Tile leveling system breaking flush with tiles. Am I doing something wrong?

Submitted by pwn3dbyth3n00b t3_zvoqe9 in DIY

https://imgur.com/a/A0WIJiS

This is what the tile leveler is doing when I'm breaking them off. It's a Rubi twist/screw leveling system. I'm looking at the direction on the box and it just showing a picture of a boot and the leveler so I was assuming you just kick it off. My tile is on the wall so I'm using a rubber mallet. When I hit it off it breaks flush with the tile and it's going to block grout from going in. I tried all different angles of hitting it, 0,45,90 degrees, and it's all breaking flush with the tile.

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ergodicthoughts_ t1_j1qdzwo wrote

Guarantee it's because you let thinset build up around the spacer which prevents it from breaking low enough. Cut this one out manually. Use a Dremel if a knife won't work. In the futur, clean off the spacers with your spatula before they dry and this won't happen .

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TheShoot141 t1_j1qfvmb wrote

Utility knife will get it done just have to be careful.

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Zed-Leppelin420 t1_j1qxg8s wrote

Yeah you have to clean the edge of the tile with a small putty knife then put the clip in. And yeah it’s a huge pain in the ass and you will def chip a tile or two trying to get it clean. It’s just so much easier at the start takes 15 secs to wipe it rather that 15 mins carefully scraping

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5degreenegativerake t1_j1qdh5l wrote

Looks like you have filled the grout line with thinset around the tab so it cannot break off properly. You need to be mor careful with your thinset or get one of those grout scrapers with the carbide or diamond grit to grind out the remaining thinset and spacer piece.

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psylence519 t1_j1qofu5 wrote

I did this same thing my first time tiling, didn’t really realize how bad it was til it was time to snap the tabs off.

Used this and everything was perfect within like 30 minutes. Not a big deal.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-2-in-Steel-Blade-Red-Plastic-Grout-Saw/5001934179

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Just_passing__by t1_j1qtj2h wrote

Yeah, thinset around the base of the spacer is absolutely your one and only problem here. I usually will place the tile first, then use a 1 inch putty knife to scrape the excess thinset away from the edge of the tile, then squeeze the spacer in.

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Fmlyhmalm t1_j1q98zc wrote

You can use a knife in the grout joint and cut it back at a 30 • angle

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Frosty-Start-4559 t1_j1q9c2r wrote

Used a similar product, which broke off below the grout line. If you bend one back and forth that hasn’t been used yet, where does it break?

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pwn3dbyth3n00b OP t1_j1qapvq wrote

There's a notch of slightly thinner plastic near the base that's where it bends and break

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Frosty-Start-4559 t1_j1qb8fv wrote

Try flexing a few prior to installing to weaken the joint and see if that helps. Also, should be hitting parallel to grout joint with mallet.

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Reelplayer t1_j1q9c8i wrote

I've never used this brand, but the kits I've seen come with nippers that cut off the plastic tabs, so they must be designed to cut them off below flush

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ntyperteasy t1_j1qz3pd wrote

Sorry the OP is having a hard time with these. It is a good lesson for other DIYers to make sure not to let mortar build up around these leveling thingamajigs. I am about to start my first tile project where I will use the plastic levelers, so this was useful to see...

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rebelman233 t1_j1s5fk8 wrote

I do alot of tile work. I started running my finger around the grout line before I insall the next tile. It wipes away the morter or mastic. Makes clean up a breeze. Also clean your grout lines as you go much easier to clean before it's set. A sponge and bucket of water is a very good thing to have on hand when doing tile work

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lamillertime t1_j1q9ia1 wrote

Which direction are you hitting them relative to grout line? Perpendicular would break them like this.

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pwn3dbyth3n00b OP t1_j1qa2zk wrote

I'm hitting them in line with grout line to try to break it off from the weak spot/notch they put on the leveler but it ends up deforming the plastic and ending up breaking flush. If I hit it perpendicular to the grout line then it breaks cleanly off flush with the tile.

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acidic196 t1_j1qluge wrote

I had same issue with qep level tabs.

What I found worked for removing the spacers was vise grips grab the unbroken off tab then pull parallel to the grout line.

For broken off ones I used a razor knife with only a little bit of blade to not reach my water proofing, to cut the broken ones out. Total pita.

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twokietookie t1_j1qo7cf wrote

I've never used these, what's the point versus a normal spacer?

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nmzj t1_j1rfhy6 wrote

It brings the 2 tiles level with each other so the tile is flush. You won't get uneven tiles.

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twokietookie t1_j1s4v4a wrote

You mean flush? Like the vertical plane because it's like a t shape or something? Instead of having to eye ball it?

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nmzj t1_j1s7ula wrote

Yes, they are like an upsidedown T that then has something that either screws to it or goes through it clamping down on both faces of the 2 tiles.

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MyDollsMyFantasy t1_j1squ1r wrote

In our experience they made a huge difference in the proper leveling of the tiles. We tiled the whole ground floor of the house, and the part where we only used regular spacers isn’t as even as where we used the tile leveling system (fortunately it’s just a small part, we wised up pretty quickly) the system we used is made by Peygran; we were able to reuse much of the system and just needed to repurchase the plastic clips. It’s not cheap, but the result was worth it.

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jsar16 t1_j1qxxgl wrote

Too much thinset around the clips. Have an old tooth brush and clean water to clean around the clips as you’re installing.

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Trigs12 t1_j1u1ger wrote

As others said, looks like you have adhesive around the spacer, which prevents it breaking where it should.

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siptyx t1_j1qd4gw wrote

to me it kinda looks like you're double-using them as spacers, and if so, the tiles holding them will essentially strengthen them throughout the thickness of the tile. so the weak point of the levelling tabs becomes where there's no more tile; flush with the surface.

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MyDollsMyFantasy t1_j1sr2xp wrote

They do act as spacers in addition to levelers. You can get the plastic clips for 1/8 or 1/16.

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siptyx t1_j1tl5le wrote

Yeah, I seem to have overthought it. Those other comments about thinset seem much more logical than my thought process.

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WorldEndingDiarrhea t1_j1s23yi wrote

I think you may just need to gear them up so they can take on higher xp challenges - might speed along the leveling process.

(Sorry/not sorry for this useless joke comment).

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