Thinset For Marble Subway Tile

Tile set by the thinset method is adhered to the substrate with a thin layer of thinset cement.

Thinset for marble subway tile.

Sometimes tiles that are not 1 2 but still have a smaller rectangular shape are considered subway tile as well like a 4. Additionally thinset comes in either unmodified or modified versions. Thinset mortar is your default tile mortar for most indoor and outdoor applications. So a 3 8 u notched trowel leaves a 1 8 bed of thinset beneath the installed tile.

Inorganic and composed of materials mined from the earth thinset is inexpensive and can be purchased either in wet pre mixed or dry powdery form. Creating this surface can take time and effort but no matter how perfect the surface is choosing the proper adhesive is just as important. Unmodified thinset is composed of portland cement sand and water retention agents. For marble tiles the adhesive of choice is often a cement based thinset.

If you attempt to set wall tiles using thinset without spacers you ll end up with a bunch of tiles that have slid into each other before the thinset has had time to set resulting in a giant mess. Traditionally subway tile is 3 x 6 inches. Installing marble tile successfully requires a surface that s strong steady and level enough not to interfere with the tile placement. Thinset tile mortar has a smooth slippery consistency similar to mud.

This type of cement is designed to adhere well in a thin layer typically not greater than 3 16th thick. Thinset is a mortar that is made of portland cement silica sand and moisture retaining agents. If the thinset shows through the grout it will be less noticeable. The terms thinset cement thinset mortar dryset mortar and drybond mortar are synonymous.

The general rule is any wall tile with a 1 to 2 size can be styled as a subway tile. A 3 8 x 3 8 trowel will leave a 3 16 bed of thinset beneath the tile. When used to tile walls it s strength allows you to set tile and if you re good with eyeballing you can set tile without the use of spacers. Using a u notched trowel and embedding the tile into the thinset leaves you with a bed of thinset beneath the tile a little over 1 3 the size of the trowel teeth.

Find thinset mortar subway tile at lowe s today. For instance if you are installing granite tiles and have selected a gray toned grout color gray thinset is a good choice for installation. Often the choice of thinset color simply comes down to the grout color selection. It is applied to the substrate with a notched trowel.

However sizes for subway tile have expanded to include many other sizes. For example a 3 8 notch trowel will produce a 3.