What is the minimum thickness of tile adhesive when installing a16';x16'; floor tile?

we need to install ceramic floor tiles on an already existing cement flooring and the contractor insists that a 1/8'; thick tile adhesive will be adequate and so we need not scrape off some of the existing flooring.What is the minimum thickness of tile adhesive when installing a16';x16'; floor tile?
tell him its ok as long as he is covered for the cost of the material, your time, and the inconveniece it will cause when it all cracks. the minimum would be a trowel with 1/4'; x 3/8 x 1/4 notch, or even a 1/2'; square notch. but the former should be ok since it is going on concrete. and don't forget to have good coverage under the tile. also, look under the tile and check the back. if the 1/4'; trowel will not provide sufficient coverage, then use the 1/2'; notch. the larger the surface area of the tile (since you are using 16'; square tiles), the more it has to distribute the load. 1/8'; trowel is what i would use to adhere 4'; tiles to the wall!


shoot me an email if you have other Q's. good luck!What is the minimum thickness of tile adhesive when installing a16';x16'; floor tile?
I feel that you need a larger bead of adhesive such as 1/4 or 3/8'; for that large of tile. It will only help it cannot hurt it any. I'd space them apart 1/4';. Smaller tiles require smaller notched trowels.
1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 general rule of thumb is you want your thinset about the same thickness of the tile. standart thickness of a ceramic tile is 5/16th of a inch
all the answer are right but when you use the 1/4'; trowel and you install the tile on the mortar the tile squeeze that mortar and spreads it so you do end up with about 1/8'; of mortar under the tile that is you're floor is nice and flat if not it's going to vary from spot to spot so i would not assume a constant of 1/8'; every where it may be more in some spots when you have to get more mortar under the tile to make it all even and looking good .





flooring expert @ city floor's





Houston, TX
When your installing 16'; X 16'; use a 1/2'; trowel, and it would'nt hurt to tap them gently with a rubber mallet, spread your mortar evenly. It would also be a good idea to occasionally take a tile up and make sure your getting a good bond, also with mortar that thick it would'nt hurt to use a medium bed mortar. GOOD LUCK ,and tell your contractor he's an Idiot.
1/8'' thickness sounds correct to me and how you do that is to purchase a notched trowl at your home building center.When you apply the adhesive it will always be uniform. Good Luck!
Yes you have the thickness down pat. your trowel will have 4 different depths but 1/8 is correct

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