Floor tile spacers

[Cooler]

I am laying new mosaic porcelain floor tiles.  They come on  mesh sheets.  

I laid out and fitted the entire bathroom over the weekend.  Next weekend I will be applying the thin set and putting the tiles down permanently.

The smallest spacer I could find was 1/8".  I ordered some 1/16" spacers but even those are going to be too big.  

Do I just eyeball it?  This is the pattern.  I am using a medium gray grout, so there will be a lot of  contrast and spacing will show  up distinctly.

[Snipe Hunter]

You generally don't use spacers for mosaic tiles on mesh. The panels move too much. You'll find that it pushes the individual tiles out of alignment. Just eyeball them and stay true to your chalk line.

Make sure you use the same color (or close) thinset as the grout color. Mix the thinset a hair dry. More like peanut butter as opposed to toothpaste to help prevent the thinset coming up between the tiles. Some will, just be cognoscente of it. Just lay the tile sheet on the thinset ans lightly press it in place evenly. You don't want to press too hard or the thinset will come through. You'll see the thinset just start to pus up through the mesh, like little domes trough the mesh. That's as hard as you need to press. You don't want it to take up any space above the mesh where the grout needs to be.

Again, the smallest notch trowel you can find held at a constant 45 (ish) degrees to keep it thin and even. Any high spots will be noticeable and push up through the mesh too far. I try to spread as much thinset over the largest workable area as possible so I don't have to disturb the laid sheets. That usually means the end sheets are already cut before I put down the thinset for that course. Just mark where your first piece goes ahead of time so it goes in the right place so the others don't get thrown off. edit... I wouldn't do that on a long course.. more than about 4 or 5 panels.

[Cooler]

You generally don't use spacers for mosaic tiles on mesh. The panels move too much. You'll find that it pushes the individual tiles out of alignment. Just eyeball them and stay true to your chalk line.

Make sure you use the same color (or close) thinset as the grout color. Mix the thinset a hair dry. More like peanut butter as opposed to toothpaste to help prevent the thinset coming up between the tiles. Some will, just be cognoscente of it. Just lay the tile sheet on the thinset ans lightly press it in place evenly. You don't want to press too hard or the thinset will come through. You'll see the thinset just start to pus up through the mesh, like little domes trough the mesh. That's as hard as you need to press. You don't want it to take up any space above the mesh where the grout needs to be.

Again, the smallest notch trowel you can find held at a constant 45 (ish) degrees to keep it thin and even. Any high spots will be noticeable and push up through the mesh too far. I try to spread as much thinset over the largest workable area as possible so I don't have to disturb the laid sheets. That usually means the end sheets are already cut before I put down the thinset for that course. Just mark where your first piece goes ahead of time so it goes in the right place so the others don't get thrown off. edit... I wouldn't do that on a long course.. more than about 4 or 5 panels.

A website run by the tile manufacturers association indicated that I should test the coverage with different trowels.  I'm guessing that a 3/16" v-notch trowel is correct for these tiles, but I will make a test and peal it off and look at the coverage to make sure it is good.  I've got one size smaller and one size larger in case I have to make an adjustment.  

I bought gray thinset designed for porcelain.  (The tiles I bought were porcelain, though the same design was available in ceramic also.)  I am using a medium gray grout.  

I have all the sheets cut and in place on the floor (it looks like a floor).  All the trimming is done.  

At issue is the fact that the tiles that are nearest to the door will be the most visible.  At the far end the tiles are mostly hidden behind the  toilet or under the pedestal sink.  

So I would want to start placing tiles at the doorway end rather than working my way out of the room.  I would do that in case there are any accumulated errors in my layout those errors would be nearly invisible under the sink or behind the toilet.  But would be very obvious if the accumulated errors show as a wide grout line near the door.

Any suggestions on that?  I thought I would put a piece of plywood over the area I completed so that walking on it would not displace the tiles.

[Snipe Hunter]

A website run by the tile manufacturers association indicated that I should test the coverage with different trowels.  I'm guessing that a 3/16" v-notch trowel is correct for these tiles, but I will make a test and peal it off and look at the coverage to make sure it is good.  I've got one size smaller and one size larger in case I have to make an adjustment. 

I've never used a V-Notch except for sheet vinyl so I can't really comment on that.

I have all the sheets cut and in place on the floor (it looks like a floor).  All the trimming is done.  

That was a bold and brave move. Tried that once... once

At issue is the fact that the tiles that are nearest to the door will be the most visible.  At the far end the tiles are mostly hidden behind the  toilet or under the pedestal sink.  

So I would want to start placing tiles at the doorway end rather than working my way out of the room.  I would do that in case there are any accumulated errors in my layout those errors would be nearly invisible under the sink or behind the toilet.  But would be very obvious if the accumulated errors show as a wide grout line near the door.

Any suggestions on that?  I thought I would put a piece of plywood over the area I completed so that walking on it would not displace the tiles.

I typically start in the middle of the area and work my way out if possible. Leave the under sink/cabinets till last and use any tiles I screwed up there. That way, accumulated errors are minimized by 1/2 at the most.

[Cooler]

I typically start in the middle of the area and work my way out if possible. Leave the under sink/cabinets till last and use any tiles I screwed up there. That way, accumulated errors are minimized by 1/2 at the most.

OK.  That makes sense.

[rwe2156]

Yes, I would start the pattern at the door BUT if you have to start laying tiles on the far end, you will have an issue by the time you reach the door. If you're putting a threshold or trim on, no problems. Everything is precut and matched, but expect slight discrepancies as you progress.

No, I would not use a 3/16" trowel that too big for those tiles (IMO). I would use 1/16-1/8 or else you'll get thinset oozing between with is a major PITA. Keep the thinset a bit on the thick side.

Personally I would never start in the middle. If the room is more than 4' wide, you'll have to kneel on your work!!

[woodhead]

When you set the tiles, use a grout float. it will help keep them even.

grout float



Al

[Dusty Workshop]

Check the spacing on the sheets of mosaic before you set them. The tiles are glued to the mesh backer. I have had some tiles that were misaligned on the mesh and needed to be adjusted to make the spacing even. This might mean just cutting the mesh a bit or I have also had to pull tiles off the mesh altogether.

Trim the mesh away from the edges of the sheets (if there is any). If the mesh hangs over the edge it can interfere with the adjacent sheet. It can also pop up above the grout line.

Depending on what backer board you are using you may want to mist it with water before applying the thinset.

Make sure that the thinset you use is appropriate for your specific tile.

[Cooler]

The house was built in 1953 and they put down about a 1" thick layer of concrete with chicken wire mesh for reinforcement.  Are you saying I should mist the concrete before laying the tile?

A marble threshold is in place.  I trimmed around the threshold as did the original mosaic tile.  Interestingly the old mosaic tile had color running entirely through the tile and seemed to be unglazed. 

As a side note I bought a Montolit 55W Nipper for Porcelain/Glass/Mosaic and that was a worthwhile investment--though much more money than the nippers at Home Depot.

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[Dusty Workshop]

I have a similar set of glass nippers to those. They work great. I just tiled some glass /stone mosaic last week and found that there were a few times that the traditional shaped bipoers would have fit better. (it was on the 6x6 tiles around outlets) but I made those work. I didn't want to go look for the other nippers.

The reason you mist the substrate is so that it does not pull the moisture out of the thinset and cause a weak bond.
The other factor is if the concrete has been sealed or not.
I believe that the recommendation is for modified thinset over sealed concrete and unmodified over unsealed concrete.

I would suggest that you post your questions on a tile forum where you can get answers from professional tile installers.