Epoxy mortar at 130.00 a bucket? Help!!
I have this small tile job for my wife. She’s an interior designer. 50 sq feet of 12×12 marble tiles, split between a small entry, fireplace hearth and mantle surround, and entry by a patio door. Well, the sample we got had a plain back, but the real tile has this coating on it (resin coating) that has some ground wallnut shells or something in it so it’s rough.
So… I go to the tile place to get some thinset, and all the bags say “DO NOT USE on tile with resin coating, use Epoxy instead”. And as it turns out, they have the CUSTOM products rep on site, so I bring a sample over to him. It’s a little scrap that I cut off while trimming to size. And he breaks it, and the coating separates from the tile, it’s flexible but you can peel it off the back pretty easily. And then he says “Yeah, if the coating comes off like that, you HAVE to use the epoxy mortar.” Well, fine. I’m at OTM, the tile headquarters, they must have it here. Wrong. They do not. In fact, they aren’t just out, they don’t stock it.
So I go looking for some, and find Laticrete Epoxy Adhesive 300 for the low price of $130.00 for about a 3 gallon bucket that says it’ll do 35 sq ft w/1/4×1/4 trowel, and 50 sq ft at 1/8×1/8. Well, I have 50 sq ft total, and feel like the 1/8 trowel is a bit on the skimpy side, so if I use this stuff, instead of spending $10.00 on a bag of normal thinset, I’m looking at $260.00 !! Yikes!
Based on all the above, plus your own experience, do I need to just suck it up and use this stuff, or are there alternatives that might save me a few (or many) bucks? I’d say that I can’t afford to have the job fail later because I tried to save 250.00, I’ll pay it if I have to… but I’d really rather not if I can avoid it.
Yeah, and I tried scraping the backing off a tile, that’s not gonna work.
Replies
sounds like a typical job working with an interior designer!
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Talk to the manufacturer or distributor of the tile and see what they say. Also worth posting your question at johnbridge.com
Why you buying it in buckets instead of in powdered form in bags?
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 4/28/2007 8:43 am ET by andybuildz
It only comes in buckets -a 3part epoxy - resin, catalyst and a filler. No water is added. U have to mix it all up and once and use it before it hardens.
Hope this helps..if it doesn't nothing will : )
This is about epoxy grout but you can jump around the site to find what yer looking for,,,
http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=15255edit...and this will tell you that epoxy thinset is expensive...lol
http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=1817http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM Edited 4/28/2007 10:09 am ET by andybuildz
Edited 4/28/2007 10:12 am ET by andybuildz
Experiment with Gorilla glue, Borden also has it and is cheaper. It works great with parquet on slab, but it expands if too thick.
But it seems better for you to stick with the original stuff that peels off. Most floor adhesive do come apart easily during removal, but have adequate adhesion until there is a major flood.
I'd say this is grounds for divorce! ;-)
But really, what's the reasoning behind the backing on the marble? Makes me wonder if the marble is crap that needs a bonding layer plus epoxy, just to hold it together.
If I was in your shoes I believe I'd back out gracefully. no joke.
Edited 4/28/2007 12:08 pm ET by Hudson Valley Carpenter
Unfortunately, backing out is NOT an option.
The sad part is, it's a very simple job. Most of the work is full tiles, and if it wasn't for the fact that the recommended glue is 130.00 a bucket, I'd have no complaints.
G,
I see a lot of this stuff and we use thinsets by Mapie.
They have proprietary thinset for a wide range of special applications. Someone allready mentioned contacting the manufacturer or the distributor. Get their reccomendation IN WRITING to cya.
Ya want the wife happy right?[email protected]
I was just using some Mapei Keralastic today. My main tile guy says this is th eonly brand worth handling anymore for quality jobs.But the label clearly reads that there are some marbles that it should NOT be used for and that epoxy is the only way to go.
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But the label clearly reads that there are some marbles that it should NOT be used for and that epoxy is the only way to go.
