nashville_broker

i am install 18" x 18" travertine tile with a small grout line. the backerboard is down but isnt exactly level. there are very small elevation variances at the backerboard edges here and there (less than an 1/8 inch). How PERFECTLY level do I need to be. Will the morter between the tile and the backerboard take care of some of the elevation variance or will the slightest ridge in the backerboard create a toe catcher on the finished product?

Any suggestions, comments, or ideas are greatly appreciated.

floorman

With any marbble or natural stone you want to be as flat and smooth as possible before you start.As you go along you can make minor adjustments in the heighth of the tile by back buttering the areas that you want to raise up to match the tile previously set.
Use a 1/2 notch trowel and either skim the backs of the tile before you set them with thinset or take a damp sponge and wipe the backs of the tile to get the dust off them so the tile will bond better to the tile.
You may end picking up the tile 2 or 3 times to get it the way you want it with no lippage as it is reffered to,level is not the preffered way anymore as it takes too much time to get it perfectly level so owners of tile co's don't want it level anymore just no lippage is the rule.
Now from a tile mans point of view there is no compromise it is level or nothing,but it depends on you ,what you want to look at,if it were me i would put a level on it.

__________________
Floorman,
Floorlayers union local 1310

FirTrader

IMHO, it's far more important that the substrate is solid than particularly flat or uniform. A tile setter can make up some variance with thinset, and in fact, all tilesetters do this routinely, to meet heights of other floors etc. If your backing boards are solid, you have no worries.

Another good solution is the Schluter Ditra mat... it requires more thinset, but really gives a perfect tiling substrate.