So i think my contractor didn't quite waterproof my new shower (enough) and my tile expert that was going to help me is "sick". I have to complete the whole thing by Monday, and now I'm confused about this process.
I have Durock backer board, and have started to tape and redguard the seams/joints/etc. Now i'm reading you can't use pre-mixed mortar/thin set over redguard?
I have purchased OnmiGrip Maximum Strength Adhesive. Will this work?
Do I need to caulk the joints if I'm using redguard?
Any special care around wall pipes (handles/showerhead)?
I also have 3 niches that I'm focusing the redguard on...
Any and ALL comments/concerns/thoughts would be SUPER APPRECIATED!
I dont have time to research more - and my results are just making me more worried! Thank you!
I wasn't able to see replies so here's the current status:
I mesh taped the seams and did 3 coats of redgaurd in the niches seams. I did a layer of probond 150 around the floor, except the curb. Need to do additional coats.
Friend came to see and said the walls are too uneven to lay my tile, so I got
MAPEI Indoor Floor Patch and Leveler - only place open on Easter Sunday. She told me to fill the uneven areas with this. Over the Redquard. Yes?
My tiles are 12x24, so I need the a good mortar to hold them up, over this planipatch. Versabond? Others?
I would recommend against fast setting thinset unless you are exprienced and/or don't mind mixing and cleaning multiple batches in a day. The fast setting thinset would be a good idea for filling in some of those areas before tiling though, if you want to do it ahead of time. Then follow the instructions - you can usually tile a couple hours after. After tiling with standard thinset, 12 hours should be OK to grout.
I've never used redguard, and know very little about it. What I do know:
-you don't want a barrier behind the cbu and redguard over it.
-take that omni crap back and buy a bag(s) of versabond. it has very little to do with redguard, and more to do with how various products "dehydrate" and their ability to "rehydrate."
Redguard the curb ---
Any good 'modified ' thinset will work for you---
Sorry, I do not know what 'Pro Bond' is---
Check your walls for flatness---a long straight edge like a level will tell you if you have dips or humps---I usually leave out the bottom tile and screw a wood ledger board to the wall in its place to support the wall tiles until the tiles are set.
With 12x24 tiles, I might consider using a leveling clip --'Lash by QEP' is an inexpensive system---those will help you avoid lippage on a slightly out of flat wall.
I just invested in the raimondi leveling system. Very slick, and it reduced the number of tiles I had to pull up, re do the thin set and then stick the tile down again. I never use the QEP system, and I know it is similar, I just went with what had a better rep on the interwebz. I know the pros can whip it out like whoa, but I'm not a pro and $150 investment has made me much faster with a much better end product. Pic below is a floor I just did. Not perfect, but I laid all the tiles in about 3 hours once everything was cut. No way I would do half that before with all the picking up of tiles and re doing....
Also, if you have natural stone tiles, consider only doing a couple rows at a time as the weight can start to stack up on the wall.
It would also be good to know what type of tile is going on. The heavier natural stones shouldn't really be set more than 3 rows at a time due to their weight.
I like to use versabond, kerabond when a unmodified thinset is called for. In this case, versabond is the ticket and the big box stores tend to carry.
I'm curious why you'd recommend Kerabond (Mapei) over CustomBlend (Custom Building Products), but you'd recommend VersaBond (Custom Building Products) over Ultraflex (Mapei). (By the way, I'd consider the Mapei products to be better quality in both cases.)
I'd go ahead and use it, and I'd just tile the whole wall without waiting. You will have a hard time pulling the tile off the wall if applied properly, even when wet, let alone will it be falling off the wall. Applied properly means correct water content well mixed and complete coverage of tile, well pressed onto the wall to compress all thinset ridges applied with the trowel.
i thought my carerra marble tub surround with linoleum floor took the cake to get through an appraisal.
I know prices vary by region, but when quality thin set is mentioned, it is hard to imagine paying more than $20/sack here in the Denver area, and that is for white, which is at least a couple bucks more. For the price of the pro bond, unless it sticks the tiles up on the wall for you, you are more than likely getting ripped off.
With all the jacking around and running to different stores you could have had the Durock down, walls shimmed and shaved and the Durock back up ready to redgard.
When you don't know what you are doing the only other advice I have is hire a pro. Showers are not something most DIYers should tackle on their own with only internet schooling.
It was sloppy work, however pic 1 simply looks like a tapered joint, pic 2 looks like a bump that isn't too bad, pic 3 is a small ridge that should be OK, pic 4 looks pretty small, and I'm not sure what pic 5 is but I admit that one looks pretty bad. All of that seems beatable with proper thinset application IMO. The last one might need some additional care, I'm not sure. If you're worried about them you can apply some thinset ahead of time to flatten them out. Personally I would probably only do that for the last one.
It's strictly a matter of convenience for me and the order in which I have learned things. Figuring out which thin sets are "unmodified" was more difficult than I had hoped, leaving me googling in the aisles. But, now I know where to go to pick up each product, which happen to be in different store, but within a couple hundred feet of each other.
What store are you finding Kerabond in? I do most of my shopping at Home Depot, so it's annoying to travel for Kerabond. Lowes used to carry Mapei, but they've switched to a brand called TEC. They don't carry a TEC unmodified in my local stores, and even if they did I've tried it and don't like it.
at this point, I would use whatever is most convenient. versa bond is excellent for tiling. I've stuck 12x24 travertine on a ceiling with it not using supports.
I didn't see this before the Tile Shop talked me into Pro bond at like 3x the price. Happy to get versa bond and return pro bond if you can just confirm I'll be able to tile whole shower in one night without waiting between every 3 tiles?
Well.
Came down to the final hour and decided just to go for a "concrete" look to pass the appraisal - and we did, thank God.
Now I need to grind the versa bond flat and tile like planned.
Sine we had so many humps and bumps I think it's probably not a huge waste. Versa bond was cheap and got my goal met.
Thanks for all y'alls help!
So, now that I have more time - what mortar/thinset should I use for the large tiles? Versa bond was mentioned, and it's 1/3 of the price of the probond that the tile shop sold me.
What's the difference between "thin set" and "mortar" ?
I've attached pics of my shower to give y'all a chuckle.
And if anyone doubts redguards water resistance - it's still in my hair and I'll probably have to cut it out.
So did you totally skip to the end just to razz me? You clearly missed the part where I said my contractor ripped me off and the tile pro that was going to help was sick.
Glad you're a master at building showers because your social skills suck.
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