DGSL Tile Leveling System with Plier, 600 Tile Spacers 1/8" and 200 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.

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.

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.

Flimsy

Great tile levelers at an affordable price. They come out easy as long as you have minimal mortar around each spacer. Just hit them with a rubber mallet and they pop right out.

Cheap and works great. A few on the spacers you will have to chisel out with a multi tool or utility knife. Tip is to clean edges of tile when installing spacers and slide them into place so thinset doesnt encase spacer making it harder to break out. We did whole bathroom shower maybe had 5 or 6 uncooperative spacers and had way more than enough of wedges as well.

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.

Great little set to do my bathroom and at a good price. Used it on its thinest adjustment for my 6mm floor tiles.

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.