TILE

MORTAR BED - 1-1/4" MORTAR BED APPLIED OVER METAL WIRE LATH NAILED TO WALL STUDS OR SUBFLOOR, BACKED BY A WATERPROOF MEMBRANE LIKE PLASTIC OR ASPHALT IMPREGNATE FELT.  APPLY TILE WITH MORTAR ADHESIVE MIXED WITH LATEX ADDITIVES TO ADD BONDING STRENGTH. FINISH WITH CEMENT-BASED GROUT BETWEEN TILES.

DRYWALL BACKING - REGULAR DRYWALL BUT SILICONE IS MIXED IN WITH THE GYPSUM TO MAKE THIS "GREEN BOARD" WATER RESISTANT. THIS PRODUCT CANNOT WITHSTAND REPEATED SOAKINGS.

CEMENT BACKER BOARD - TECHNICALLY KNOWN AS "CEMENTITIOUS BACKER BOARD" (CBU). MADE OF AN AGGREGATED CEMENT SLURRY WITH A FIBERGLASS LAYER EMBEDDED ON BOTH SIDES.

• COMBINES CONVENIENCE OF DRYWALL WITH DURABILITY OF CEMENT MORTAR BED.

• 3’ X 5’ OR 3’ X 6’ SHEETS CAN BE CUT BY SCORING WITH A UTILITY KNIFE AND SNAPPING IT IT ON THE EDGE OF A 2X4 OR A WORKBENCH

• HAS A SMOOTH AND A ROUGH SIDE. NOTE: KEEP THE SMOOTH SIDE OUT IF YOU’RE USING TILE ADHESIVE. KEEP THE ROUGH SIDE OUT IF YOU’RE USING THIN-SET MORTAR.

• TO CUT HOLES, FIRST DRILL A SMALL HOLE, THEN SCORE SHAPE WITH A UTILITY KNIFE ON BOTH SIDES, THEN TAP OUT CUT-OUT WITH A HAMMER. CLEAN UP / ENLARGE CUT WITH A COARSE RASP. NOTE: CEMENT BOARD WILL DULL A HOLE SAW, RIGHT NOW!!!

• INSTALL CEMENT BOARD WITH GALVANIZED ROOFING NAILS  1-1/4" GALVANIZED SCREWS.  TAPE SEAMS WITH FIBERGLASS MESH EMBEDDED IN THIN-SET OR TILE ADHESIVE.

NOTE: PLYWOOD IS NOT A GOOD BACKER FOR TILE DUE TO ITS COEFFICIENTS OF EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION WHICH ARE MUCH GREATER THAN CERAMIC TILE. ALWAYS INSTALL CONCRETE BACKER BETWEEN PLYWOOD AND TILE. CAUTION: NO MANUFACTURER APPROVES TILE BEING INSTALLED OVER OSB (AND RELATED PRODUCTS) EVEN WITH CONCRETE BACKER BOARD DUE TO THE FLEXING OF OSB-TYPE PRODUCTS.

CAUTION: IF YOUR FLOOR IS OVER 24’ LONG, IT REQUIRES SPECIAL EXPANSION JOINTS TO KEEP IT FROM CRACKING NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF UNDERLAYMENT IS USED.

TILE ADHESIVES - FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER’S SPECIFICATIONS!!!

1. ORGANIC - COMES AS A PREMIXED, THICK GLUE. BETTER FOR "LIGHT-DUTY" APPLICATIONS.

2. LATEX-CEMENT MORTAR - COMES IN POWDERED FORM WHICH MUST BE MIXED. BETTER FOR "HEAVIER-DUTY" APPLICATIONS AND OVER CEMENT BACKER BOARD.

CAUTION: WALKING ON TILE TOO SOON CAN RUIN THE BOND.

CAUTION: APPLYING GROUT TOO SOON CAN KEEP THE ADHESIVE FROM DRYING PROPERLY.

GROUT SEALERS - SEALERS PURPOSE IS AS MUCH TO AVOID STAINS AS IT IS TO WATERPROOF. GROUT IS ESSENTIALLY SAND AND CEMENT AND IS, THEREFORE, RELATIVELY INFLEXIBLE WHICH IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT REASON TO INSTALL A VERY RIGID BACKER.

TILE SPACERS - FOR BATH TILES USE PENNIES INSTEAD OF TILE SPACERS. THEY’RE BETTER AND COST LESS.  TILE SPACERS ARE NEVER GROUTED OVER.  USE THEM VERTICALLY, NOT AS 4-WAY SPACERS IN JOINTS