Tile Leveling System with Plier, 300 Tile Spacers 1/8" and 100 Wedges

First the good. This system is the equivalent of the QEP and other high cost, name brand tile leveling systems. It is easy to use, works well, and best of all, about 1/4 the price of the HD and LOWES ones. The bad. Yes... sometimes the spacers do not break off cleanly. However, the one star reviews are as much user error as a fault with the leveling system. (See more on that below) I used this to put some 4x12" subway tiles on a shower surround, and against manufacturers recommendation, I did a 50% overlap. The reason the tile manufacturer recommends against a 50% overlap is to avoid lippage. (Where the edge of one tile is not even with the adjacent tiles.) The larger the tile, the bigger a problem it becomes. It worked extremely well. I compared the results against a 3x6 subway tile job I did a few years ago, and I saw less unevenness across the board. I was rather impressed. Now, I did have a few spaces that did not break off evenly on the first wall I did. It was frustrating, and I needed to diagnose the issue before I did the remaining walls. Here is what I found out. 1. When breaking off the spacers/wedges you have to hit hard and quick. Swing as if you were kicking (or hammering) something about three inches on the other side of the spacer. A wimpy hit will guarantee a bad break. 2. Do not allow mortar to harden around the spacers. After I got the best method to hit the spacers down, the only time, and I mean the ONLY time I did not get a clean break was where the spacer was embedded in hardened mortar. 3. Adjust the pliers before using. There is a limit set screw to ensure you do not over tighten (and potentially snap off the spacer while snugging it in place.) It is easy to do a few tests before you start setting tile. The spacers and wedges work just fine on loose tiles for this purpose. Lay the tile out, spacers between them and try to set a wedge. If it does not set securely, back off the set screw, if you can squeeze the wedge to the point the spacer deforms, screw the set screws in a bit more. Final caveat. The spacers will sometimes be unusable. I found one or two spacers per 100 to have their feet bent. If you insist on using that, expect your tile to not line up. The wedges are not enough to overcome a seriously bent spacer foot. Recommendation: Buy more than you think you need. This is cheap insurance. I purchased this kit, a bag of 300 spacers plus 100 additional wedges, and another 500 spacers (because it was only slightly costlier than the 300 bag). And, I am glad I did. With the extra spacers and wedges, I am sure I will be able to finish the shower and floor without needing to order more. UPDATE! After using the leveling system to install the floor tiles, I discovered a rather frustrating item. Not enough to adjust the star rating, but it is an ongoing problem. What, exactly is the problem? The levelers are clear/translucent plastic. Because you have to hit them hard and quick, they fly everywhere. And, because of their color (or lack of color) they are impossible to find. Seriously, manufacturer, put a color into it. Any bright color, except yellow, would do. It has been about two months since I tiled, and I am still finding these things. They are showing up everywhere, but you cannot see them until the vacuum sucks them up, you step on them, or whatever. Color! Color people. Make it easier to clean up, and you get a win!

I was sceptical given some of the bad reviews. My tile was 1/4" 12x24 porcelain tile with a small amount of warpage. I am a diy guy with very little experience and installed about 300 sq ft of tile using these clips in my own home. I also used a separate 3/16 spacer so these were only used as levelers. The tool to squeeze in the wedges is very solid and good quality. The wedges drove in almost all the way on the 1/4" thick tile so I would not use on a thinner tile. I had mortar squeeze up between the tiles so I used a toothbrush to clean it out, especially around the clips. This allowed the clips to break off easily with just a sharp kick from the side wearing tennis shoes. A few did not break off cleanly so I would use an oscillating tool with an old dull blade to cut them out. I would never do a tiling job without an oscillating tool. Especially being a rookie having to clean mortar out of the grout lines. I have no idea what people are doing that they damage tile or cannot get the clips to snap off. Lack of common sense. There is still some acceptable lippage due to tile warpage but a person cannot expect the clips to bend the tiles flat. If you are a patient diy person, these are well worth it. I layed 100 SQ ft in my entry without using them and it was much more work getting the tiles flat.

