I had a professional tiler install ceramic tile in a couple of bathrooms in a condo unit I rent out. The old adage "You get what you pay for" applies in this situation. The guy was in a hurry (he had another job to go to), and so the tiles have varying degrees of lippage. Since it's a rental, I can live with most of it, except for a couple of tiles where the lippage is too much.
The floor consists of 10" joists, which have been variously reinforced with 2x12s laid flush between them (too much history to relate, but the result is pretty solid). Over this is a 1/2" subfloor (I know, it should have been 5/8" -- another long story). Over the subfloor is a second layer of 1/2" plywood (screwed in per JazMan's terrific instructions -- thanks JazMan!). Over this is Ditra. Ditra was used to put the finished floor right below the bottom of the toilet flange and to provide a measure of waterproofing (only the floor, not the walls, because a door provides plenty of exit for water should there be a significant tub overflow). Since the tile area is roughly 5'x5', Kerdi band was used where the two sheets of Ditra met.
I don't think the tiler was used to installing over Ditra. In any event, the Kerdi band appears to have been what caused the significant lippage.
I took up the two most offending tiles. I now am faced with a layer of thinset over the Ditra.
It's been suggest that I take up the Ditra that was under the tiles. I don't want to do this, as it'd require buying a whole new roll of Ditra (yep, it came out pretty exactly right with the one roll). Also, I'm concerned about maintaining the waterproofing provided by the Ditra; if I replace the Ditra, I've got more seams.
Another person suggested just scrapping off what I could, and then using the thinnest layer of thinset needed to set the tiles. Will this work? If I use this approach, do I have to use the same brand of thinset (Mapei), or can I use another as long as it too is unmodified thinset (e.g., CBP - Custom Building Products carried by Home Depot)?
Another person said to use an adhesive remover like Sentinel's 747 Plus or a similar product from Henry's to remove all the thinset, and then lay new tile. Thoughts?
Lastly, there's the old mechanical approach (pound the thinset with a hammer to break it up, and use a putty knife to pry the thinset out of Ditra's rectangular holes). I'm not sure what effect this have. Will it damage the thinset under the Ditra which was used when the Ditra was laid down? Do I risk damaging the installation of the surrounding ceramic tiles? Other concerns?
Also, I have some small tears in the Ditra from when I was removing the tiles. Should I just cut the loose stuff away? Should I glue it back down with something like SikaBond? Other suggestions?
Finally, do I have to go back with thinset, or could I use a glue like SikaBond to install the new tiles? Yeah, unmodified thinset is cheap (6$ / 25 lb. bag), but I've never mixed any up, and while "it's easy", the less I have to screw up the better, especially since these tiles are smack dab in the middle of the floor.
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Richard
The floor consists of 10" joists, which have been variously reinforced with 2x12s laid flush between them (too much history to relate, but the result is pretty solid). Over this is a 1/2" subfloor (I know, it should have been 5/8" -- another long story). Over the subfloor is a second layer of 1/2" plywood (screwed in per JazMan's terrific instructions -- thanks JazMan!). Over this is Ditra. Ditra was used to put the finished floor right below the bottom of the toilet flange and to provide a measure of waterproofing (only the floor, not the walls, because a door provides plenty of exit for water should there be a significant tub overflow). Since the tile area is roughly 5'x5', Kerdi band was used where the two sheets of Ditra met.
I don't think the tiler was used to installing over Ditra. In any event, the Kerdi band appears to have been what caused the significant lippage.
I took up the two most offending tiles. I now am faced with a layer of thinset over the Ditra.
It's been suggest that I take up the Ditra that was under the tiles. I don't want to do this, as it'd require buying a whole new roll of Ditra (yep, it came out pretty exactly right with the one roll). Also, I'm concerned about maintaining the waterproofing provided by the Ditra; if I replace the Ditra, I've got more seams.
Another person suggested just scrapping off what I could, and then using the thinnest layer of thinset needed to set the tiles. Will this work? If I use this approach, do I have to use the same brand of thinset (Mapei), or can I use another as long as it too is unmodified thinset (e.g., CBP - Custom Building Products carried by Home Depot)?
Another person said to use an adhesive remover like Sentinel's 747 Plus or a similar product from Henry's to remove all the thinset, and then lay new tile. Thoughts?
Lastly, there's the old mechanical approach (pound the thinset with a hammer to break it up, and use a putty knife to pry the thinset out of Ditra's rectangular holes). I'm not sure what effect this have. Will it damage the thinset under the Ditra which was used when the Ditra was laid down? Do I risk damaging the installation of the surrounding ceramic tiles? Other concerns?
Also, I have some small tears in the Ditra from when I was removing the tiles. Should I just cut the loose stuff away? Should I glue it back down with something like SikaBond? Other suggestions?
Finally, do I have to go back with thinset, or could I use a glue like SikaBond to install the new tiles? Yeah, unmodified thinset is cheap (6$ / 25 lb. bag), but I've never mixed any up, and while "it's easy", the less I have to screw up the better, especially since these tiles are smack dab in the middle of the floor.
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Richard
