gejohesch

Of course, as you say, water hose and chalk line (or red string set on nails as I see it done here). Achieving a gentle and regular dip is probably a different matter.

Thanks for the advice, but I find it challenging to achieve that over a surface of ca. 50 sq m. I would have to use some laser tool, I guess. Plus - and that is also a reply to the (justified) critics about how rough I had made the floor ("not fit for tiling etc") - I have now got a local guy to smooth the surface out (see pic, and compare with the pic I gave earlier), and the point is that the guy can only achieve a 95% flat and horizontal surface at best, I am pretty certain he would not be able to give the surface a gentle dip for water evacuation. Also, the whole area is covered by a roof. It's a kitchen + sitting area that I had built between my wife's 2 houses, it's open on one end, i.e. not completely walled up. So, there is no rain coming in. Finally, I have made sure that the tiles will be parallel / perpendicular to the wall on the left on the pic. That wall is the dominant feature within the area to tile up, separating the kitchen from the sitting area. It is not at a right angle to the wall on the right (the one with the windows)! Now, I'm waiting 3 or 4 days for the cement to cure a bit before starting with the tiles. Note that in my experience, the locals would not wait and start the next day after cementing....

Will check it up

Thanks, that's useful. I think one just has to be a bit careful when laying in the next set of tiles, making sure they level with the previous set. That's not terribly difficult after all (I've done that when "experimenting" with tiling up a wall at the back of the house - just worked fine).

Thanks, excellent comments. May I say, I have the impression that some here are pros experienced with how it's done in other countries, and probably on a commercial scale and from scratch - i.e. are used to "perfect / professional jobs"? That's not my situation. And I'm not concerned with the ground breaking off or whatever, it's solid concrete. So I'm building on it. That's already sufficient hard work for me!

In addition, there is one way of doing things that I think is characteristic of many Thai people which is : being over-confident and doing things too fast". Just see how they drive, or how they play pool! That's one of the reasons walls end up not being vertical, walls end up not being at 90 degrees from each other, windows don't open and close neatly etc...

Well spotted! Indeed, 18 by 18. Typed in too quickly!

I know, I know, and I understand your reaction. Someone already commented that "tiles will not fit nice on the floor as shown in my pic". I'm aware of that. As I already said, that is not going to be exactly the floor on which I will place the tiles. I had to fill places as deep as 15 cm in parts to bring the area to about the right horizontal level. I consider that as Part 1 of the job. Part 2 will be adding a thin layer on top to make it smooth and "tile-ready". As it is a large area (50 sq m), I probably will get it done by a local worker I know who is used to doing that sort of thing. One reason I did not get that guy to do Part 1 is that he demonstrated in previous jobs that he has a very dim understanding of what "horizontal, vertical, parallel and square angle" mean!

That's for sure! I plan to space the tiles by 5mm this time (I did with 2 mm when I "experimented" at the back of the house). I already have the spacers for that. I also bought the grout already (Home Pro) and made sure : it clearly states "2 to 7 mm" (I'm aware the grout recipe changes with the spacing). Re. your previous message, I understand the point about putting in (carefully!) a few tiles, then make a new batch of tile adhesive etc. What worries me in this is the time it will take me to make that new batch, while the adhesive already in place hardens : if I use the plastic "levelers", I can only use them within the set of tiles I just laid in, and not at the edges of those tiles because the adhesive will become too hard when I come back to put in a new set of tiles?

Thanks, all well noted. I mixed the adhesive with a trowel before (when I experimented on a wall at the back of the house), but that's fiddly, so I bought a "paddle" which I can fix on my drill. I also back-buttered the tiles when I "experimented", it worked well, so indeed I will keep the good practice! And yes I have the levellers this time, ready to use.

I agree. It's not the finished floor yet, it's only the "rough part" of it (and don't mind the mess around, I will clean up once it's all done!). It's just up to the level +/- half a cm about. I still have to pour a last layer to smooth it out.

Good suggestion, I guess I could have organised that with a little bit of effort (searching, inquiring etc). That being said, I always enjoyed a bit of a challenge. In this case, a bit of an engineering challenge!

I have non-slip tiles indeed! And I plan to use these plastic "auto-levelers" too! Already bought them. The only thing that worries me is that one has to work quite fast as the tile adhesive sets in within 10-15 minutes already.

See the pic showing how I'm leveling the ground. I'm sure the "pros" will have a lot to say about my "method" but here I am, I'm not a pro. As the surface is quite large, I built a series a ridges to the desired level and then filled in between. Where deep enough, I used blocks, red bricks and gross gravel to fill in as much space as possible before pouring in the mortar made from cement + sand + finer gravel. I know one could set up wooden planks by the sides to the desired level, but the ground was already hard cement so I could not do that. I've checked the link to the "Crocodile" brand, very useful, thanks!

Yes thanks, indeed I use plastic spacers, I really don't see why I should not, it's cheap enough. Saying that because I've seen the local handymen using matchsticks..... As a reply to the ones who contributed above (thanks to them again!), I remember seeing a woman laying down tiles in Phairath, big shop close to the airport in Khon Kaen, and she was very impressive, so yes of course there are excellent tilers I'm sure in Thailand - that's just not what I've seen done in the village..... Also, all these comments about using cement.... maybe, but there must be a good reason why special tile mortar is made, and I have seen enough not to automatically take the "Thai way of doing things" as an example to follow!

