Should I be worried?

[mghtymouse2]

Just want to thank everyone on this board for all the great advice. I am truly, truly grateful for the guidance through this new and difficult experience of laying tile.

We finally decided to hire a guy to lay the tile after putting down the underlayment. I am a little worried though....our tiles are 18x18 porcelain and it looked like he's using a small 1/4" x 1/4" notched trowel to put down thinset. Is this getting enough thinset down (I thought the notches should be bigger)? Also he was walking on the tile he set just a few hours before and he's not a small guy. I thought you have to wait at least 24 hours before walking on them. Should I be worried about this guy or am i just paranoid?????

[Davestone]

Yikes,i'm kinda worried too. a 1/4" trowel will work if the floor is perfectly flat.Does the tile look flat? He shouldn't be walking on it, because it will mash them down, and break the bond between tile and thinset.

[Hamilton]

Hi there mouse, gotta first name we can call you? The minimum notch
on an 18" tile would be 1/4" by 3/8" and some will insist you use 1/2"x1/2".
Different tiles have different backs on them, meaning some will get enough
coverage with a 3/8 trowel, while other tiles with deep cups on the back
may need a 1/2" notch. Either way larger tiles should be skim coated on
the back and laid into a notched bed of thinset on your floor. 1/4" is
definitely too small a trowel.

If your setter was using speedset he may be able to get on the tile sooner
than you may expect, but if hes using regular modified thinset id say
he would have to wait at least overnight in warm conditions. You can always
grab the bag hes been mixing out of and read it. Good luck

[jadnashua]

If your floor is very flat and the tile don't have a waffle back, that may be enough. On a tile that big, it is (nearly) mandatory to backbutter them. A big tile like that will show lippage (uneven height from one to another) if they aren't installed skillfully. Sometimes, you need a medium bed mortar a little thicker to ensure the tile doesn't "sink" into the thinset.

If the tiles are level with no lippage, and they don't sound hollow if you tap on them, they should be fine.

If he used a quick set mortar, it would be set within that time; normal mortar would take longer.

[Hamilton]

Jim id like to add as not to scare mouse here the tiles will always sound
hollow when you knock on them before they are dry. If sufficient time
has passed and the thinset is cured and you still hear hollows, this is the
time to get nervous.

[mghtymouse2]

Thanks everyone....I am still gritting my teeth! Here's some more information. This guy unfortunately tiled on the highest walking traffic area first! He said he walks lightly on them to help them set (he has to about 250 lbs). I thought that was weird. The pattern on the back of the porcelain is not waffle, it's more like an unspecified/odd shaped circles. The thinset is Mapei Ultraflex 2.