Large Tile Installation Tips

Substrate preparation for walls and floors that will be tiled with large format materials must be perfectly flat.

Large tile installation tips.

A common solution involves use of a special non sag thinset mortar that is designed to stone tile weighing up to 6 pounds per square foot. Learn all the tricks to a beautiful tile floor that will never crack. Plus all the tips to avoid ending up with ugly cuts in the doorways. Thus they need to be installed in a square space.

Large format tile must be installed on a level substrate. When installing large format tiles and planks it is vital to adhere to the recommended grout line widths recommended patterns and all installation guidelines. As you near cabinets doorways walls and other flooring stops trim tiles as needed for installation. Lay the tile flat and then with mild pressure slide the tile 1 4 inch back against the thin set ridges then slide it back into place.

Put the first test tile onto the thin set bed. Below are three tips to maximize the advantages of large format tile. Dos don ts large format tile installation requires particular attention to proper substrate preparation grout joint sizing trowel selection and mortar coverage. Use a tile cutter for small straight cuts.

Ensure a flat surface. For all of msi s rectangular tiles a minimum of a 1 3 or more off set with 1 8 grout joint size is recommended for rectified tiles and a 3 16 grout joint for non rectified. For making curved cuts you can use tile nippers. At the beginning of your tile floor installation always do a test to ensure the consistency of the mortar is appropriate.

When installing large format tile there must be at least 90 mortar contact and a minimum grout joint of 3 16. Use a tile saw or wet saw both rentable if necessary for cutting numerous or thick tiles. But if you re setting tiles larger than 12 x 12 in look for terms like medium bed large tile or large format on the bag label. Preventing large format tile from sagging or slipping during installation can be accomplished in several ways.