The Difference

This series of pictures is John Paul Davis showing me the simple difference of using the right trowel for laying tile and how it affects the lifetime of a floor.

The pictures start with John-Paul showing the wrong trowel with smaller teeth.

• Spreading the thin-set
• Putting the 16″x16″ tile in
• Pushing pressure on the tile to distribute the thin-set
• Pulling it up and showing the bottom , thin-set isn’t covering the entire tile

Now John-Paul switches trowels and uses one with larger teeth.

• Spreading the thin-set

Spread the thin-set  in a straight line and not swirls. The swirls will cause pockets of air between the grout and the tile; this will lead to the tile popping up.

• Installing a clean 16’’x16’’ tile
• Putting pressure on the tile to distribute the thin-set
• Pointing to the evenly distributed thi-set
• Pulling the tile up and showing the bottom – the thin-set fully covers the entire tile