porcelain tile help

[connors12345]

laying small porcelain tiles for a friend at the w/end. brick bond splash back. they are a grey tile. any one used these. what adh would you use. i have a spare tub of white star and bal microflex grout. do i have to use a bagged adh. would you use a grey single part flex and grey grout. she was asking if the tiles would be ok grouted in white, or would they be better in grey. cheers and thanks for your help. also what colour plastic trims. thanks ian.........
ps will these cut ok with the rubi
thanks again

 

[grumpygrouter]

You MAY get away with White Star for small porcelain but you will need to wait a bit longer to grout. White star will hold them no problem but being a dispersion adhesive it will take some time to dry. Cement based would be a safer bet if you need to grout quickly.

Grout colour is a matter of choice, usually discussed with the customer, as for trims, try and match to the colour of the tiles.

You should be ok to cut with a Rubi.......I don't have one as I use a Montolit but from what I read on here, you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[hrgj3270]

hi mate yeah ur rubi should cut them, the grout is entirely up to ur friend if she wants white i would let her have it but i would in this case use a white grout like multifix ready mixed paste by Granfix as you could stain the grout if there is any ady left in the grout lines.the trim is also up to ur friend but if its grey and the kitchen is quite modern a stainless steel / metal trim might look nice

hope that helps mate

 

[brian c]

ARDEX have a new product out which is dispersion stuff(in a tub)and apparantly its really good,but i dont know the curing times or any spec on it sorry.

 

[grumpygrouter]

ARDEX have a new product out which is dispersion stuff(in a tub)and apparantly its really good,but i dont know the curing times or any spec on it sorry.

Got a name for the ardex stuff Bri? Their website only shows the 2 normal ones D20 and D30. D30 is their best tub stuff, equivalent to White Star but I don't think it is quite as good.

 

[davy_G]

iye you can use D30 with porcelain but its £££

 

[grumpygrouter]

iye you can use D30 with porcelain but its £££

Apparantly you also have to apply a skim coat of 2mm thickness and leave to dry for 24hrs before fixing porcelain with it!

 

[Fred]

Some tub gears are ok, like Ardex, granfix etc , but I would knock up some single part flexi white powder gear. My main powder gear is mapei as I can get a 20kg spf in white for £14.00p. Their rapid version holds in the bucket for ages, not like Webber white spf, which can go off in 10 minutes.............

 

[UKTT Darren]

Try PCI Nanolight, comes in grey or white, fast or slow set. Its a powdered adhesive and much lighter and easier to work with than normal cement, fixes any type of tile on any type of surface, its made for German contractors facing different tiling situations throughout the day

 

[White Room]

You rate nanolight highly then Darren, I hav'nt tried it probably because no one supplies it down my way not that I know of but may try and order some.

 

[connors12345]

ok everyone thanks for your help. think i will buy a bag of spf and microflex grout. does anyone know if the grey porcelain brick style tiles need sealing or are they ok...???? i havent seen them. might have to pop in to topps and have a look... maybe gaz at bal might remember.. cheers and thanks again

 

[DHTiling]

Try this as well it's cheaper to buy than SPF.........but only in grey......will be fine if you can work clean......other wise go for the spf.......or you could try BAL ctf3 with ad1........just a few options mate.....

BAL Gold Star

A grey non-slip water/frost-resistant cemetitious adhesive for wall and floor applications with BAL Porcelbond Plus Technology allowing it to be used for fixing fully vitrified and porcelain tiles to a number of backgrounds/bases, such as concrete/brick/block walling, concrete bases, cement:sand rendering/screeds, plaster/plasterboard, mastic asphalt and backgrounds with a low porosity. Suitable for exterior and interior use. Extended workability time.

The properties of this product can be improved with the addition of BAL ADMIX AD1.

BS EN 12004 C2T Adhesive

 

[Deleted member 1779]

We used small porcelain tiles as a back feature for the loo.

GROUTED IN WHITE TO CONTRAST.

But used same coloured grout on the floor because of the dirt pickup.

If you excuse the pun but the thinking is that the white grout behind a loo would NOT get dirty because its low traffic. But the grout on the floor is high traffic so we used grey grout.

The white grout makes a stunning contrast on dark / black backgrounds but it will show the dirt over time.

In the shower and on large porcelain tiles (600 x 300) We used off-white grout because it gave the striking contrast but we new it would get dirty over time. But it gets cleaned on a weekly basis.

I think its always best to consult the customer. Tell them pure white grout looks fantastic in pictures and when selling and when new. But over time it will discolour. These are all 3mm joints. If customer is happy to make an extra cleaning effort then they at least know the pros and cons.

PS: I would ALWAYS use grey on floors. My bathroom floor is done in white grout and never looks clean. Thinking of digging it out and regrouting.

 

[connors12345]

thanks for your replies. using white star as only small format porcelain and leaving a week before grouting. friend not in a rush so no worry about it drying out properly. also bought some brushed metal window trims..... they only had 6 or 9mm. chose the 6 as the 9 were way too big. but the tiles only just fit. do you think this will be a problem

 

[grumpygrouter]

You may find that your tiles will sit slightly proud because of your adhesive bed. Make sure you have as little addy as possible on the trim back plate to reduce this.