it with the silicone joint

[Sir Ramic]

Well there's gaps of around 3mm in places at the moment, but like I said, the new tiles are thiner than the existing tiles so this could increase to 5/6mm. Not sure if I'm worrying too much over such a small gap?

Those foam strips that were mentioned earlier may come in handy. Where can I get them and how do they fit?

Thanks again

they just compress into gaps. i used to get them from a mate who used to do sealants of all types on the outsides of buildings etc.

[Sir Ramic]

Ahhh here it is but you have to buy in bulk...which is why i got mine from a friend.
https://www.sitebox.ltd.uk/product/e...50mt-box-of-1/