Trowels

Used to spread or comb tile adhesive, a notched trowel is an essential tool when tiling; designed to leave notches in the adhesive allowing air to escape when the tile is pressed into it. For spreading levelling compounds, a straight edge trowel can be used. Plastic or metal, it doesn’t matter but more often than not a metal trowel will have a wider size range available, from 3-20mm. Ask one of our in-store specialists on which trowel size is suited to your project as the depth of the trowel is important to ensure the maximum coverage of adhesive under the tiles is achieved.

Solid Bed Tipped trowels are used for specific adhesives as a decoupling solution whilst bucket trowels are great for mixing grout or applying adhesive onto your notched trowel. A larger format trowel will help when laying larger tiles and a trowel made of stainless steel will prevent it from rusting.

As a general rule for which size trowel to use, follow this generic banding:

- Mosaics/ small format tiles (10x10cm or smaller) – 3-4.5mm

- Small/medium format wall tiles (10×10-30x30cm) – 6mm

- Large format tiles (20×20-30x30cm) – 8mm

- Floor tiles (30×30-40x40cm) – 10mm

- Large format tiles (40x40cm+) – 12-20mm

Once you’ve followed the first steps of preparing and priming your surface and mixing your adhesive begin applying the adhesive.

Using a bucket trowel, apply a suitable amount of adhesive onto your notched trowel. Comb it upward or across the wall holding the trowel at a 45° angle, dragging across the wall and spreading evenly to cover a 1m2 area at a time. Ensure the notches are all in the same direction and then press the tile firmly into the adhesive, wiggling it from side to side to ensure it has fully embedded.

Starting at the furthest point away from your exit, use a bucket trowel to apply a suitable amount of adhesive onto your notched trowel and spread the adhesive across the floor. A larger notched trowel (8mm+) is needed for floors to ensure the tile has 100% coverage and no hollow spots are formed. Similar to walls, comb the adhesive across the substrate at a 45° angle, dragging across the floor and spreading evenly to cover a 1m2 area at a time and making sure the notches are all in the same direction.

Large format and some natural stone tiles need to be ‘back-buttered’, this is where a thin layer of adhesive is applied to the back of the tile before fitting onto the substrate. For larger tiles it ensures a good contact with the adhesive spread on to the surface you’re tiling. For natural stone, in particular travertine, this method will fill the voids that can be found on the reverse of the tile. Apply a thin, even layer to cover the whole of the back of the tile with the straight edge of your tiling trowel. Whilst the adhesive is still wet, firmly press the tile into the already trowelled adhesive on the tiling surface.

Whether you’re a seasoned tradesperson, builder or a willing DIYer, you’re in safe hands with DEX. Short for Dexterity, DEX is a brand that symbolizes that innate ability hands have to perform tasks with dexterity and ease. The brand is an eco-responsible range working with a percentage of recycled materials and 100% recyclable packaging.

Marshalltown Company, founded in 1890 in Iowa, USA, are specialist in construction tools and known for their high quality and robust products. They are renowned for being the best notched trowels available for the professional tiler..

For durable flexibility, the trowels have an aluminium alloy mounting that is riveted into a stainless steel or tempered steel blade. Coupled with a lifetime guarantee, these versatile notched trowels can be used to complete all types of tiling making them a great investment..

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option then opt for a RUBI trowel. Available in a variety of sizes, the stainless steel notched trowels have an open rubiflex handle for ease of use.