What Size Of Trowel To Install Tile Flooring

Before you begin setting tile, decide which tile trowel to use. What should be the correct size? Should I use a U-notched or a squared-notched trowel? Those are common questions you must enquire yourself before starting your installation projection. Basically, at that place is not a standard trowel size for tile installation, since information technology depends on the size and type of tile you install. Each type of tile may require a differently sized trowel. Be concerned with the amount of coverage for the tile.

For example; y'all take two different 24" 10 24" tiles for two dissimilar floors. Although they are the same dimension, each tile may require a different trowel size. If 1 of the tiles is adequately flat with minimum warping (cupping), you may meet the proper coverage requirement using a 3/8" square-notched trowel. If, however, the other tile has quite a bit of cupping you may need to utilize a larger ane/two" square-notched tile trowel to go proper coverage.

Proper thinset mortar coverage means a minimum of 85% total coverage beneath a tile for a dry area installation (near floors, fireplace, etc.) and 95% minimum full coverage in a wet expanse (showers, tub surrounds, etc.). There is more to that requirement such equally consummate coverage beneath all four corners of the tile, but those are the basics.

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To get proper coverage you demand to choose the right sized trowel, one that will give you that corporeality of coverage beneath the tile. Check this by installing the tile as you normally would, and then pulling the tile upwards and checking the back. There should no longer exist whatsoever trowel lines and y'all will see complete coverage of thinset on both the back of the tile and the substrate.

How trowel sizes are measured

The size and spacing of the trowel teeth are the basis to measure trowel size for tile. This tells you how much thinset the trowel will leave on the substrate when you spread it out. The trowel'southward molar shape and spacing determines how much thinset is sandwiched between the tile and substrate once the tile is fully installed.

RUBI articles tile trowels in two basic types, the foursquare-notched and the U-notched. They are measured in the same manner, the first number is the width of the notches (the distance between the teeth), the second number is the depth of the notch.

Square-notched trowel

Using a 1/ii" x 1/2" square-notched trowel volition leave 1/2" ridges of thinset on the substrate with one/ii" spaces between each ridge. A tile trowel with only one measurement (i.e. as 1/ii" trowel) means that both measurements are the same.

When you use a ane/iv" ten three/viii" square-notched trowel yous will leave 1/4" broad by 3/8" high ridges of thinset on the substrate, with ¼" spaces between each ridge.

U-notched trowel

U-notched trowels normally but have one number. This is both the width and depth of the teeth. I am using a 3/8" U-notched trowel, which has a half-moon shaped notch.

When you spread thinset with a U-notched trowel, it will leave half-round ridges on the substrate. The height of the ridges and the space between each ridge will be the size of the trowel (in this case 3/8"). The width of each ridge will DOUBLE the trowel size – 3/4".

How much thinset volition a trowel exit nether the tile

The trowel size for tile determines how much thinset to put on the substrate, every bit well as how thick the bed of thinset should exist nether the tile.

When you use a square-notched trowel with the aforementioned size notch and teeth (i.e. a 1/ii" ten 1/two"), the bed of thinset will be half of that measurement, or i/4", below a flat tile over a apartment substrate.

When you fully embed the tile into the bed of thinset, it spreads out the thinset ridges evenly into the spaces between the trowel lines. Since the spaces betwixt the ridges have the aforementioned size as the ridges themselves, this will separate the height of the ridges in half. So a 1/2" x 1/2" trowel will leave a 1/4" high bed of thinset beneath the tile. A iii/8" x 3/viii"' trowel will leave a 3/16" bed of thinset beneath the tile.

Using a U-notched trowel and embedding the tile into the thinset leaves you with a bed of thinset below the tile a trivial over 1/three the size of the trowel teeth. So a 3/8" U-notched trowel leaves a ane/eight" bed of thinset below the installed tile.

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U-notched or square-notched trowel? Which shape of tile trowel to use

Since a 3/8" U-notched trowel and a 1/iv" square-notched trowel will both leave a i/8" layer of thinset mortar beneath an installed tile, why choose 1 over the other?

The difference in trowel-notch shapes determines how hands the tile becomes fully embedded in the bed of thinset. In basic terms, it is easier to jerk a tile into a bed of thinset put down with a u-notched than with a square-notched. You plummet rounded ridges rather than square ridges.

The foursquare ridges, put downwards with a foursquare-notched trowel, tend to collapse over on each side when you embed the tile into the bed. Pushing the tile downward into the bed of square ridges causes the ridges to fold over from the pinnacle of the ridge, then spread out.

