Thinset For Marble Tile

Installing marble tile successfully requires a surface that s strong steady and level enough not to interfere with the tile placement.

Thinset for marble tile.

Tiles are glued down with a thin set adhesive a mortar based product that now is the standard for ceramic and stone tile products. For marble tiles the adhesive of choice is often a cement based thinset. Subfloor preparation is similar cement board underlayment installed over a sturdy plywood subfloor is the best base for marble tiles just as it is with ceramic tile. When used to tile walls it s strength allows you to set tile and if you re good with eyeballing you can set tile without the use of spacers.

Thinset mortar is commonly used for setting ceramic tile. Dried thinset is tough to get off of the tops of tiles because it is so thin and the tile surface is often delicate. So a 3 8 u notched trowel leaves a 1 8 bed of thinset beneath the installed tile. Thinset mortar is your default tile mortar for most indoor and outdoor applications.

It is also used to set porcelain tile and natural stone tile. If you attempt to set wall tiles using thinset without spacers you ll end up with a bunch of tiles that have slid into each other before the thinset has had time to set resulting in a giant mess. Most tilers attempt to remove the thinset as they work or the next day at the most. Preferred thin set for marble for me first choice would be custom multipurpose white thin set from hd gives you good body for working the stone i always add a cup of easy float or pearl lite to full bucket of mix thin set if i work with anything larger than 18x18 stone in you r case with 12x12 you dont need to add anything.

Thinset tile mortar has a smooth slippery consistency similar to mud. It is applied to the substrate with a notched trowel. Different size tile requires that you use a specific size trowel. In the case of marble tile choosing the right thinset can be essential to ensuring that your tile looks beautiful and remains in good condition for many years to come.

The amount of thinset you need is calculated by the square footage of the floor or wall the size of the tile and the size of notched trowel you use to spread it. Creating this surface can take time and effort but no matter how perfect the surface is choosing the proper adhesive is just as important. After setting tiles thinset mortar must quickly be removed or it dries into a hard stubborn substance. Using a u notched trowel and embedding the tile into the thinset leaves you with a bed of thinset beneath the tile a little over 1 3 the size of the trowel teeth.

Thinset is a mortar that is made of portland cement silica sand and moisture retaining agents.