60 X 60 Porcelain

[BIMP]

Hi all. Measured for a job today. 80sqm of 600mm x 600mm polished porcelain tile. Has anyone any experience with such a tile. I have a labourer to help me (with lifting, etc) and feel confident of doing good job but is there any hidden surprises? By far the largest size tile I have come across yet and jsut wondering if anyone has any info regarding its installation...

 

[Grace'sDad]

Not done any myself, largest I've done is 600 x 300 - I start 20sqm of 600x600 polished porcelain on Tuesday so I'll be following your thread now!

 

[Fekin]

Only info I could share on tiles this size is having as perfect substrat to tile onto as possible, and you'll find having someone else with you helping to lower tiles into place will be priceless as it's a bloody hard job lowering them into the adhesive on your own, and back buttering them too.

Just remember to fit in expansion joints ever 8 to10 liner meters or so if it's one large room.

 

[brian c]

are theey b&q tiles?if so they stain very easily so beware...i have said my piece on these before....i seal the edges.

make sure that your cutter can take such a big tile and that the substrate is even,otherwise u will get lipping,especially with asuch a big tile.

good luck.

use a round notched trowel,and back butter if needs be.

 

[Northern Bird]

What is the weight,

Plasterboard will only hold 34kg per metre sq

Tilebackerboards can hold more weight

Hardiebacker holds 45kg per m sq

 

[Burnsy]

Probably floor , unless it is a very big room (80m2). Laid some the other week (only 6m though). Used a large format trowel (20mm notched trowel). They are like fricken slabs! Definately get the labourer. I did them on my own and it was hard work, even for such a small area. Because of the thickness, you will need a really thick bed of adhesive, otherwise you will get bad lippage. You will need double the adhesive if you do use a large format trowel and back buttering, but definately would with tiles ythat size. The ones i laid were good quality and i cut them fine on my Rubi Ts 60 and the plasplugs wet cutter cut through them ok aswell.

 

[TilingLogistics]

They weigh around 8.2KG each and you will find it invaluable to have some help. You need PTB adhesive with Porcelbond. Dunlop was the cheapest but check because i havn't fixed for a while and i may be out of touch. Large format floor trowel.

Kev

 

[pjtiler]

use a 20 mm trowel and butter the back of the tile then tap the buggers in with a rubber hammer
nice 4 mm joint looks the business
and dont forget to seal um

 

[smokey1234x]

hav been layin these tiles now the last 2 weeks
any advice i could giv would b if your floor isnt very level make sure u start from the highest point of the floor cos if u dont u will hav problems when trin to hav no lips as edges are very sharpe

 

[stanimal]

I would make sure the subtsrate is flat,backbutter tiles and use large suction cups to place tiles.I have set tile 23 inches by47 inches using these methods

 

[MICK the Tiler]

These are all the rage down here at the mom. :mad2:

My advice would be as others have said ckeck substrate for flatness first, use a 12-15mm notched trowel, when fixing only fix 1 tile at a time postion yourself in the direction your laying your rows and work with the row, don;t be tempted to glue a row and start fixing across yourself, your back and arms won't last the distance, use a square edged timber block to wipe over your joins if it catches anywhere along the joint there is lipping and adjustments will need to be made.

Allow youself to lay between 5-7m2 per day and at least 3 days to grout then polish then seal, DON'T SEAL BEFORE GROUTING. Use a 3mm spacing and grout with a non sanded smooth grout that blends well with the colour of the tile, because they are quite thick sometimes you need to grout over the tiles twice to get a nice full joint allowing the grout to get quite stiff between wipes.

Also use a good quality non-slump floor adhesive i use ardex sts8 for these tiles.

 

[penno]

The first thing to put in your van mate should be two good pads, a total must. You aint pulling these up with your hands if they need a little extra buttering to level.

 

[BIMP]

Great advice, will def get suction pads cos no doubt will have to lift out few tiles. Will keep ye posted on results!!Ben (Ireland)

 

[Deleted member 1779]

Like I always say with Porcelain....


