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(01-30-2023, 06:48 PM)Cabinet Monkey Wrote: Mortar has a date code on it.
I've been told that the yellow dye on the Sakrete bags fades in about 3 months and if exposed to moisture. Don't buy faded bags of Sakrete
Neil Summers Home Inspections
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Was the Mapei polymer-modified?
Was the Versabond?
Makes a big difference in stickiness if you used an unmodified mortar.
Also, your notched trowel seems too small. 16x8 is considered a large format tile, so a 1/2 x 1/2 notch trowel would be standard - you may have starved the tiles.
-Mark
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(01-31-2023, 10:46 PM)MKepke Wrote: Was the Mapei polymer-modified?
Was the Versabond?
Makes a big difference in stickiness if you used an unmodified mortar.
Also, your notched trowel seems too small. 16x8 is considered a large format tile, so a 1/2 x 1/2 notch trowel would be standard - you may have starved the tiles.
-Mark
Good points, this is a job for 1/2x1/2 trowel.
I don't think we asked... are you using large format thinset?
Neil Summers Home Inspections
I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me. She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.
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Are 12x12 tiles considered large format?
VH07V
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(02-03-2023, 01:07 AM)EightFingers Wrote: Are 12x12 tiles considered large format?
Maybe. Close.
Neil Summers Home Inspections
I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me. She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.
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The tiles I set with the Versabond are solid. Solid enough that the only way to remove one (don’t ask) was to chisel it off.
VH07V
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02-06-2023, 09:42 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-06-2023, 09:44 PM by MKepke.)
(02-03-2023, 01:07 AM)EightFingers Wrote: Are 12x12 tiles considered large format?
(02-03-2023, 06:22 AM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: Maybe. Close.
Any dimension exceeding 15" is considered large format per the Tile Council of America. So 12x12 are not, but 18" by anything are.
Does the OP have really flat walls and flat tile? A 1/4" notched trowel only gives about 1/8" of a mortar bed for leveling the tile. That's predominately the reason for the larger trowel on large format tiles: a thicker leveling bed.
Re: large format tile mortar: Versabond 'regular' is not disallowed for large format tile - although there are limitations listed for stone and glass.
https://www.custombuildingproducts.com/TDS/TDS-119.pdf
Lastly, like CabinetMonkey said, we still don't know what "didn't seem right" means. Did the tiles slide or fall of the wall? When you pulled them off, what % of the tile(s) showed good contact with the backer?
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02-07-2023, 01:07 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-07-2023, 01:07 AM by EightFingers.)
The tiles were barely stuck down. Coverage was complete. Only thing that was holding the tiles on was the “lash” (leveling) system. The whole wall just peeled away. Good thing it only went up 36”.
I’ve never had that happen before and like I said, I’ve installed a lot of tile (at least for me) and never had a failure as complete as that was.
Anyway, the job is complete now and the tiles are very solidly attached and *flat*.
VH07V
