How trowel notch size sets the mortar bed and the coverage per bag

A bigger notch lays a deeper bed for bigger tile — so it uses more mortar and covers fewer square feet per bag (¼″ square ≈ 80 sq ft/bag; ¾″ U-notch ≈ 30). Match the notch to the tile size.

Four tile-trowel notch sizes compared by the mortar ridges they leave and the coverage they give per bag. A ¼-inch by ¼-inch square notch suits tile up to about 8 inches and covers roughly 80 square feet per bag; a ¼-inch by ⅜-inch notch suits 8-to-12-inch tile at about 55 square feet; a ½-inch by ½-inch notch is for large tile (with an NTCA caution) at about 38 square feet; and a ¾-inch U-notch for large-format tile with back-buttering covers only about 30 square feet per bag. A bigger tile needs a bigger notch, which lays a deeper mortar bed, uses more mortar, and covers fewer square feet per bag. — Source: Coverage per the calculator’s TROWEL_NOTCHES data (Laticrete / Mapei / Custom / ARDEX / Bostik TDS)

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Four tile-trowel notch sizes compared by the mortar ridges they leave and the coverage they give per bag. A ¼-inch by ¼-inch square notch suits tile up to about 8 inches and covers roughly 80 square feet per bag; a ¼-inch by ⅜-inch notch suits 8-to-12-inch tile at about 55 square feet; a ½-inch by ½-inch notch is for large tile (with an NTCA caution) at about 38 square feet; and a ¾-inch U-notch for large-format tile with back-buttering covers only about 30 square feet per bag. A bigger tile needs a bigger notch, which lays a deeper mortar bed, uses more mortar, and covers fewer square feet per bag.

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    <img src="https://remodelcalculators.com/api/figure-embed/thinset-trowel-coverage" alt="Four tile-trowel notch sizes compared by the mortar ridges they leave and the coverage they give per bag. A ¼-inch by ¼-inch square notch suits tile up to about 8 inches and covers roughly 80 square feet per bag; a ¼-inch by ⅜-inch notch suits 8-to-12-inch tile at about 55 square feet; a ½-inch by ½-inch notch is for large tile (with an NTCA caution) at about 38 square feet; and a ¾-inch U-notch for large-format tile with back-buttering covers only about 30 square feet per bag. A bigger tile needs a bigger notch, which lays a deeper mortar bed, uses more mortar, and covers fewer square feet per bag." width="800" height="460" style="width:100%;height:auto;border:0" loading="lazy">
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