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How to lay 600x600 Porcelain tiles on imperfect floor?

Hi all, as a separate question again from my other posts.

I have (finally) finished lifting up all of the old ceramic tiles (Hallway, Kitchen, Dining, Living, and Laundry) on concrete slab flooring and has tried my best to remove the tile mortar by using a grinding cup with an angle grinder.

attached picture below:
floor tiling.jpg

I have tried my best to make sure that I don't remove the actual concrete floor, but only the mortar, but there has been some "deep" slopes that are not too far in between. Majority of the floor is flat to the touch.

Assumingly, I believe the flooring itself is relatively levelled.

Can I get away of not using self leveling compound and put tiles above it? Hoping that the adhesive will fill the small imperfections, but would definitely use a primer prior to.

Is this the ideal primer? https://www.bunnings.com.au/sika-5l-sikafloor-08-adhesive-primer_p0271849

And also what adhesive should I use on 600x600 porcelain tiles?

I will be using levelling systems, ideally from DTA. The kitchen would be removed as well, so new kitchen will be above tiling.

May I ask as well what "height" trim should I use on a 9.5mm thick tile. Assumingly the tile and the adhesive would be 15mm from the floor...?

Thank you all in advance.

Edit:

Changed title to not be confusing.

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Comments

EricL

Hi @atmatic

The best way to tell if your floor is level is to use a Trojan 1800mm Box Level or similar. What's important is that the spirit level has to be long so that you can spot straight away where the low level of the floor is. I suggest using an Empire Red Fine Marker Pen on the concrete floor to mark where the low spot begins and ends.

I propose working in a grid pattern working from left to right to make sure you cover the entire flooring area. However, if the dip in the floor is not that severe, you should be able to get away without having to use self-levelling compound.

In regards to the primer, using Sika 5L Sikafloor-08 Adhesive Primer is an excellent choice. There are a number of choices when it comes to tile trim. But I also suggest considering looking at flooring transition trims if you are meeting up with flooring that is not at the same level. I suggest visiting your local store so that you can see what level you'll be needing.

A lot of tilers use Dunlop 15kg Floorfix Tile Adhesive when they are tiling over concrete surfaces. But if you are looking for adhesive that is tolerant of minimal movement, I also suggest looking at Dunlop 20kg Trade Resaflex.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

atmatic

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/35652#Comment_35652

Hi @EricL ,

I've had great progress, although not finished yet.

I went with Dunlop primer, and resaflex. The floor is generally levelled, and imperfections were easily filled in by the tile adhesive. Back battered nad followed instruction to the T with the adhesive.

Although, I'll probably change to sika. I made a boo boo on a couple of the tiles, and tried removing one of them (laid already a couple of weeks), I was extremely surprised on how easily I was able to lift the tile itself, without breaking it. The tile itself has separated from the adhesive, cleanly. But the adhesive is well adhered to the floor.

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/82368#Comment_82368

Hi @atmatic,

It looks to be coming along nicely, and that laser level is going to give you nice clean lines. They are one of the handiest tools to have when tiling as they give you perfectly straight lines to work off of while allowing you to have two hands free to work.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted if you run into any issues while finishing up.

Jacob

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