Thinset for Bathroom Ceramic Tile Floors & Walls (Get the Scoop) -- by Home Repair Tutor
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- Here's the deal, we get A LOT of questions about tiling bathroom shower walls...so today I share which thinset we like best for ceramic and porcelain on bathroom walls and floors.
If you're doing a bathroom remodel and need help, enroll in Home Repair Tutor's online courses at www.homerepair...
First things first...why do we like thinset better than mastic?
Mastic doesn't have the bond strength of a modified thinset.
PLUS: mastic is petroleum based and can discolor certain tiles like marble.
Which companies do we like when it comes to thinset?
Ardex, Mapei, and Custom Building Products.
When it comes to hanging ceramic and porcelain tile on walls we belive Ardex X77 is the way to go. This thinset is excellent for holding large format tiles on the wall in showers. You can also use it on floors and for DITRA installation.
It is considered a modified thinset and therefore can be used between DITRA and wood subfloors.
Because Ardex X77 has phenomenal bond strength it helps prevent large tiles from sliding and causing issues with mosaic accent tiles.
Watch the video to see if you agree or disagree with us.
• Thinset for Bathroom C...
AND please tell us which in the comments which thinset you like using.
Great videos! These (along with Sal's videos) have helped me tremendously, to really understand the technical aspects of tile installations. Thanks!
Just finished tiling the 2 bathrooms I've been remodeling. Full guts & rebuilt. The modified thi set makes a big difference. I put 3/8" & 5/8" tile one the baths and mosaics. Plus floated the floors and mosaic tiled one floor and marble on the other. Here's a trick I use for the mosaics on mesh. Adhere the mosaic to strips of hardy backer then install them like large tiles w/thin set to your Shlutter or Durock walls. It keeps the lines from sagging and minimizes the amount of shims needed.
Excellent information. My bathroom would be a disaster without you so thank you!
I didn't know that product even exist... Thanks for sharing this product... Thank you!!!
Still waiting for Steve's safety kit.. Lol
it's a great option...good to have options ;)
Where can we purchase ardex x 77 in West Michigan?
Thank you for this video. I'm almost ready to commit to Ardex x77 as my adhesive of choice. My 2" x 2" ceramic tiles are attached to mesh sheets that measure 12" x 24". Not the easiest things to handle. Would the Ardex x77 be a good choice for my tile sheets? I love the idea of the lengthy pot life and open time. It seems like the Ardex x77 also offers some play time to make sure your tiles are perfectly spaced.
Hi , I’m sold on x77 for shower and flooring! I do plan on tiling my backyard brick wall as well, Also plan on tiling concrete slab outside as wel. Do you recommend X77 for those as well? Thanks for the recommendation!
I don't touch custom building products anymore. Laticrete and Mapei is all I use now. Always wanted to try Ardex or Tec. Maybe next remodel I'll get the customer to use that.
I pretty much only use Polymer Fortified stuff. costs a little more but piece of mind is worth it. The Custom Building Product is only I might only use in a pinch. Mercrete, Laticrete, Mapei, and Adrex are my go too Thinsets and Ultralites. I am always price hounding each of my vendors, Hey I need 30 bags of this or a pallet of this. what's the best price. So over the course of the year I use them all but you wont see a pallet of Custom in my shop :) It's Oh shit, it's sunday and we ran out of thinset… HomeDepot is around the corner.
Great video, always informative, keep up the good work.
thanks buddy
Mapei ultracontact is good for hanging large tiles however it dries very fast. You gotta be prepared before mixing it.
Exactly what I needed to know, Thanks 😊
Thank you for your help with my bathroom project.
always happy to help, post project updates any time...would love to see your pics
Shout from Hugo toscano here in Los Angeles.
Hi what thin set is best for floor and wall in the shower room , all water proof with red guard floor and wall. I heard modified thin set won't dry over water proof with red guard system, is that true??
Hi there,,, I've laid several floors and walls using ceramic tiles with no problem, using standard low cost Custom brand thinset.
