1st Job: Tiling a Conservatory floor some basic questions (please)

[mikehardy]

Have a concrete floor laid 6 weeks ago size 3 x 4 meters. Do I need to treat the concrete with a water/PVA mix (10:1) beforehand?

Start laying tiles in the middle after laying two centre lines?

Apply sufficient tile cement to lay one or more tiles at a time?

Depth of cement groves 8mm or 10mm is this defined by the trowel used?

Once cement is applied to the concrete floor how long is it active to receive tiles?

Can anybody recommend a DIY book on this subject?

I have some DIY experience and rather keen to have a go myself.
Any helpful tips would greatly be appreciated.

Mike.

[doit4u]

Do NOT use PVA on the floor. You should be able to tile straight onto the concrete as it should be cured after 6 weeks. Buy a good quality powder based floor adhesive. It will tell you on the bag how long it will stay workable on the bag, but I usually find it goes off sooner than stated. Mix small amounts to start with until you are confident that you can lay enough tiles to use up the mix without it going off., don't be too ambitious when you start The trowel will dictate the thickness of adhesive, if the floor is level and smooth 8-10 mm should work fine.

Find the centre of the floor and ping a line through this at the same distamce from one wall, buildings are raely absolutely square. Dry lay tiles in both directions from the centre point to check you don't have any small cuts to do at the edges. If necessary adjust position by half a tile, You should aim to have to not cut less tha half a tile at the edges.

Once I have found the start point I lay a feather edge or other straight edge and weigh it down with boxes of tiles and then tile up to this on the first row. Do one row from end to end except edges and the start the next row. If you are not in a hurry do the centre full rows and leave them overnight so you can walk round the edge without disturbing what you have laid, Do the cuts and edges next day,

Any other queries post them someone will have the answer.

[Rich]

Good advice above, I would add that I would use a half moon trowel and back butter the tiles before pressing them down into the adhesive. You can do this by spreading adhesive onto the back of the tile with the flat side of your trowel. This should give you a good coverage of adhesive under the tiles. I would also prime the floor with a primer (as above NOT pva).

What adhesive and tiles are you going to be using?

[mikehardy]

Thanks doit4u and Rich, the tiles will be ceramic type 300 x 300, adhesive - open to recommendations, I assume tile type and base (substrate) define these? What sort of primer should i use?

Mike.

[Rich]

Is there a Tile Giant near you? If there is, I would recommend popping into the store and having a word with the staff in there. they will be able to fix you up with all the adhesive, grout and primer that you need for your floor and those tiles.

Have a look through the link below and see if there is one local.

Mapei: Tile Giant Store Finder...

[Dave]

Will be wise to use a slow setting adhesive.. you will get less waste then.

[Rich]

Good point above

[Bri]

As above with the adhesive use a slow set if possible to allow you to take your time. If you would rather use a rapid set I'd recommend Mapei proflex (exclusive to tile giant) it is rapid setting but has a really good pot life of about an hour, I hate using rapid setting adhesive as I find myself rushing a bit but this is a really good product that gives you warning when it's starting to cure, rather than going off in a 2 minute period!

[mikehardy]

I have successfully tiled the conservatory floor using TG products. I have a question on grouting. Using TG grout, after mixing and applying how long should you leave before removing the residue from the tile surface?

[Rich]

Is it Ultracolor? If so be careful, it is rapid setting and can be a pig to get off once it is dry. The best way to do it is just do a small area and then run your finger along the grout joint and see if it is starting to set. Dont just grout the entire area as the chances are it will set to quick. You want to catch it just as it starts to stiffen up. Have a read through the link below, might give you a little bit more info


Grouting...

[mikehardy]

Hi Rich, it is ultracolour plus. We have grouted 1m sq at a time and left it about 60mins before cleaning off but find it very difficult to clean off, if we shorten the time too much the grout lifts out so there must be an optimum time - but what time? is this going to be 'trial and error'.

[whitebeam]

I don't leave it that long, usually about 15-20 minutes works fine for me...

[Rich]

As above, I bet its a right pain to get off after an hour! Around 15mins, if the grout is setting on the face of the tile but not in the joints then give it a wash off over the face but try not to dress the joint to much as you can do more harm than good. After you have loosened the grout off the face you can then go over it again to get the joints nice and smooth.

[Bri]

As Whitebeam for me, 60 mins is far too long especially with ultra colour plus. You'll need a good grout film remover/acid to get that off the tiles now.

[mikehardy]

Having completed most of the grouting there is an area which I am not happy with, this is a grout line 5mm wide and 3m long. In places the grout is uneven and I would like to remove the grout ( about week old) and re-do. can anybody suggest a method of doing this? I have used a grout removal tool but all this does is leave a scored line about 2mm wide leaving the remainder in-situ. I have found the grout characteristics (before set) vary considerably with ambient temperature.

Thanks for any tips, Mike.

[Rich]

If the joint is 5mm wide, you might be able to get a thin grinder disk in there to cut out the joint but be very careful not to chip the edge of the tiles. I use a Fein multimaster to cut dry grout out of joints, its brilliant. I dont know if it is the type of tool you can hire? Might be worth a look.