newbie tiling floor

**keiro** · 07-01-2011

Hello All

We have just had an extension (utility room) built which I would like to tile. There is a 65mm fibre screed and we have chosen some porcelain tiles which I would like to lay myself.

- builder has suggested I wait for at least 2 weeks before tiling. Is there any special adhesive I can use to reduce this time? Or is it really the case of waiting this long? The tile shop has suppled some rapid fix adhesive - is this ok for a nerwbie or would slower drying be better?

- should I treat (PVA?) the screed in any way before tiling? The floor looks quite level, but some of the tiles are quite big (50cm square) so should I use a latex leveler first?

- how thick should the adhesive be?

Many thanks for your help!

**stu-180** · 07-01-2011

Do you have the tools to cope with that size tile ??
Not trying to discourage you at all, but those are some large tiles and you will need decent gear to cope with working them.

How big is the area you are looking at ?

I would say rapid set might be a bit much for a newbie to cope with, when I use rapid set I look to knock up 1 bag and aim to use it within 20-25 mins (may have to work faster if its a warm day !).

Good luck, this is a great site that will help you with your project

**diamondtiling** · 07-01-2011

Screed dries at about 1-2mm per day so the builder is being over optimistic especially with this cold weather. Dont use PVA under any circumstances, use an acrylic bond such as mapei g or similar. You should be using a 10mm trowel and aiming for 100% coverage.

**Sir Ramic** · 07-01-2011

Yes you can use products such as Bal Green screed but its quite expensive. There are other ways to go about it but all I am afraid have a price.
Time waiting for the floor to fully dry costs nothing.

**david campbell** · 07-01-2011

i would advise you to wait for the floor to be full dry,with the size of these tiles you may find it difficult especially as you will need cutters that can cope with this size,i would probably recommend you get a tiler in

**Aspect Tiling** · 07-01-2011

If you're desperate to get cracking and don't want to wait for the screed to fully dry you could use Bal Green Screed adhesive. This adhesive allows for quick installation of tiles on a newly laid floor. It's not a rapid set so will give you time to make adjustments to get things right 1st time.

http://194.223.92.131/pdf/Technical%...een_Screed.pdf

**deanotile** · 07-01-2011

if the screed is less than five days old you can use Mapei S2 mono but if it is more than five days old it will be best to wait for the floor to be full dry.