Which Trowel To Use For Floor Tiles

If one of the tiles is fairly flat with minimum warping cupping you may meet the proper coverage requirement using a 3 8 square notched trowel.

Which trowel to use for floor tiles. For example mosaic tiles would require a 3mm square notch trowel while larger tiles would require subsequent larger sizes. So a 10mm u notched trowel leaves a 3mm bed of adhesive beneath the installed tile. Tile trowels come in many shapes and sizes generally starting out from a 3 16 v notch up to the 1 2 square notch.

Trowels should be used alongside an appropriate size tile. Using a u notched trowel and embedding the tile into the adhesive leaves you with a bed of adhesive beneath the tile a little over 1 3 the size of the trowel teeth. With tile 12 x 12 up to 18 x 18 i ll normally use a x 3 8 trowel x x 3 8 with tile larger than 18 i ll either use the x 3 8 and back trowel the tile as well or use a 3 8 x 3 8 or x square or u notch.

Smaller trowels produce thinner beds of adhesive which ultimately means that there is less chance of the adhesive getting onto the tiles when fixing them in place. If however the other tile has quite a bit of cupping you may need to use a larger 1 2 square notched tile trowel to get proper coverage. Finding the right trowel for the job is quite simple when you know that generally speaking the trowel size should match up to the tile size the smaller the tile the smaller the trowel.

Number of 50 lb 22 7 kg bags needed approximate coverage per 50 lbs 22 7 kg for 50 sq ft 4 65 m2 for 100 sq ft 9 29 m2 for 150 sq ft 13 9 m for 200 sq ft 18 6 m2 for 250 sq ft 23 2 m2 trowel size. The other main consideration is where the tiles will be set on the floor or on the walls and ceilings. Those are general guidelines and will work with most installations.