1st Job: DIYer doing 600x600 polished porcelein

[er.ronakshah]

Hi there,
I am a DIYer doing the first and last job for my new house of laying 600x600 polished porcelain, just need to know how to lay the first tile itself, and i am thinking of using LASH leveling to avoid lippage, leaving 1.5mm gap for grout. since i have never done tiling what are the recommendations to consider while laying the tiles. is it advisable for the DIYer to lay the tiles to save money in labour?
Thanks in advance
regards
ron

[peckers]

We would need to know a few more things before we could advise really
such as:
what substrate is it going onto?
what adhesive and grout you using?
what is the area?
is there under floor heating etc?

some pointers for you!
make sure the substrate is prepaired correctly
adhesive and grout should be correct for the substrate and tiles
for that size tile i would use a min off 10mm u notch trowel
you may have to back butter/skim reverse of tile depending if back of tile has voids
substrate must be flat for this size off tile
polished porcelain tiles need sealing/unless pre sealed by manufacturer
joint sizes 2mm-3mm imo but depends on area? and type of tile? ufh etc?
Keep tiles and joints clean as you go

setting out take time setting out to get the best finnish possible
take into size of cuts etc
know where the last tile is going to end up before you start laying the first

tools required.
good quality dry cutter
good quality diamond blades to avoid chipping in wet saw/grindette etc

as to wheather you are confident in laying these tiles is upto you? if not and you want a pro job done in reasonable time and done right and once then you can post an ad on here for a tiler wanted and im sure someone in your area will reply.

Good luck which ever way you decide to go

ps. if you decide to do it your self we love pics of it as you are doing it.
and if you have more questions then fire away..

[er.ronakshah]

Hello Peckers,
Thank you very much for such a good response,
Firstly I am in Brisbane, Australia so due to warm climate I don’t need under floor heated, more over it’s a concrete flat slab. Its been built by a good builder here, and its sort of very flat, any ways I will back check it as I go for the tiling bit by bit.
The total area I am covering is 140 square meters. I am using some, rubber adhesive which is ParexDavco: Australia
I was advised to buy this product from the shop where I bought the tiles from, about this product.
I will hire the dry cutter, and I have bought a small wet saw cutter with diamond blade.
Regards

[er.ronakshah]

is that true that these big heavy tiles would sink in to adhesive, if adhesive is not properly prepared?

[peckers]

hi, i dont know of the adhesive you have got, so i cant comment on the adhesive, there is a forum member on here called robz I think he is in australia and hopefully he will see this post and will be able to advise more as he would know the building/tiling practices out there.

The size of the tiles will make them heavy yes, and as with all adhesives they have to mixed correctly.if it is too wet then the tiles will just sink to the floor and you wont have a good bed under them. and if too dry you will struggle to achive a good bond and full coverage on the tile. hope this makes sense

[Matt]

hi, i dont know of the adhesive you have got, so i cant comment on the adhesive, there is a forum member on here called robz I think he is in australia and hopefully he will see this post and will be able to advise more as he would know the building/tiling practices out there.

The size of the tiles will make them heavy yes, and as with all adhesives they have to mixed correctly.if it is too wet then the tiles will just sink to the floor and you wont have a good bed under them. and if too dry you will struggle to achive a good bond and full coverage on the tile. hope this makes sense

RobZ is from America. Jay is from Oz

[david campbell]

1.5mm grout lines seeem a bit small for flexible grout over u.f.h, the minimum i tend to use on floors is 2mm for concrete and 3mm for any others

[peckers]

RobZ is from America. Jay is from Oz

oops got me holiday head on.

[jay]

hi its a large job for a first timer
but if you wish to give it a shot
id return the adh you have and get laticrete gold depends on your substrate if you need to build up bed use laticrete 335
you could pm heavytrev hes based in brisbane

[jay]

oops got me holiday head on.

robs in oz
im in usa

[er.ronakshah]

thanks jay for the advise
i have a concrete floor, and its a brand new home, just 3 months old.
Just need to know if i use LASH leveling system
(QEP - LASH)
just need to know whether this would do any help to avoid lippage, and yes the concrete floor is almost flat.

[jay]

ive never used it but heavytrv has and hes on line at the moment personal message him

[terry the tiler]

Hello Peckers,
Thank you very much for such a good response,
Firstly I am in Brisbane, Australia so due to warm climate I don’t need under floor heated, more over it’s a concrete flat slab. Its been built by a good builder here, and its sort of very flat, any ways I will back check it as I go for the tiling bit by bit.
The total area I am covering is 140 square meters. I am using some, rubber adhesive which is ParexDavco: Australia
I was advised to buy this product from the shop where I bought the tiles from, about this product.
I will hire the dry cutter, and I have bought a small wet saw cutter with diamond blade.
Regards

any jobs going ? iam looking for a sponsor ?

[er.ronakshah]

I am not sure I am actually looking for a tiler, to do polished porcelain 600mmx600mm in brisbane

[365drills]

If you are dealing with porcelain then we supply the diamond cores