How to Choose the Right Tile Trowel

The mortar under ceramic tile must have the correct size ridges to insure a good bond. This means choosing the right type and size depending on the size and type of tile. Demonstrated by master tile setter Armen Tavy. Transcript: Here&my friend Armen Tavey with another tip for tiling. Hi, I&Armen Tavey and here&how to choose the right trowel for the right job. Tile mortar trowels have notched edges, when held at an angle and passed over the mortar bed they leave uniform rows or ridges that collapse when the tile is set in place, ensuring that the mortar makes uniform contact with the underside of the tile. We&going to hold a trowel at about 70 / 80 degrees and when you draw like this and you hear this scraping sound, that&the sound we always want to hear when we&doing the final run with the trowel. We only want to leave behind the exact amount of mortar that the trowel was designed to leave. So what&the correct knot size trowel to use? The minimum, quarter by three by quarter trowel to install a twelve by twelve tile? When we get into the larger formats like this, sixteen by sixteen, we&going to switch to a quarter by half inch by quarter inch trowel and in this case, we have a you at the bottom of this, the round you at the bottom leaves a ridge that&rounded so that when a tile is pressed onto the mortar, when the line&collapse because they&rounded, they collapse more easily. There&less drag, less resistance For very small tiles. A three sixteenth inch notch...