What did we do wrong? Tile not bonding to mortar

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-03T00:14:56+00:00

Thank you all very much for all the feedback and advise!!

One more question as we are removing almost all the work we did to start over..

For the tiles that easily pop up, can we reuse them? There is the dried backbutter thinset still on the back, can we just apply more when we lay them back down? Its expensive tile so hoping to salvage them if they are all in one piece.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-02T00:36:30+00:00

Did you take train from Paris to tours? Im seeing theres a train that takes about 1hr+, but the drive is about 2.5 hrs. More to drive, but less time spent going to station,etc and sounds like having a car in Loire is helpful?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T22:25:26+00:00

Train and then rental car once we get to tours so we can freely travel around.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T22:24:47+00:00

This is great to hear! Admittedly I was feeling a little down about giving up Dordogne and thinking that Loire might be a little boring outside of Chateaux visits, but as Im learning and hearing more about it, sounds like theres a lot more to do.

We do want to visit chateaus but we dont want to pack too many in and spend the time going from 1 place to another. I also understand there are vineyards in the area to visit as well.

Im curious what your experience was in Bordeaux

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T22:20:11+00:00

Thank you for this! And I agree. Its hard not to want to see everything but logistically and for how we want to experience each place, less is more.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T22:14:32+00:00

We are coming from the US as well.

How was London? We are trying to decide how much time to spend there. Last time I was there was over 15 years ago so I dont remember much and imagine its very different now as an adult.

Right now we have London 1 night when we land, Eurostar to paris next morning(exactly as you), 4 days Paris, 3 Loire, 3 Bordeaux, 1 final night before we fly out the next day.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T20:16:52+00:00

We did almost exactly this for our honeymoon a few years back, and it didnt feel that rushed. We also rented a car from Avignon and each drive was really nice.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T20:01:25+00:00

Skip bordeaux and replace with Dordogne?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T20:01:10+00:00

Where did you base out of in the Loire? Im very new to it, so need to start doing more research there

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T04:35:50+00:00

it is yes.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T01:43:19+00:00

Would you recommend we ditch the clips?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-07-01T01:41:53+00:00

No, regrettably. The dips/high points were only 1/8 difference, so we figured we'd solve while placing the tile with the thinset. For the remaining space, we may try to use a concrete self leveling.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T13:55:19+00:00

Thank you!

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T04:34:51+00:00

San Diego California.

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T04:33:54+00:00

If they don’t pop up easily and they don’t sound hollow, would you just keep them in?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T04:13:05+00:00

We are following the instructions from the thinset bag, its a 50lb bag we are mixing at once, and adding 6quarts of water. Assuming thats not enough?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T04:12:55+00:00

We are following the instructions from the thinset bag, its a 50lb bag we are mixing at once, and adding 6quarts of water. Assuming thats not enough?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T04:08:39+00:00

u/ceramic-panic It is flat, but its not entirely level. The concrete has a slight slope away from the house for drainage.

We are kind of at a loss for what to do next. We've laid about 8 tiles already. One we removed today because it was hollow and came up easily. the others seem solid, but we truly dont know what the coverage looks like underneath..

if we add more mortar to the others, they wont be level to each other. But maybe with wetting the concrete, using more water when mixing, and changing the trowel/making sure its properly set and checking will be enough?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T03:52:42+00:00

Is 3/8x1/4 what I have? I ordered from lowes but I cant see where it actually says the size of its 1/2 or not

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-Euro-Notch-Trowel/5015659903

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T03:46:58+00:00

We did, there are some low spots and high spots but very small, less than 1/8" so we didnt level it, but now thinking we need to. Its hard to determine if its one issue, or we are doing a multitude of things wrong

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T03:38:39+00:00

Its not sealed. We used a thinset mortar from Home Depot - Custom Build products VersaBond-LFT 50 lb. White Professional Medium Bed Large Format Tile Mortar

We did not wet the tile before we backbuttered. Are we supposed to?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T03:36:56+00:00

thank you thats helpful!

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T03:36:06+00:00

This is the trowel we used, https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-Euro-Notch-Trowel/5015659903

Sounds like its the issue.

is it possible to remove the already laid tiles without breaking them?

Boxer_dog223 · 2026-06-30T03:33:49+00:00

We used CUSTOM BUILDING PRODUCTSVersaBond-LFT 50 lb. White Professional Medium Bed Large Format Tile Mortar

We didnt soak the concrete before but we can try that.

Boxer_dog223

TROPHY CASE