Pro's Picks: T-Lock Tile Leveling System

Dane Stevenson

Owner, Arkwright Construction 

Chicago, Ill.

The two-part tile leveling system from Perfect Level Master consists of a white clip and red wedge, placed while laying tile on walls or floors. Thanks to the system, we don’t need to worry about perfectly leveling the tile by hand.

It’s an easy process: Spread the mortar, remove any excess along the tile edges, and place the feet of the white clips into the adhesive. Taking the time to remove the extra mortar is worth it to make sure the clips adhere well and don’t slide. After the tiles on both sides of the clip are in place, push the red wedge into the opening between tile and clip. The company sells a tool to help you do this and to make it easier on your hands, but we’ve found it’s often quicker to use just your hands.

After the mortar dries, you remove the T-Lock by striking the clips with a rubber mallet or work boot. It’s a heavy-duty product, but they pop out really well when it’s time—just make sure to strike parallel to the grout lines for a clean break. 

It’s an easy process: Spread the mortar, remove any excess along the tile edges, and place the feet of the white clips into the adhesive.

The T-Lock also acts as a spacer, so we don’t have to spend time on an extra step. The white clips come in three thicknesses—1, 2, and 3mm—to create varying grout line sizes, and in three different heights to accommodate thicker materials.

We use the T-Lock with tiles larger than 6x6; different tile sizes need a different number of clips. We always have about 300 wedges and a few hundred of each size clip. A bag of 100 wedges or clips will run you around $20 each.