Concrete floor Prep for 20 x 20 porcelain (my first tile job)

Hi all!

Ok, I'm about to embark on an extensive tile project in my house. I'm going to be ripping up about 1,000 Sq. Ft. of 15 yr old carpet and replacing it with Marazzi Tosca Ivory.

Now, I've set 12x12 in the past, but didnt do the actual floor prepping. I went to Home Depot last night to pick up the required $300-$400 in supplies for the project and the salesperson reccomended that after I remove the old carpet glue, I acid wash the floor to prep the concrete for good adhesion. My question is...what exactly should I use for this? I went over to the paint section and picked up a driveway/garage floor cleaner/degreaser. It seems to be a non-acidic bio-degradable cleaner. Is this sufficient for proper prep? I do realize the importance of good adhesion and dont want to take any shortcuts.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

No need for any acid, let's start with, any glue on the floor from carpet or was it set with tack strips, any cracks, paint or sealers on the floor, is it flat?, it needs to be flat for 20" tile, you will need a 1/2" trowel if the floor is even slightly off, you will need to backbutter each tile with the flat side of the trowel as you set them, use the notch side on the floor and go over the floor with the flat side of the trowel before the notched side.

Use a good modified thinset.

 

Thanks for the response. A friend of mine told me the same thing about the acid. Not needed.

What a day its been. I just got done unloading 4,000 lbs (50 boxes) of this stuff and realized that the dye lot is way off the sample my wife and I decided on. Another thing, The sample was stamped on the back "Made in Italy". My purchase order is stamped "Made in the USA" . The actual pattern is identicle. The Italian sample has more of a texture to it and the browns are more pronounced. I mean, its so far off that I could probably sell someone on the fact that they are two different tiles.

Is this ethical? I'm at a loss. I'm ready to call them and tell them to come and pick it up and give me the tile I paid for.

Any advice? I'm pretty down about this. I searched on the internet and couldnt find a Tosca Ivory made in Italy. I might be forced to swallow my pride and install it...

 

I've yet to see a tile match the sample board. What's the return policy where you bought the stuff?


Also, a lot of companies buy the bisquit and then glaze them themselves...so it may have been and Italian tile with a US glaze.

 

Well, it seems that there are two different factories that make the tile. Marrazi in Italy and American marazzi. When asked if they could produce the Italian Marazzi, they said no, that it was unavailable. Funny thing is, they have all of the Italian Marazzi on display and yet they are selling the American. Theres some serious ethical issues here. And, being that they are produced in two different factories, let me tell you that they are indeed different. The only similarity is the pattern. The physical qualities as well as the colors and overall finish are way off. The American version is clearly the cheaper product.

Nonetheless, they have agreed to come and pick it up and give us a refund.

 

That's good. Companies that give full refunds when the customer is not happy, is ok with me.