Dirty HardiBacker? Screw heads?

JazMan · 02-09-2013, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Mapei Grey Ceramic Tile Mortar - Polymer Enriched
Lowes receipt says it's Model #29325 / Item #37682

check that again, I think that's the grout.

Jaz

Pele2048 · 02-09-2013, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazMan

check that again, I think that's the grout.

Jaz

So it is... Wrong line item...

Item 12955 - Model 10650136

I KNOW for a fact that the bag I opened was a 50 lb bag of Thinset..

JazMan · 02-09-2013, 01:05 PM

OK, it's an entry-level modified, but it meets specs and should be good enough.
What trowel do you have?

Jaz

Pele2048 · 02-09-2013, 05:55 PM

1/4 x 1/4 inch square notched.

I used the flat side to feather the joints though... I basically treated it like drywall.

Here's where I'm at:

JazMan · 02-09-2013, 06:24 PM

1/4x1/4x1/4 is fine for under Hardie, What do you plan to use to set the tiles? On the seams, you were careful not to make 'speed bumps', right.

Jaz

Pele2048 · 02-09-2013, 09:14 PM

The seams are as flat as I could get them with thinset.

It's much thicker than Drywall joint compound.

JazMan · 02-09-2013, 09:51 PM

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It's much thicker than Drywall joint compound.

Hopefully it's no more than 1/16" higher, but should be less. Get the 4' level out. Dime or less.

Jaz

Pele2048 · 02-09-2013, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazMan

Hopefully it's no more than 1/16" higher, but should be less. Get the 4' level out. Dime or less.

Jaz

Nope... Complete failure. There's one area where I could probably slide a quarter under the level.

Great. Time to get some boards, make frames, and turn my kitchen into a lake of self leveler.

I was trying not to have a big step up when coming into the kitchen. Looks like that's off the table.

JazMan · 02-10-2013, 12:05 AM

Well wait. I can't tell from here but. You should use a long straight edge like 8-10 ft. If it's wood, a 1x4" min, perfectly straight board. Depending on how and where the gap is you may be ok. You may have a slight bird-bath. You have to analyze it.

Another remedy is medium-bed thinset which can get spread thicker. But SLC can fix it if you decide to go that way.

Jaz

Pele2048 · 02-10-2013, 09:23 AM

See in my photo where the wide feathered joint is, The dip is to the left of that.
That's directly in front of the sink base.
That's the only area that doesn't pass the dime test.

That's also where I repaired some of the subfloor due to a water leak.
Totally forgot I did that.

JazMan · 02-10-2013, 12:34 PM

I think you can just float a little thinset in that area and all will be fine.

How about the trowel to set the tiles? And the tiles are 12" ceramic? You sure? They're not at least porcelain? Got a #?

Jaz

Pele2048 · 02-10-2013, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazMan

I think you can just float a little thinset in that area and all will be fine.

How about the trowel to set the tiles? And the tiles are 12" ceramic? You sure? They're not at least porcelain? Got a #?

Jaz

I was going to use the same 1/4 x 1/4 inch square notch. Do you think I should switch up to 3/8 x 1/4 inch for a heavier coat of thinset?

The tiles are made by Surface Source.
Item #0016286 / Model #L301123

Caribbean Slate... Which appears to be just a grey stone pattern printed on a beige Ceramic background. It's got a texture to it.

These were rated at high traffic similar to the porcelain tiles that were in stock at the local Lowes. All the porcelain tiles I found were very smooth glazed and would be slippery when wet.

JazMan · 02-10-2013, 02:51 PM

Ceramic tile about 12"-14" in standard thickness need a 1/4x3/8x1/4" sq. notch trowel. You're also supposed to use medium bed mortar, but the one you've got will be ok.

But those tiles.........? Are you sure you wanna invest all the effort and use such a low grade tile in your kitchen? Inexpensive tiles are $2-3, average about $3-5, I've seen those Surface Source tiles at Lowes, man, it's almost criminal to sell stuff like that.

Be prepared to go with 1/4" joints or wider, to handle the variations.

Jaz

Pele2048 · 02-10-2013, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazMan

Ceramic tile about 12"-14" in standard thickness need a 1/4x3/8x1/4" sq. notch trowel. You're also supposed to use medium bed mortar, but the one you've got will be ok.

But those tiles.........? Are you sure you wanna invest all the effort and use such a low grade tile in your kitchen? Inexpensive tiles are $2-3, average about $3-5, I've seen those Surface Source tiles at Lowes, man, it's almost criminal to sell stuff like that.

Be prepared to go with 1/4" joints or wider, to handle the variations.

Jaz

I do have 1/4 inch spacers.

I'll upgrade the trowel to a 1/4 x 3/8 and pick up another bag of thinset mortar

I unboxed about 3 of the 15 boxes I have to get the layout of the kitchen. They appeared to be okay, just eyeballing them. I'll take a square to a few of them to double check.

I figured they were cheap because they're on clearance... Also, obviously this is my first tile job. I'm not trying to install trash, but I'm also not looking forward to eating a fortune due to a botched job.

I can sweat pipe, rewire a breaker panel, frame walls... All the major mechanical work, when it comes to the cosmetics, flooring, walls, stuff that needs to look nice, I'm very unsure of myself.

See the wall in the background. First major drywalling job. I think the joints came out nice.
Of course there's no real choice in materials to use there... Drywall, Mud, Tape, Screws. The store only has one or two types of each.
With the tile, you've got all different colors of grout, a couple colors of thinset, and a whole aisle of tiles.

JazMan · 02-10-2013, 05:56 PM

Well........ok then. Put whatever you want in your kitchen. I'm sure you'll like it.

Just a tip; Do not use spacers with off-caliber tiles, they'll make corrections more difficult. Besides the square, check for rectangularity. These's other things like warpage, bowing and many more. I see the spec says absorbency is 3-6%.

Maybe you were misled by PEI 4? That tells you nothing about quality.

Quote:

They appeared to be okay, just eyeballing them.

Jaz