can i use 20″ procelan tiles on walls for a shower?
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why not if the wall is really flat..
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The last shower I did with 18" porcelain tiles on the walls. There are a lot of showers out there with large format tiles on the wall.
Yes. When you get big like that it's sometimes good to go with a dot installation instead of full coverage.
Where's Jeff Buck been hiding out? He had a thread in the photo gallery about a shower with large format.
Jeff is enjoying a lifetime ban from BT
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"Jeff is enjoying a lifetime ban from BT"What was the issue?
I missed it so don't know speciafically
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I must be missing out on all the fun since I stay out of the Tavern.I noticed that Jeff and I weren't meeting up in threads, but the thought of him being banned just hadn't occurred to me. I guess that's one of the limitations I have, being pure in mind and soul!
I didn't know that either. Has anyone else been similarly exiled?
I think Jeff is one of a kind.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
go with a dot installation instead of full coverage
Why?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
It's sometimes best to go with dot coverage with large format tiles if the wall is out of plane or not perfectly flat.
Dot coverage results in the tile standing off the wall a bit, so you can keep the face of the tile in plane as you tile up the wall.
Were you to try to tile a "lumpy" wall with large format tile, the tile could rock and roll on the bumps in the wall, resulting in lippage issues with adjacent tiles, etc.
You don't HAVE to go dot. It's just an option I thought I'd mention.
I'm sure you know that neither tile nor grout is waterproof. With the dot method you have voids between the tile and the substrate, a good place for mold, etc to grow.
Good point Ben, I considered addressing that in my original post but decided instead on brevity. It's a consideration but it runs along the same theory as moisture getting behind tile/grout and then into the cement board...and then hitting the drainage barrier behind the cement board. Does it condense/mold there?During a drying cycle, what, if any, moisture/vapor that gets through will dry back into the room via the same path it entered...through the grout.I had the same questions way back when, but TCNA guys and old-head tile mechanics calmed my fears. Never had a problem.Best, Mongo
"I'm sure you know that neither tile nor grout is waterproof. "That depends on the specific tile..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
And grout. Epoxy grout and porcelain tile would be waterproof."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I'm sure you know that neither tile nor grout is waterproof. With the dot method you have voids between the tile and the substrate, a good place for mold, etc to grow.
I would like to see you support this claim.
Here is one reference, in an article by Michael Byrne. He is considered to be knowledgeable in the field of tile installation. It's in the last paragraph on page 2.
http://www.michaelbyrne.us/articles/2001%20Large%20Format%20Tile.pdf
While it could be argued that the chance of mold growing in the voids behind the tile are slim to maybe none, every installation specification from all the major thinset manufacturers I have read requires a minimum of 95% coverage. You can't get that from a few spots of thinset.
The guidelines for floor tile is 95% coverage, wall is generally 80%. But I still shoot for full coverage.Properly doing a "dot" installation doesn't just mean a few little dabs and pop it on the wall. You set the tile, move it around to get it in plane and compress the dotted mortar, then pull it off add more mortar where needed, then reset. Repeat as needed. It results in near full coverage. Doing a dot installation poorly is fairly easy. Doing it properly is quite laborious and slow. It's nothing like just having a "few spots of thinset" on the wall. Guys that do it that way are hacks. I'd rather plumb and flatten the wall first, that's the easiest and best way to tile.Depending on the installation, you might have to move beyond thinset to a more bodied bonding mortar too. Thinset is, after all for "thin" set applications.Best, Mongo
Isn't that a vote for a mud job on the walls? Screeded (if that's a word) with a straight edge so all is flat and plumb to begin with. If you have a good tile man.John
Sure! Like I wrote, my first preference is to work off of plumb and flat walls. It's always easier working off a good foundation than trying to make up for it as you go along.The problem arises when you're thickness limited in a remodel and can't do a mud job. You could feather them flat/plumb and then tile. Or do the best with what you have, as you're able.Heck, the best way to end this is by just writing that no backer board should be hung until the framing is spot-on perfect. And after hanging the backer board, don't mess it up with too much mud when you tape the joints.