I recently layed a porcelain floor, well two years ago. And had a couple of spots that bridged or buckeled after two years. I layed with standard non fortied thinset and found the thin set stuck great to concrete floor but very little stick to the porcelain tiles 18x18. So,,,do you recommend a more fortied thinset with porcelain ,,and though i left plenty of perimeter gap, does porcelain expand more that ceramic? In your opinion? I used a good 1/2 x 1/2 inch trowel as well. Thanks
Since those tiles are large format it’s best to back butter with the flat side of the trowel. That’ll help with the bond with the thin-set on the floor. Also, use directional troweling so that trowel ridges collapse and allow air to escape. Ardex X5, LATICRETE 4XLT, Mapei Ultraflex LFT, are all good options for 18x18. Definitely leave an expansion and contraction joint and use an isolation membrane like Ditra, Strata Mat, or Flexbone. That way, when there’s subfloor movement the tile won’t be affected. Sorry to hear about your issues
@@HomeRepairTutor Thanks so much. Just never had buckling with ceramic. That's why was wondering about porcelain. As for back buttering,,, I've watched other tile layers lay big tiles and not backbutter,, twice the work and people don't wanna pay for extra. But ur right,that would be a sure bond. Thanks again.
@@peterford9369 Ceramic, from an installers point of view is a much more forgiving product when it comes to Thinset. It is a more porous substrate and thus makes it a little easier to stick to. Polymer Fortified has improved adhesion, reduced water absorption, and provides greater bond strength and resistance to shock and impact. And thusly sticks much better to Porcelain, glass and many other non-porous tiles. Lastly you have Epoxy Thinset used only for a very small select group of stone tiles.
One thing the presenter did, was incorrectly say that Fortified has anything to do with fibers added to the thinset for larger tiles. the LFT denotation is actually what does that. The LFT variants are Fiber added for support of Large Format Tile to reduce the necessity of Medium Bed set. Which until recently was truly the ONLY way to properly lay Large and Heavy tiles.
@@davidd7353 Thanks David. Yeah I know I can't say I've never had problems with a hollow tile or two. End of the bucket of mud and gets too dry and u go with it, especially with 18x18 or larger tiles. But never experienced bridging or buckeled tiles till using the porcelain tiles. From now on will use fortified thinset on big tiles. When relaying the buckled tiles, i bought the reinforced thinset and could really see the density of the mix. Maybe not as much sand? Anyway, thanks for chiming in. I'm not a pro tiler, but as a remodel person, it pays to learn the proper ways to do the different aspects of a job. Experience is the key. Thanks again.
Can you use this modified thin-set in the Schulter shower system (Kerdi board and membran ?
Don't forget TEC and Laticrete! Those along with Ardex and Mapei all make awesome products
+Jeff agree, we need to do more videos with those products
It's not your dads thinset. I just used it for an outdoor patio, because of the fiber fortification.
I'm concerned about winter and freezing. She ain't goin' nowhere. Amazing technology!
Can Schluter All-Set be used for large format tiles on walls? How does it compare to Ardex X 77? Also Can Schluter All-Set be used on Kerdi-Band to Kerdi-Board or does it have to be unmodified thinset?
Great questions, so we've tested a lot of different thin-sets and come to this conclusion (and this is our humble opinion for what it's worth):
Schluter ALL-SET is great for setting DITRA, DITRA-HEAT, KERDI, and KERDI-BAND. ALL-SET can be used over and under all Schluter products. And the Schluter warranty will be maintained.
Our preference remains Ardex X77 or Mapei Ultraflex LHT for setting large format tiles, e.g. 12x24 inch or 20x20 inch tiles. The pot life of Ardex and Mapei thin-sets is very user friendly. Ardex is not cheap by any means. But it's one of the best thin-sets for setting tile and especially useful when tiling ceilings.
If Ardex thin-sets are used with Schluter products, Ardex will warranty the use. And that's helpful to know.
What is the best tile for the floor and walls thinset
Great video! When using the unmodified thin-set over the Ditra, how thick a coating do you put on? I'm assuming you aren't using the notched side of the trowel for this application.
You mentioned “thinset” and “ mastic”, do you have a video that starts at the beginning of explaining these different products and what the manufacturers actually call them on the labels?
Thinset is usually an unmixed, sanded mortar type product. Fortified, unfortified and LFT. can be purchased in White or Grey. you want to use Grey on darker tiles White on Lighter. It does not DRY. it Cures.. meaning that if you mixed it up in a bucket.. put a top on it come back a day later. it will be HARD
Mastic on the other hand is a premixed Paste. Kinda think of it like Adhesive Caulk in a bucket. Mastic on the other hand Dries. If you have it in.. oh wait. It comes in a bucket already mixed. get the point. so what happens behind Large Format Tile, the LFT above, is that pockets behind this larger tile skin over and incapsulate the Mastic preventing it from actually Drying. making for an unstable finished job and no doubt problems down the road.
