I am a DIY guy who over the years has done a bit of everything including tiling floors and walls. My current project is the remodel of our master bathroom and my request is related to tiling the new shower. I am installing 10x14 ceramic tile on the walls and I noticed that one of the tiles on the edge was out of alignment and decided to remove it and install a new tile. After removal, I noticed that there was little thinset attached to the tile. I decided to remove the one next to it and so on and so on until I had removed all of the twenty one tiles on the wall. Only one tile had a significant amount of thinset on it. I used hardie board and versabond modified thinset, a ¼ x ¼ x ¼ trowel as recommended by the tile manufacturer and 1/16 tile leveling clip. I did not back butter the tiles.

I have a suspicion as to the root of the problem, but would like opinions before I proceed.

I am considering just removing the backer board and starting over rather than dealing with the removal of the existing thinset.

I have included some pics.

Thanks for the help.

 

Tiles that big need back buttering, actually I do that for almost all my tile work now. It really makes a difference to get a good coating on both surfaces so that the tiles securely adhere to the wall.

 

A couple of things here. Yes you definitely have to back butter the tile. You should be "sliding" the tile into place, collapsing the thin set ridges. Doesn't look like you did that. You probably also need a larger trowel. 1/4" is a little light for that size tile. You should periodically check coverage by removing a tile every so often to check coverage. You should have 95% coverage in a wet area.

 

Thank you for your responses

 

Tile that large requires a super flat wall or you will have gaps. Have you checked your flatness with a long straight edge?