Overall work ok and do what they've designed for, level tiles. Couple of issues: 1) they will not push a high tile down, they pull the low tile up, not what you want when shooting for 80%+ mortar coverage, 2) about 15% didn't break cleanly and required secondary removal technique (two suggestions for this issue, don't be shy when you hit them, leave the wedge in place and give it all you've got, second, I suspect that several that didn't break were not completely set in mortar which would have helped them fracture), 3) removing the dregs that didn't break is difficult, I finally used a utility knife that I heated with a torch to cut them out and 4) if you slide them sideways when you install them, mortar will squeeze out next to them which you can't remove while wet, after removing the leveler, I used a grout removal blade on my Sonacrafter to remove the mortar, easy peasy. So yes, they work ok but added extra work to the overall project.

Used these to tile a counter and backsplash. They made for a clean lines and nice even surfaces. I wouldn't tile without them.

DIY MAGIC! Very first time job. Bought these for a very reasonable price. Watched a short you tube video and went to work. The spacers make the perfect grout width. The wedges are durable and keep everything tight and level. You will use rubber hammer to knock the wedges out the next day. We used the 1000box on a 3x5 shower and had left over supplies. 3/8 thickness tile on 18x24 tile.

These devices effectively level adjacent tiles when the thinset on each of the tiles has not hardened and level disparity is that driven by unevenness in the substrate surface below. If the tiling takes place over multiple days or widely spread out during a day keep in mind that the strength of this system is when both adjacent tiles are movable, if one is hardened in place then all the movement has to be in the newly placed tile. Also you must insert these before the thinset hardens on an existing placed tile or you won't be able to slip them behind times because the hardened thinset will obscure the placement. The last point is that nearly 1/2 of these levelers will not break off cleanly, leaving pieces of the leveler sticking out from between the tiles in the grout spaces. When they stick out into the area that the grout will occupy, you have to pull them off by pulling them out with pliers. You should brace the tiles that they're trapped under because the amount of pulling force required to break these can be enough force to pull a tile off the wall in some areas! In 100 ft of 12x24 tile area I spent an additional hour picking out pieces of the levelers that didn't break off cleanly and thinset that creeped up between and around the levelers despite having cleared the thinset from the border areas of the tiles as these levels were put in place. I would use these again but will try a different brand in hopes that they'll break off more cleanly. If you do use these, when you swing your rubber mallet to break them off, do so fast and hard like your swinging at something a few inches beyond the leveler. These can not overcome inadequate surface prep and basic good tile setting technique.

Excellent product. Was hesitant to order due to reviews stating difficulties with the tabs breaking away. Those must have been user error as that was not an issue at all. Pliers are very cheaply made and will likely be a one time use but for the money, totally worth it.

We are building a new house and we had a few floors and a couple showers to tile. I purchased this tile leveling system based on a recommendation from a favorite Youtube channel. These are a great value. They work very well and they are available in thicknesses not available at the local home store. I found that I can often install the wedges without using the tool, but the tool definitely makes it a little easier. The wedges have proven to be durable enough to use them a few times. The only gripe I have is that sometimes the spacers don’t break off at the base so I have to grind out the plastic that sticks up into the grout joint. It would save a lot of cleanup effort if you purchased a thinner leveling clip/spacer and then used a separate spacer to set the gap. The thinner clips/spacers would break off a little easier and would be easier to grind or cut out if required.

It was my first time using this type of spacer. I loved it. Much easier to keep a level than with the old style rubber X spacers. And, my work came out perfect level and spacing. I used this for tiling with both mastic and thinset. Both came out great but I recommend to mix the thinset a bit thick to make the process easier. I have had some experience tiling before this project. I've have had the chance to see many professionals work and ask them questions. I also watched youtube videos about using this type of spacer before I started. I will definitely use these if I ever tile again!

Great.

Worked like a charm. For my first time tiling, made it a breeze and at more than half the cost of the big box stores. Has all you need to self-level tiles and will be able to use for future projects as they are reusable.

Fonctionne tres bien. Facile d'utilisation.

Hints; watch a video how to break then off by hitting them with rubber malet on side. Works but there is a technique which takes a few mistakes. Buy a sodering iron to remove the ones that break off bad. Knife takes forever. Great price, good product.