Tile Plank Planning

Flooring Forum - DIY & Professional

Help Support Flooring Forum - DIY & Professional:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

go_hercules

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
8
Location
california
Hi, I have set square ceramic floor and shower tiles a few times but have never set large or rectangular tiles. I am thinking of doing about 800 square feet on my concrete slab in the porcelain wood-look planks. I have concerns about getting the floor even without excessive lippage. So here is my thinking, tell me if it reasonable or off base. And any other suggestions on this type of tile would be great.

1. It seems the longer the tile, the greater the chance of warpage in the tile and more lippage problems. Shorter tile seems better given a choice.

2. Various lengths of tile, if they are even available in a given tile, seem better since I would have an easier time of staggering them to minimize lippage.

3. Wider planks seem better since they would hide lippage or waviness better than skinny planks.

4. Using those plastic anti-lippage spacer clamps would help keep things even.

5. Using tile with beveled edges seems way better than a square edge in minimizing lippage, or at least smoothing things out so you don't feel it barefooted.

6. And of course, ensuring the floor is as flat as possible is a given.

7. The larger the grout line, the more forgiving of lippage. But that would also look a lot worse on tile plank.
 
Wood look tile planks have a curl to them due to the firing. The longer the worse it can be. So you want to stagger them at the 25 - 30% range. If you set the end in the middle of the previous row/tile it can stick up to high, which is why you want to back it off. Try not to make a distinct pattern. Some worse than others.
There's plenty of tile lippage systems out there. I use the Spin Doctor system all the time. https://www.amazon.com/Spin-Doctor-...t=&hvlocphy=9030261&hvtargid=pla-585161777028
 
Thanks for that. Do most of the tiles, or at least some of them, come with a beveled edge? Is that better than a sharp edge for a novice, assuming you like the look? And since the tiles are the same length, even if you stagger them don't you end up with a repeating pattern? Or are you saying stagger one row maybe 25%, the next 30% and so on?
 
Thanks for that. Do most of the tiles, or at least some of them, come with a beveled edge? Is that better than a sharp edge for a novice, assuming you like the look? And since the tiles are the same length, even if you stagger them don't you end up with a repeating pattern? Or are you saying stagger one row maybe 25%, the next 30% and so on?
Yes
 
Lippage

The Tile Council of North America defines Lippage as “a condition where one edge of a tile is higher than an adjacent tile, giving the finished surface an uneven appearance. Lippage is inherent in all ceramic installation methods and may also be unavoidable due to the tile tolerances,in accordance with ANSI A137.1. The following is excerpted from ANSI A108.02, Section 4.3.7:

4.3.7 Lippage – guidelines, explanation and caution: Lippage refers to the difference in elevation between edges of adjacent tile modules. These differences or perception thereof are influenced by many factors such as:

A) The allowable thickness variation of the tile modules when judged in accordance with manufacturing standards.

B) The allowable warpage of the tile modules.

C) The spacing or separation of each tile module, which would influence a gradual or abrupt change in elevation.

D) Angle of natural or manufactured light accentuating otherwise acceptable variance in modules.

E) Highly reflective surfaces of tile modules accentuating otherwise acceptable variance in modules.

The following chart is a guideline for identifying acceptable lippage – in addition to the inherent warpage of tile manufactured in accordance with ANSI A137.1 – for typical installations of tile:

Type Tile Tile Size (in.) Joint Width (in.) Allowable Lippage (in.)

Glazed Wall/Mosaics 1 x 1 to 6 x 6 1/16 to 1/8 1/32

Quarry 6 x 6 to 8 x 8 1/4 or greater 1/16

Pressed Floor and

Porcelain Tiles All 1/16 to less than 1/4 1/32

Pressed Floor and

Porcelin Tiles All 1/4 or greater 1/16

See TCNA for complete guidelines.

Tile lippage is becoming more prevalent as the use of large format tiles has gained popularity. The preparation of the substrate is essential for an acceptable installation. Tile lippage can result from:
1) Insufficient preparation of the substrate to accommodate a large format tile.
2) The use of a dry set mortar that was not designed to accommodate the weight of the large format tile.
3) Grout joints that are set too tight with no allowance for warped tile.
4) Concrete substrate that is not within tolerances recommended by the Tile Council of North America’s.
5) Insufficient coverage of medium bed mortar on the tile or substrate.

FIELD TESTING
Preparation is critical within a large format tile installation. The finish flatness required for tile installations according to ANSI 108.02 is 1/4 in 10’. When installing a large format tile with a grout joint 1/16 to less than 1/4 the allowable lippage is 1/32, and when 1/4 or greater it is 1/16. The Tile Council of North America recommends a minimum grout joint of 3/16 with a 33% offset, if a running bond is desired with tiles that have any one side greater than 18”. The use of a medium bed thin set is critical in the installation. These typically have less shrinkage than typical dry set mortars and will support the tile to maintain its position as the medium bed thin set cures. The floor flatness and level required of the concrete substrate is FF 25-35, which correlates to ¼ in 10’ and must be achieved if the large format tiles are to be installed without floor preparation of the concrete substrate. If this is not achieved then floor preparation must be done to achieve a suitable substrate for the large format tile. According to the National Tile Contractor’s Association of America reference manual (2013) traffic should not be allowed for at least 48 hours after the initial installation of the setting material with the exception of a rapid set mortar.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top