A U-shaped ridge, on the other hand, spreads OUT when embedding a tile into the bed. Pushing a tile into the bed of rounded ridges causes the ridge of thinset to spread out, from the bottom, with less possibility of trapping air.

Which trowel size for tile to utilize

Determining which trowel size is proper for your installation depends on both the tile itself and the substrate. More accurately, it depends on how apartment the tile and substrate are. The less flat the tile is, the more thinset mortar y'all need beneath it, which ways a larger trowel size.

Start, you must know how much thinset mortar you want below the tile in the finished installation. A finished installation requires a minimum of iii/32" beneath the finished installation, aiming for a i/8" minimum makes it easier to calculate the proper tile trowel size.

At that place are two basic ways to determine which size of the trowel to apply: calculating the warpage (cupping) of the tile and substrate or visual inspection.

Calculating the warpage (cupping)

Cupping of the tile ways the corporeality of variation from the plane. That's just a fancy mode of saying how 'out of flat' your tile is. Figure this out by placing the tile face-to-face and squeezing i corner. If the tile is cupped, the opposite corner will not be face up-to-confront, it volition spread apart. Measure the amount of space between the faces of the tile on the opposite corner then divide that number in one-half. That is the amount of cupping in the tile.

If squeezing the tile in this way produces a one/4" space between the tiles in the opposite corner, it means the tile is cupped by 1/8". You must add this amount to the minimum thinset amount you want beneath the tile in order to get proper coverage!

If you want a minimum of 1/viii" bed of thinset below the tile cupped by one/8", yous must use a trowel that will leave a i/four" bed of thinset beneath the finished installation. A 1/two" foursquare-notched trowel volition accomplish the proper coverage in that instance.

Visual inspection

Visual inspection is simply fully embedding the tile into the bed of thinset mortar, so removing it and looking at both the substrate and the back of the tile to determine whether you lot have proper coverage.

This tile was pushed downward only about halfway into the bed of thinset. Observe the i/two" square notched bed on the left side has the most coverage with the iii/8" square notch in a shut second. The u-notch in the center has even coverage, but you demand a much larger notch to get the aforementioned amount of coverage.

What's The Trowel Size for a 12×24 Tile?

When yous summate the amount of cupping in the tile to decide the properly sized trowel, yous notwithstanding need to visually inspect the coverage to ensure you use the proper size of the trowel!

To utilise what we've learned in this article more practically, allow's consider the correct trowel size for 12×24" tile? What kind of notches should it take? Well, in perfectly flat weather condition we want a layer of adhesive that's 1/8" to 1/4" thick.

But in existent life, conditions are rarely perfect, so allow'due south assume that we have well-nigh a 1/xvi^th inch of cupping. Like nosotros said before, we need to add the lippage to the normal recommended thickness for our adhesive layer.

This gets us a layer between three/16^th and v/16^th inches thick, which is about a quarter inch.

Next, we need to multiply this thickness of mortar by ii, for foursquare notches, or iii, for U notches, to figure out the ideal notch dimensions of our trowel. This comes out to square notches of i/2 inch by 1/2 inch or a rounded notches of 3/4 inch.

And there you have it! Y'all've constitute the ideal notch size for your trowel!

Personal preferences

Above and beyond using the proper method to get proper coverage for a successful installation, your personal preference will aid determine which specific tile trowel you utilise for different types of installation.

As a rule, the larger the tile the larger the trowel. Information technology is always better to use a larger trowel than yous might need for the installation. A piddling extra thinset beneath a tile is completely acceptable, not enough thinset beneath the tile is non acceptable.

U-notched vs. square-notched is a personal preference. While it is easier to obtain consummate coverage with a U-notched, you must likewise use a larger U-notched trowel to achieve the same bed thickness below the installed tile. This is sometimes difficult with vertical installations. It is easier to keep a standing ridge on a wall with smaller square-notched than with a larger U-notched.

U-notched trowels make it easier to keep thinset out of the grout lines every bit you embed the tile. There is more infinite between the one-half-moon ridges with a U-notched than in that location is with a square-notched. This makes information technology easier to have the tile drop into the bed with the edge over an open up area between the ridges than over the height of a standing ridge. Since the thinset spreads out, rather than folding over starting time, information technology is less probable that the thinset volition fill the grout line as you embed the tile.

Your turn! Allow me know your tips to choose the right trowel size for tile!

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