Applying the adhesive to slightly uneven floor - Tile Advice

[mr white]

Hi

I laid my first few tiles today, and I got a few questions after I feel I was not doing something and many things incorrect....

I'm laying 900x150mm wood effect tiles which I started from the centre of the room where a small area was 4/5mm higher than the rest of the otherwise level concrete slab.

what I'm not sure about is the trowel technique/ best way to apply the adhesive to the floor to keep the tile levels.

Should I be applying pressure to the floor so I achieve straight arches of adhesive which will be following the level of the floor (leaving noticable gaps where the concrete can be seen), or would I decrease pressure on the trowel in the area where the tile adhesive needs to be thicker? Or apply some extra adhesive to the tile direct where it needs more?

I just watched this And it makes a lot of sense on why the direction of the adhesive applied to the floor is so important for strength, but I can't find info on how to apply adhesive to areas that require more adhesive on say one side of the tile/ or how to build a bigger bed etc areas that require an extra 4mm to keep level with the high point.

I'm probably over thinking it and I'm just really slow it at the moment, I had to pull a couple of tiles up twice and reset as I was way off on the level.

Also should I prime the floor again tomorrow before tiling dues to me walking over it and also the excessive adhesive I applied around tiles that I scraped off?

Sorry if the questions seem daft, but I would rather ask than create a nightmare fix in a few months!! lol

Any tips would be great!

Mick

 

[Andy Allen]

What size trowel are you using?

 

[WetSaw]

By far the easiest thing to do was to get the floor flat before you started either by grinding down the high spot or levelling the rest of the floor. How many tiles have you laid?

 

[mr white]

 

[mr white]

When I lay the tiles the first time they aremaybe 2mm out, so all I did was add some extra to the back of the tile where it needed packing up. It worked but was unsure if this was ideal? Or info should of buttered more through out tile and squeezed out the excess?

 

[mr white]

I've made a mess around tiles and I've walked on it so would I have to use primer G again to be safe?

I spoke to technical yesterday and they said airborne dust can effect the product, so keep the work space clean. Contemplated taking my shoes off at one point lol

 

[Andy Allen]

You need to level the floor with self leveling compound first.... Would make your life alot easier..

 

[Flintstone]

Your going to have a bad time trying to make a bad floor good with those tiles! If you need to apply more adhesive, apply it to the back of the tile with the notch trowel as well as it being on the floor

 

[Albert]

Serrating an uneven floor is not the easiest thing for
a novice.It gets easier with practice or years of doing it.
You should always make sure you key the adhesive to the floor
and try and judge the amount of build up you need as you spred
i find it easier to add extra to the floor rather than the back of the tile

 

[One Day]

Serrating an uneven floor is not the easiest thing for
a novice.It gets easier with practice or years of doing it.
You should always make sure you key the adhesive to the floor
and try and judge the amount of build up you need as you spred
i find it easier to add extra to the floor rather than the back of the tile

Albert's right. Years of experience gives you a "feel" for it. Even easier if you close your eyes when combing the adhesive, you can float over the low spots.
I'd suggest you spend time now checking the levels on the rest of the floor and filling low points, or if very bad, then get some leveller down.

 

[GoneGuy]

I would check rest of the floor and add self level where required so the floor is not so uneven and flat, this will make it easier to lay the tiles and would be cheaper than using extra adhesive and time pulling tiles up

 

[mr white]

Just an update, I started laying more last night and I found a way that's working for me.
Which is just buttering the back of the tile and the floor with the 10mm notch. 90% of the tiles I put down so far sat down nicely first time

I got to say my body is aching today, I've been doing my house up for 8 months and I've done the plumbing, electrics, carpentry and plastering etc. but the tiling really wears on yours knees and different core muscles lol.

When I've completed l'll post a picture up so you guys can have a laugh