That's interesting. I have some reading to do.......................
Quarapoxy was what we used in the late 70's early 80's.
In a 3 1/2 gallon bucket were two one gallon buckets of part A and part B, plus the bag of mortar. You had to have a good plan and work like the devil with that stuff though. I think I still have a couple of the one gallon pails kicking around with nails or something in them.
Are you laying that funky antique tile we saw in the thread a few months back?[email protected]
"I have some reading to do......................."Get out you magnifying glass.+
I set another 120 sq ft room today.
I think I like Ditra.
This is another tile job. I already spent the money from that other one.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
The reading glass sits right on the desk here...............even with the spectacles I need the glass to look at certain things. It'll be our secret okay?
How did you like using the Ditra? I've used it twice and encountered small issues.
I found that I might end up with a slightly undulating surface upon completion even if the floor beneath was flat. This was apparently from leaning in on my left hand while troweling it flat. I tried to keep the knee pads off it altogether.
Last job I used it on, I ran out of Mapie Thinset and grabbed some Versa Bond or what ever the orange store had. The Ditra did not adhere. I had to pull up a sheet and scraped the T/S off and re-do it.
What's your experience been like?[email protected]
This is the first job I have used it on so I will withold comment until I am sure, but I read a post here someplace that John Bridges has come to the conclusion that unmodified thinset is best for all Ditra, both over and under it. I think I agree after this use so far.I had no trouble with dimpling. I am thinking that is a factor related more to the size trowel you use. They recommend a 3/16" v-noitch for the under coat and that is what i used. It seems to have worked well."Tile grouted" is that antique tunisian tileThe others are this weekend.
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Nice looking work paul. Should be nice in the context aof a finished project.
Ditra Label say unmodified under, modified over.
Or maybe it does.................considering I used a 1/4" square notch.[email protected]
I read the label the other way around.They are specific about unmodified in capital bold letters with the instructions that come with.For the under, they say whatever is right for the substrate, leaving that open to interpretation.In their book, they go into it more.As far as I understand it, they are saying that the modified needs air to cure up right but their plastic waterproof material does not allow that so curing can take a very long time if you use modified. This is contrary to my instincts where we normally use modified for something like porcelan where the surface is impervious like the Ditra is.Meanwhile, the unmodified cures stronger in a tight environment where the moisture is kept in reaction without aloowing it to evaporate. They have test results published comparing strength of both.The shape of the Ditra pockets is a large part of what creates the lock once cured more than a chemical bond. IOW we are SETTING the material in - not gluing it down.
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I see a lot of this backing. So much stone is so grainy/veiney that apparently this is needed to hold it together.
Thus, previously unmarketable stone can now be sold and proffited on; if you get what I mean.
I don't like the stuff, as the op stated, it peels of rather easily. So what is is really doing?[email protected]
Right, and the very worst stuff is what goes to the tiles instead of slabs.
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<<I see a lot of this backing. So much stone is so grainy/veiney that apparently this is needed to hold it together.
Thus, previously unmarketable stone can now be sold and proffited on; if you get what I mean.
I don't like the stuff, as the op stated, it peels of rather easily. So what is is really doing?>>
I haven't purchased marble in years but I was anticipating this kind of reply because it's the only thing that makes sense based on the evidence presented.
The problem is that the tile setter is left hanging, if all the resins and epoxies don't do the job. In this case the tile setter is doing his wife a big favor. Too big, in my opinion.
It is almost impossible to buy marble that is not re-inforced with resin to one degree or another. It is a porus stone and weak.
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YA know what I've learned in my old age? Just do it and suck it up and stop thinking about it. Its not worth it...a few months down the line it'll just have been more grist for the mill : )
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I haven't used epoxy thinset since the late seventies, but it was $55/tub ( something less than five gallons) back then!
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
The option to having someone else do it is you buying the materials and doing it yourself, right? I would think you're saving money and if you know that you can do it to your own satisfaction better than someone else, you'll save a lot of frustration.