THE TILE ASSOCIATION
serving the tile industry and its customers
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THE TILE ASSOCIATION
serving the tile industry and its customers
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If you are planning to undertake some tiling in your home you may be considering how to make sure there even gaps between the tiles. This is where the tile spacer comes into play. Tile spacers were developed for the consumer market as a way of making sure there are uniform gaps between wall and floor tiles. Spacers are rigid pieces of plastic in the shape of a cross or a peg and are readily available from your Tile Association retailer in sizes ranging from 2mm to 6mm to suit either wall or floor tiling.
The minimum joint width on a wall tile is 2mm so you should take this into account when buying the spacers for your tiling project and setting out your wall tiling.
Once you have decided on the setting our of the wall tiles, following the advice in Tile it Right, spread a ribbed bed of the tile adhesive onto the wall using a notched trowel.
Work in small areas, so that the tiles are fixed before the surface of the adhesive rubs dries and skins over
Press and twist the wall tiles into the adhesive putting the spacers into the joints at a 90 degree angle to the tile. This will make it easier for you to remove the peg when the adhesive has cured and dried and you are ready to grout.
Put at least one spacer in each of the spaces between tiles as shown in the picture - this will ensure an even gap between tiles in your project.
We do not recommend pushing tile spacers flat into the adhesive bed, e.g. at the cruciform (cross) joint, with the intention of leaving them in position. This practice may lead to grout shading due to inconsistent depth of grout. It may also cause the grout to crack resultant from a thin covering over the spacer.
Once the adhesive has hardened and the tiling is ready to be grouted, remove the spacers and begin grouting the tiles.
The minimum joint width on a floor tile is 3mm so you should take this into account when buying the spacers for your tiling project and setting out your floor tiling.
Once you have decided on the setting out of the floor tiles, following the advice in Tile it Right, spread a ribbed bed of the tile adhesive onto the floor using a notched trowel.
Butter the back of each tile with adhesive and bed the tiles into the ribbed adhesive bed so no voids remain beneath the floor tiles. Work in small areas, so that the floor tiles are fixed before the surface of the adhesive ribs dries and skins over.
Press and twist the floor tiles into the adhesive bed putting the spacers into the joints at a 90 degree angle to the tile. This will make it easier for you to remove the spacer when the adhesive has cured and dried and you are ready to grout.
Put at least one spacer in each of the spaces between tiles as shown in the picture - this will ensure an even gap between tiles in your project.
We do not recommend pushing tile spacers flat into the adhesive bed, e.g. at the cruciform (cross) joint, with the intention of leaving them in position. This practice may lead to grout shading due to inconsistent depth of grout. It may also cause the grout to crack resultant from a thin covering over the spacer.
Once the adhesive has hardened and the tiling is ready to grout, remove the spacers and begin grouting the tiles.
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