Dont forget your drills !!


R

(Tiles shown actually 300 x 600 laid "brickwork")

 

[strongboes]

Hi mate,

In my opinion suction pads wont help in the slightest, if you think you can pull a 600*600 tile up when bedded in then you are going to end up in hospital. Need an old but sharp chisel to break suction on edge of tile then can lift up with hands no probs.

I would advise you to level your floor to within 2mm per 2 metres first then only trowel the floor, if your going to back butter them then your going to be quite slow and seriously f****d after your first couple of hours. I have done 32 metres of ceramic tiles similar to this a month back in a hotel and so had to do it in one day, was hard but possible, i'd say 2 of you could easily do 25 metres a day.

 

[mz30]

I done a floor last year almost a thousand square metres in 600x600 cream porcelain every 36 tiles were surrounded by 600x300 frame it was all fixed on marine ply using bal flex and a 12mm serrator(if anyone wants to look its in the may sum restaraunt in derby).
The best advice i can give is whats already been said make sure the substrate is perfect before starting as they are a ***** if the floor is only slightly out,also anything above a 2mm joint makes the floor lose it's effect(imo).

 

[Perry]

that all i fix now days easy to lift with a gauging trowel most of the floors we lay on are like ploughed fields not lucky enough to have the time to level the floor first mostly rectified with 2 mm joints i find its best to use PTB if u can put a 3mm joint it may help find the highest point but don't try to make the floor level just flat or u may end up with step at the door ways😛ete

 

[davy_G]

I agree with all the other posts on a flat floor. I would use a SLC with spilked roller unless the floor was perfect. Close the grout lines up to at least 3mm and 2 mm if you get the floor really good.
I didnt backbutter, but the back of the tiles where pretty smooth.

You can make a really nice job of these and the best bit is they are quick to grout!

 

[Perry]

I done a floor last year almost a thousand square metres in 600x600 cream porcelain every 36 tiles were surrounded by 600x300 frame it was all fixed on marine ply using bal flex and a 12mm serrator(if anyone wants to look its in the may sum restaraunt in derby).
The best advice i can give is whats already been said make sure the substrate is perfect before starting as they are a ***** if the floor is only slightly out,also anything above a 2mm joint makes the floor lose it's effect(imo).

a very expensive way of laying 1000 sq meters what was the adhesive cost ?

 

[mz30]

No idea, labour only

 

[sWe]

• Make sure the substrate is VERY smooth and level. Ideally, you want to use good SLC before putting down that large tiles.
• Getting 100% coverage of the adhesive is very important when working with large tiles, even more so than usual, as the tiles will crack easily if there are any hollows beneath them.
• If possible, use cement based adhesive of a "floating" flex variety. It's more liquid than normal cement based adhesive, so it's easier to get good coverage with it, and the type is often optimized for heavy wear and large tiles.
• Use large a large u-notch trowel, round-notch trowel, or Euro-notch trowel (I prefer euro-notch) for best possible coverage.
• Not working past the open-time of the adhesive is even more important than usual
• Make sure to check the levels often with a spirit-level, as any diffs will be quite noticable.
• Make sure to have movement joints every 10sqm or so
• Don't do brick-bond on (relatively) fresh concrete with this large tiles. If there is shrinkage in the concrete, there is a larger chance of tiles cracking, instead of just the joints, if you lay it in brick bond. Same goes for most other non-grid patterns.

That's pretty much what I can come up with at the moment.

 

[grumpygrouter]

sWe, can you define "Euro-notch" trowel please?

Grumpy

 

[sWe]

Link with a product description

Link to the manufacturer

If you haven't tried it, then I suggest you do. In my opinion, there is no better trowel for tiling floors. It uses up adhesive at a rate similar to a 8-10mm square notch trowel, so you might end up using a little bit more (or a little bit less) adhesive using this baby, but you'll get 100% coverage pretty much all the time.

