I'm about to start tiling the kitchen floor, using riven grey slate tiles in various sizes, 300 x 300, 600 x 600, 200 x 400 etc.which are of varying thicknesses according to the size The layout is all planned and originally it was going to be done by a professional, but the schedule has changed and we can't get a pro in time. So it's down to me.
The sub floor is one third new (3 months) concrete screed with the remainder the mortar bed of the old quarry tiles that were removed. This mortar bed has the impression of the back of the old tiles - 3 'bars' about 2mm deep from each. Overall the floor is pretty sound, but there is a fall from left to right of almost 1.5" across the 2.7m width, caused by very old (40 years +) subsidence. I have previously used levelling compound but the fall makes it almost impossible to get a satisfactory result. But we can live with the slope.
I am planning to use a thick bed of Wickes Rapid dry adhesive with a coat of PVA on the sub floor before tiling. Hopefully the adhesive will allow adjustment of the level of the tiles to keep the top surfaces in roughly the same plane. Some of the adhesive will be 1 or 2 mm thick while elsewhere it will be almost 15mm thick. I'm also planning to pre-seal the tiles before laying to prevent adhesive/grout staining.
Any suggestions as to a better adhesive/different approach etc, to make the job better/ easier. Thanks for any suggestions.
The sub floor is one third new (3 months) concrete screed with the remainder the mortar bed of the old quarry tiles that were removed. This mortar bed has the impression of the back of the old tiles - 3 'bars' about 2mm deep from each. Overall the floor is pretty sound, but there is a fall from left to right of almost 1.5" across the 2.7m width, caused by very old (40 years +) subsidence. I have previously used levelling compound but the fall makes it almost impossible to get a satisfactory result. But we can live with the slope.
I am planning to use a thick bed of Wickes Rapid dry adhesive with a coat of PVA on the sub floor before tiling. Hopefully the adhesive will allow adjustment of the level of the tiles to keep the top surfaces in roughly the same plane. Some of the adhesive will be 1 or 2 mm thick while elsewhere it will be almost 15mm thick. I'm also planning to pre-seal the tiles before laying to prevent adhesive/grout staining.
Any suggestions as to a better adhesive/different approach etc, to make the job better/ easier. Thanks for any suggestions.