Help! Tiles won't compress


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Old 05-02-05, 10:52 AM
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Angry Help! Tiles won't compress

Ok. We are in the process of hanging the tiles on the wall around our new tub. We have prepared the surface appropriately (Vapor barrier, 1/2" backerboard) and we have 12" floor tile that we were told could be hung on the walls. We are using a 1/4 X 1/4 trowel, versabond thin-set(not premixed) to lay the tile. We tried several times to hang the first two bottom tiles above the tub...our thinset was mixed to where the ridges hold, we slightly twisted them into place, but when we removed the tiles to check the coverage of thinset on the back, it covered in some spots, but mostly it just touched the tops of the ridges without compressing. We thought the mixture might be too dry, so we added a little bit of water(not much) and it still didn't work. We tried a 1/2 X 1/2 trowel, and that covered the back completely but there was way too much mortar left behind the tile. We were told time and time again by the folks at Home Depot that a 1/4 trowel will work for our tiles. We are flustered and confused. We feel we are doing everything by the book(which we have a great one by Stanley by the way) Should we use a 3/8 notched trowel or what? We have scraped everything away that we could and are at a loss.
 
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Old 05-02-05, 11:36 AM
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How much did you pay for THAT tile. Sounds to me like your tile is "crowned" but all is not lost. I'm going to tell you the same thing the guys at Home Depot told you. With one exception.

Use a 1/4" X 1/4" X 1/4" square notched trowel, (if you want to use the one with 3/8" deep notches that's fine also), spread the thinset on your wall. Comb it in one direction only and don't miss anything.

THEN, also backbutter the backside of each tile using the flat side of your trowel. That's it! End of problem.

You also have to "stack" the tiles on spacers until the thinset dries.

Using a 1/2" notch is way too big, you can forget that idea.
 
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Old 05-04-05, 09:09 AM
sparks n arcs
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using the versabond thinset mortar with a 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/2" notched trowel is correct. the versabond must be applied in the same direction all throughout the surface to be tiled. the tile should not be 'twisted' into place, but instead the tile should be gently slid back and forth in the "opposite" direction that the versabond was applied (only about 1/4" to 1/2" in each direction) while pushing the tile into the mortar. this will help in sort of folding down the ridges and filling the voids that were made with the trowel resulting in an even layer of mortar underneath the tile and resulting in much better coverage than you've been getting. while it's not rocketscience, it does definately take some practice to get the right 'feel' for it. hope this helps.
 
 

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