Since I got mine, I've used it successfully on tiles ranging from 30x30 to 60x60. Haven't had the chance to try on any larger than that though. Tiles are getting bigger over here too, but the largest tiles I normally encounter are 30x30 or 30x60. 60x60 or larger isn't that common, yet.

 

[alex1963]

anything less than perfect will look awful and very likely result in your not being paid so take your time to get the substate level,use a 12 - 14 mm trowel and take your time.use a non slumping adhesive designed for large format tiles,i have seen plenty of floors ruined by slumping tiles. check every joint on every tile with a sharp edge(i sometimes use a coin) and if there is any lippage fix it!!and at the end when you have been paid go and see a chiropractor because you will proberly need it!!!

 

[Bhoystris]

Hi, I've been around to see a job tonight and the guy is wanting these 600 x 600 polished porcelain tiles fitted in his living room and hall. He has got them from B & Q. All in the area is 23 sqm. What would be a reasonable price to charge for this job? Currently he has floorboards throughout which he is going to ply, i have recommended 9mm or thicker screwing down at 300mm intervals. I think i will get myself a big round notch trowel for this job, usually i use a 10mm square for floor tiles but defenitley want to get a thicker bed down for these huge tiles. How much more time consuming has the guys who have laid these found to be compare with your 300 x 300 floor tiles?

 

[a1tiler]

i have been asked to fit these 600 x 600 b and q black porcelain tiles as a splashback, has anyone done this and how did you deal with sockets .

 

[TheWrightTiler]

unless the sockets line up perfectly which they wont then am afraid its drill and plunge cut to get the cuts out

time consuming and a pain in the butt

best to remove the sockets totally if u can and mark using a white china marker as east to see

andy

 

[Deleted member 1779]

A1 the answer is yes we have fitted jet-black porcleain tiles before.

And had to drill them out to fit items as you describe: See piccy

Black porcelain tiles are no different to any other porcelain tile
(IE they are very very hard)

Below is what we built. It had to be drilled to fit the body jets, shower control socket and the shower rose.

A total of five holes for the body jets and shower rose. Plus the square socket control panel

To put anything square slap bang in the middle of a hard tile you need to combine use of a diamond drill [to knock out the corners] and either a plunge cut on a wet saw or use of an angle grinder.

We do a full article on putting sockets into tiles and can be read in depth here.

But the basic tequnique is to predrill your corners like this and then grind the lines to meet up.

Predrill your corners. Then grind the sides with plunge cut or grinder

[Sorry about the naff photos!]

Then you can fix your socket and hide the wonky bits

To make the cuts from hole to hole we used this £14.99 angle grinder

The small hand held angle grinder AKA mini-grinder [£14.99 here at Screwfix direct] was fitted with a £19.99 diamond blade.



Commercial disclaimer. No power was being fed to the socket at any time during the photographed tutorial. Although the plug socket was wired it was not connected to any power source. If you are not a qualified electricial installer do not attempt electrical work. Please only attempt the work if qualified or if working with a competent person. Due the high speed of the grinder and creation of dust and debris all observers, photographers and operators wore full safety GOGGLES (not glasses). Gloves and face mask. Please be sure to read and follow all the safety instructions on any equipment prior to use.

 

[alex1963]

to cut a socket in a tile of any size ,mark the cut on the back of the tile ,and then cut all 4 sides with a grinder and then pop the piece off.grinders are an essentual tool and while they should command respect,they are very easy to use

 

[enduro]

Just mind your fingers..:74:

 

[tileman]

Hi, I would mark out as normal for each socket, take care to be accurate, cut with angle grinder £50 will get you a Dewalt another £35 for a diamond blade.
Mark out on the face of the tile and cut to your lines so the blade cuts through to the other side, turn the tile over and cut from the other side, knock the bit out.
It is time consuming, I would price it at about £40/m2 +tooling+materials, i am in the north of scotland so prices may be higher in other areas, if you have to cut the tiles to fit around the pelmit under the wall units you will have to be very accurate so charge more, don't under estimate how long it will take.
john