I'm about to embark tiling an outdoor (but covered) surface in my wife's place, about 40-50 square metres. I've got the tiles already, they are 45 x 45 cm (8 by 8 inches). I'm hesitant when I see the range of tile adhesive (thin set / mortar) available in Home Pro. Just looking at the "Crocodile" brand, it starts at 135 baht the bag of 20 kg (Yellow), then goes on to 160 baht for Blue, 198 baht for green and so on. The shop attendant said the yellow brand (the cheapest) is good enough for me with such tiles, but I prefer to double check : anyone with good advice on that? I never put tiles on a surface, I mean on the ground. My only experience is with tiles (30 x 30 cm) on a wall, that worked very well. It takes a bit of trial and error but after a dozen tiles or so, I felt more comfortable. Also, putting in the joint mortar later on was straightforward enough. I invested in a tile cutter, that also worked very well. On the basis of that experience, I decided to tile up that outdoor surface I mentioned above (it's a covered kitchen area) but this time it's on the ground. The ground was not horizontal, far from it, therefore I am in the process of levelling it up (before setting the tiles on it). That I find is a lot of work and a bit tricky, but I'm more than half the way through I think. One may ask why I'm not getting all that work done by local workers. The thing is, I have multiple examples in my wife's place of doors, windows, walls etc not being straight, not being vertical, nor horizontal, nor parallel nor at square angles. Thai workers seem to have a rather dim understanding of basic geometry..... Therefore, I prefer to do the job myself. Yes, it's much slower, but I have plenty of time and at least I know what I'm doing (to a point, hahaha!). Again, any words of wisdom on the subject of the tile adhesive, and any other stuff relates to tiling, will be most appreciated!

Thanks, that's also useful. I guess to go spend a week-end in Vientiane and then back to Thailand will be easy for my wife then. Myself, that will give me a new 30-days "breath of life" in Thailand when re-entering!

Thanks, that's useful. I knew the French used to be possessed 555!

Hi! Not sure this is the correct forum for my question. I'm considering crossing from Nong Khai to Vientiane in a few months, my wife (Thai) driving her car (registered in Thailand). Is that possible? Are there any formalities when crossing the border - and back? While I'm at it, I have another question. My wife may have her passport kept in a foreign embassy, with an ongoing visa application, at the time of our planned little trip to Vientiane. Will she be allowed to travel to Laos with her Thailand national card (bat prachachon)? Thanks for answers!

Great, thanks! I see a few products for joints of 5 mms with Weber!

I did a bit of reading and lots of people who seem to know what they're talking about strongly recommend not to make a mix myself, as that would throw off the aggregate - cement proportion of the initial product. Seems manufacturers have good reasons to make the mixes they market out with very specific proportions.

Yes, I understand that, thanks! Hence my question : do I find sanded grout easily in Thailand? I will check with Home Pro, Pairat also in Khon Kaen.... Just that I would like to be reassured before getting back to Thailand!

Hello! I have a largish (ca 50 sq m) floor surface to tile. I already have bought the tiles 45 x 45 cm. A small section has already been tiled years ago with similar tiles, the spacing between tiles is 4-5mm i.e. 1/6 - 1/5 inch. It's not perfectly regular as it was done by a local worker (typical "village-type" work!). , I don't want the new tiling to clash too much with the old one, so I'm opting for a spacing of 5 mm for my own work. Now, the question is : which grout mortar am I going to use? Reading on the net, I hear loud and clear that for anything larger than 1/8 inch = 3 mm I should definitely use sanded grout. I have tiled a wall in the past with 2mm spacing with grout bought in a Dinasty Tiles shop, I'm 100% certain that was unsanded grout, it worked perfect. However, I'm not sure the shop has sanded grout. I cannot check because I'm outside Thailand just now. Can anyone reassure me that Dinasty (or another shop) also has sanded grout? My question may sound stupid, but I just read that "I was in India a few years back and they ONLY sell unsanded grout there". One never knows...

Thanks. It's good to bring back focus on the question at hand. I find all too often that discussions on this site diverge a bit too much. Everyone likes to bring in his story - that would better be discussed in another discussion to avoid confusing all sorts of issues in this present discussion.

Last 2 times I went to Thailand - with Emirates from Europe, via Dubai: - november 2022 to march 2023: I obtained the e-visa, TR option, with no problem even though the return flight was over 3 months after entry to Thailand. - april - may 2023: on the visa exemption basis. No question asked at check-in - but I had been asked by airlines at least twice in years past for "proof of onward ticket". So I was prepared, I had a "throw-away" flight booked to Siem Reap. Money wasted since the airline (Emirates) did not ask anything at check-in. So two comments: - check-in experiences re. onward flight vary when traveling on the visa exemption basis. - e-visa application indeed requires a return flight booked, but that return flight can be booked beyond the 60 days TR period, no problem - at least that's my experience. And of course: no one ever asked about onward flights when passing immigration in Bangkok (I flew in countless times over the years). Nearly needless to mention that as it is the experience of 90-99% people I think.