kitchen backsplash tiles on white ‘rock
Hello.
Here’s the situation:
New kitchen counter (concrete) with an upturned lip at the back edge for the backsplash tiles. The wall that it sits against is white sheetrock, not water-resistant green.
It is far enough away from the sink here that water on the wall is not a major issue. My question is this:
Can I put thinset on the sheetrock directly, and set the tile on that? I am not tiling the whole wall. I am just running one row of 6″ tiles on top of the lip at the back of the counter (around 10 running feet in total). It is more decorative than anything else.
The thickness of the lip will not allow me to run any kind of backer board behind the tile, or else the tile will be proud of the lip.
If thinset is not good here, can I simply put the tiles in place with construction adhesive? Will that cause expansion/contraction issues with my grout?
Thanks for your help.
Alex
-Groucho Marx
Replies
If they're regular 1/4" or 3/8" tile, just use regular ready mixed tile paste. Nothing could be easier, and it holds up just fine. I answered this very question twice in the last 2 weeks. A lot of people seem to think that thinset is the only type of setting for every type of tile. I only use thinset where there's lots of water and on floors. You can use regular paste in back of sinks just fine. I've even used it in showers on top of cement board, even though I prefer thinset in that type of environment. Paste is waterproof and it's water cleanup.
Notched trowel and up they go.
Don't use construction adhesive. Heavens!
Would the thinset damage the sheetrock? Or, as the next writer said, does it just set up too fast?
Thanks.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
Unprimed sheetrock will suck the water out of the thinset. Not good.Tile mastic.
If thinset is not good here, can I simply put the tiles in place with construction adhesive? Will that cause expansion/contraction issues with my grout?
Thinset will set up to quickly on raw sheetrock for my taste.
Tile glue is he sanest approach.
I've done hundreds with no problems or failures due to the type of setting material used.
Eric
[email protected]
Mastic is fine. I like to let ceramic tiles installed with mastic set 48 hours before grouting.
If the tiles are glass, only use a product recommended by the manufacturer.
The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.
- Fyodor Dostoyevski
Yeah, use tile mastic. Not a wet area -- no need to mess with thinset.
Prime and finish paint the walls first. Then tile with mastic. This makes for easy clean up. Painting around tile is not easy.
I'm sure mastic is fine, but I just can't stand the stuff. I would just use thinset. I've done several, not hundreds though, without a problem.
Thanks to all for the replies.
The sheetrock has already been primed, and I have thinset on hand, so I will use that. (Don't feel like spending money that could be spent on beer, on mastic.)
Thanks again,
AlexOutside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
I can read between the lines...............
I've been in the field since I was about 20 or so.
I figure 15 to 20 a year conservatively, not withstanding the other tile work I have completed.
I just turned 50 this year.
Do the math.
Eric[email protected]
Nothing to read between the lines Eric. I respect your experience on tile work and usually defer to your advice.
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with using thinset instead of mastic though. It's worked for me the several times I've used it, over a span of 15 years or so. But I don't have hundreds of installs to back my advice up.
Crabby day.............
After I posted the first time, I wondered how the heck people apply Kerdi over sheetrock. I would thing the thinset would flash off rather quickly.
I'd better get the video out and have a look.
Eric[email protected]
With Kerdi, they recommend an unmodified thinset. It works...no problem.
I haven't had an opportunity to use Kerdi yet. I can attest that on primed sheetrock the thinset acts pretty much the same as it does on Durock or Hardi backer board.
Make sure before you do anything to the drywall you prime it. I installed Marlite on not primed drywall. To say the least the glue weakened the drywall paper and it tore and came off. Went back took everything off, reinstalled the drywall and primed it this time, no problems with it for 30 years.
Is that new rock? If so I'd at least put a coat of primer on.
Gitterdun with mastic
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
To everybody:
The drywall had already been primed, and I did the job last night with thinset.
Mastic money went to beer.
A win-win situation.
AlexOutside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
Thats how my tile guy does it all the time. You're not showering there and your not submerging the backsplash.
You should be fine.