1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to trowels for use in the laying of ceramic tiles doing masonry and plastering work which allow the user to apply the cementious material that allows attachment of the tile or other materials to a floor or wall surface through the manipulation of a hand-actuated tool called a trowel. Specifically, the invention relates to providing a single trowel that not only allows the user to manually apply and space the cementious material through the application of plurality of grooves but also provides for the use of the trowel as a lever for moving and rearranging a ceramic tile piece (once in place) through manual manipulation. The trowel also include a level indicator, built in the handle of the trowel to aid in the laying of ceramic tile, brick, block and plastering.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of hand trowels for applying and distributing cementious material that allows ceramic tile to be attached to a floor or wall surface is well-known. Typically, such a trowel is a thin rigid metal blade having a plurality of notches about one or two edges which are used to provide grooves or spacing in the cementious material before the adhesive material hardens or sets up which allows for better attachment of a ceramic piece of tile to a floor or wall by having rows of spaces or groove-like spaces in the cementious material that spreads when the tile is pressed against the cementious adhesive material.
Margin trowels are used that are hand-held rigid, thin flat surfaces that allow the user to pry up a piece of ceramic tile that has been misplaced or misaligned so that the tile can be rearranged or repositioned. Typically, the thin edge is slid under the tile into the cementious material and the entire ceramic tile is pried upwardly.
Conventionally today, most tile setters employ a plurality of trowels, one for applying cementious material in grooves and a second margin trowel for use in rearranging or pulling up tile that has been laid.
Another problem facing a tile setter is making sure that the ceramic tile is level. This requires the use of a separate level that once the tile has been installed, the level is placed on the tile to see how level the tile is. The margin trowel is also used for prying up ceramic tile and allowing more cementious material to be applied in order to level the tile.
Thus, in today's ceramic tile setting, the tile setter would have a first trowel for applying cementious material and making grooves in the cementious adhesive, a second trowel (called a "margin" trowel) for prying and lifting a ceramic tile and a separate level in order to ensure that the ceramic tile, once in place, is level.
The present invention eliminates the multiplicity of the above tools by providing a single trowel that can be used both for applying cementious material and grooving and also be used as a margin trowel for lifting while at the same time providing a built-in level in the trowel.