Ceramic Tile Thinset Thickness

How to spread thinset for ceramic tile.

Ceramic tile thinset thickness.

Stylish ceramic tiles on your kitchen walls or perhaps even the countertops maybe an accent wall in the house or a blend of. I would say a typical thickness is close to but most tiles do not have flat backs. The terms thinset cement thinset mortar dryset mortar and drybond mortar are synonymous. For example a 3 8 notch trowel will produce a 3.

1 mix the thinset mortar. Medium 6 by 6 inch and 12 by 12 inch tiles are typically 3 8 inch thick. For thicker tiles larger notches are recommended. Tile thickness small 1 inch mosaic tiles can be as thin as 1 8 inch.

Imagine your house transformed. The trowel size determines how much thinset to put on the substrate as well as how thick the bed of thinset should be under the tile. Most 12 x 12 tiles that are fairly flat wind up with a 1 4 notched trowel and that would probably be a good starting point with 15 x 15 tiles as well. Large format tiles such as 18 by 18 inch and.

Jun 11 2011 the thinset thickness is determined by the size of the trowel used and the size of the trowel is determined by how the back of the tile is constructed and the size of the tile. This type of cement is designed to adhere well in a thin layer typically not greater than 3 16th thick. A 1 2 x 1 2 the bed of thinset will be half of that measurement or 1 4 beneath a flat tile over a flat substrate. If the mortar starts to harden while you work either on the surface or in the bucket discard it and mix a new batch.

For example a 3 8 notch trowel will produce a 3 16th inch thick coating after the tiles are pressed in to the cement. When you use a square notched trowel with the same size notch and teeth i e. So in regards to how much the thinset will raise the tiles you should figure 3 32 1 4x3 8 trowel leaves ridges that are no more than 5 16 high. If your tiles vary a lot in thickness such as handmade tiles then a larger notch might be required to accommodate the variations and your resultant thinset layer will be thicker.

Tile set by the thinset method is adhered to the substrate with a thin layer of thinset cement. For most tile installations a square notched trowel with 1 4 inch notches produces grooves of the right thickness.