What Trowel Size for a 12X12 Wall?

Man-made Tiles

• Most man-made tiles, including porcelain, glass or ceramic, have a similar weight to the 12-inch pieces. The minimum recommended depth for a trowel for these tiles is 1/4 inch, according to most manufacturers, but installers have their own preferences. Most professionals choose the 3/8-inch notched trowel for the majority of 12-inch tile installations, as it gives just a little extra mortar for solidity.

Rectified Natural Stone

• Similar to man-made tiles, rectified natural stone tiles are uniform in size and require a smooth, even layer of 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch thin-set mortar beneath them. Specialty thin-set is used in heavy stone installations to help against sag down the wall, and the depth of the trowel is important here because a little extra thin-set can help cushion it against gravity.

Insets

• Twelve-inch tile insets will have different rules applied for different wall scenarios. For example, if you are installing a 12-inch inset within a pattern of the same-type tile on the wall, you can use the same notch of trowel as you did with the field tile. Glass tile, on the other hand, is very thin and requires extra thin-set to build it up flush with the other wall material. In this case, you may need a 1/2-inch trowel to build it up to where it needs to be.

Tumbled or Rough-hewn Natural Stones

• If you are installing tumbled or rough-hewn natural stones such as slate or tumbled marble, you will want to use a specialty trowel. Euro notch trowels, known formally as European trowels, are multidepth trowels that apply extra thin-set for those installations where you are dealing with tiles that are different in depth. They come in varying depths with two or three different notches per trowel.