How do I repair chips one top edge of my engineered quartz counter-top. Thank you, Royall
Correct me if I’m wrong , x77 is used for exterior use , I’m pretty sure the x5 is more for showers and such
Its for large format tiles interior/exterior great for large format glass tiles, ideal for swimming pools and fountains high traffic areas, over in floor heating systems x77 is what you want in a shower
Would you use this (modified thin set) for hanging tile on kerdi board or membrane? it looks like that's what you're doing in this video.
your channel is awesome btw
what do u think of FlexBond LFT and Versbond LFT??
In a pinch can you use x5 on the tub with 12x24 tile
yes, but back butter or back trowel to achieve 95% thin-set coverage and check your bond by removing a tile - don’t forget directional troweling
What do you recommend for unmodified thinset, like is recommended for kerdi waterproofing membrane?
For now we like Mapei's Kerabond as the unmodified thin-set...although, Schluter will have their own thin-sets very soon. And that will simplify the process. Hope that helps
Perfect , thx
Can I use thinset as a replacement for other moisture barriers that are often used?
i do not believe you can use thinset as a Moisture barrier if it is a epoxy thinset you might be able to. But honestly use a Moisture barrier! Don't take short cuts
Can this thin set be used for the tile floor in the shower?
yes but you'd want to use Ardex X5 instead because it's more cost effective. It's modified as well.
Home Repair Tutor thank you so much for that information ,one more question ,what type of grout do I use? sanded or unsanded ,polymer? Can I use the grout and pour a bottle of sealer in it?
could this be use btween the water proof membrane (or waterproof board, e.g. kerdi board) and tile? i see u a video that u used with kerdi board. is kerdi a waterproof board?
+Ba Ngao yes, X77 is a great thin-set used between tiles and the backer board. KERDI-BOARD is a waterproof backer board by Schluter. Now that Schluter makes thin-set we recommend using their brand, for example ALL-SET.
Laticrete Tri-lite and 4-XLT are great products.
we like Laticrete products, too. Tri-Lite wasn’t available when we made the video but we’d be up for giving a try
Latacrete lth must try .
Where can I get this ardex x 77 ?
try the Tile Shop 👍🏼
Do you know the prices around the US of these products and other thinsets not that specialised?
+Beholder ARDEX X77 is $40-$45 per 50lb bag and X5 is $20-$25
Thank You M8. I have heard the average price for normal Modified Thinset is around $10-$15 for 20kg bag or 44lbs is this true?
Tec makes great thinset and grout.
they do, we just really like X77 for vertical tiles.
The video states to use modified thinset between a wood floor and Ditra. How about concrete and Ditra?
I'll be laying 2x2 inch mosaic tiles on a shower wall, can I use that thinset with a 3/16 by 5/32 V notched trowel?? thanks
+dave12546 how thick are the tiles?
tiles are 4 mm. thanks
+dave12546 Ardex recommends a 1/4x1/4x1/4" square notched trowel at a minimum but I'd recommend emailing them to be sure
3/16... thanks
What is the best thinset for 12X12 porcelain wall tiles? Will the x77 work for that?
in wet areas you want to use Polymer fortified. and Yes. X77 will work for that.
What's that beautiful shower tile you're using?
I just bought same tile --its called grey linen i think --great deal also 12x 24" tile and they have 2 x 2 mosaic and bullnose to match --- give this guy a message -- Tim Thomasson
tthomasson@mosaictileco.com
You can't get Ardex X77 in Florida.
+Angelum Band hmm, I'm surprised. It's not carried at big box stores, only tile stores
Why cant you use mastic on big tiles?
I prefer Tri-Lite by Laticrete.
Good ol buger and an old chewed gum should stick pretty well👍🏼
x77 is overkill!
outside , extreme cold, large tiles then yes
X5 is it, you can use for membrane as well.
Do you recommend it over 60 year old bathroom which the old tile were taken off
Have a question for you and/ or Sal Deblasi. I am working on a shower tub tiling project for Wounded Warriors Project. I have used a kerdi membrane on the shower/tub surround. I am using a large heavy 8 by 36 in tile on the back shower wall. Here's the question... Can I use a regular thinset mortar on the tile as long as my first course has plenty of time to dry; say 24 hours?. What I have available for us to use is a versabond 2 set or a mapei ultraflex 2...?