I stupidly call all CBU’s Wonderboard like calling a circular saw a Skillsaw or a tissue, Kleenex. My customer asked me to hang cbu’s around the perimeter of his fireplace over the sheetrock and then his mason is going to cement w/mortar some real stone facing to it thats maybe 3/4″ thick or less. The stone design looks like your puzzle cut tile squares/rectangles. About 10″x 18″ roughly. To be more clear…there’s brick around the fireplace opening and we put the Hardie “up to” the brick which is a good cpl of feet away from the opening so it’s not anywhere near the heat of the fireplace either. Anyway…I think his mason is bidching about it not being Wonderboard. I pray he didn’t rip it off and redo it. I sent the link from Hardie to my customer which says it’s for tile and natural stone and that it IS a “cement” product…unlike some other backerboards like EZ-backer. Is there any reason it wouldn’t be as good as WB? Actually…Hardie is even a bit more expensive…for whatever thats worth. Just sayin’ so no one thinks I used it because of cost. I also use my grinder to cut it outside so it’s not that it’d be any easier one way or another to cut for me. The ONLY time I ever use Wonderboard is if I need to use it in an exterior application. Any thoughts on this please? Gawd…it’s always sumpin’…ugh.
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Might be worth reading the instructions to see what kinds of mortar will stick, and then send the mason an ANSI spec to adhere to (yeah, ha ha). Strange that they would ask you to install the backer and him to install the tile, but if they did that, without asking him what he required (and then telling you), somebody fubared.
David.
It's not tile. It's a
David.
It's not tile. It's a stone "facing" laid on a grid "like" a puzzle cut mosaic tile.
Each individual stone on the grid is about 3/4" thick or less and are narrow rectangles.
I was the dope that said WONDERBOARD b/c I call all CBU's WB like we all call circular saws Skill saws. My mistake for calling it that and it seems thats what the mason likes to use. I don't think he even knows what Hardie is...thats the problem I think..besides me saying the wrong thing.
I thought I got so much better at watching what I say over the years but you know how that goes. I should have just said Cement board.
I'm gonna make an assumption
I'm gonna make an assumption on one or the other that you talk about. Durock is more coarse than the smoother tile backer (would that be what you installed?). Perhaps that's his bitch-he figgers better adhesion with the coarse CBU's.
Not Durorock... I used Hardie.
Exactly right Cal...he thinks it's better to go over a sligtly rougher surface but we did lay the Hardi rougher side out. It ain't like it's THAT different plus over all the years I've used Hardie I never had any issues what so ever. Mortar should have zero problem sticking to Hardie. He even said he uses it in a slightly soupy mix.
Mortar has a good deal of lime in it which makes it pretty sticky...
Some days I wish I never got out of bed..
You know what? I saw an odd thing happen on a friends job a while ago. Homowner wanted him to install the durock on the job (homowner was gonna......). He did. Tile guy was the homowner. His tile didn't stick-fell off. He refused to pay him that portion of his bill. He swore off all substrait from then on. You putting in the tile (stone), you put up what you want, how you want it. Tile falls off, too bad-your problem.
Mason probably saw your assasin looking mug shot and thinks you might be weird.
Little does he know.
>>Little does he know.<<
LOL...now thats funny right there.
Where's Rez when ya need an award? Awwwwww...miss ya rez!
>>Little does he know.<<
LOL...now thats funny right there.
Where's Rez when ya need an award? Awwwwww...miss ya rez!
I will graciously and happily accept that posthumous award in his name. Thank you...............now,
you got any of those dancing babies or anything.
I loved those things.
Seriously... get out the written instructions for the board you used, get the ANSI specs for thinset and mortar from them, and pass along to the mason so he can use something that will work. Otherwise rip it off.
David...I'm calling Hardi
David...I'm calling Hardi tech support in the morning. A little too late but none the less.
Also if he ripped my Hardie down and redid it with Wonderboard I'm gonna take some of that stone...mortar it to a piece of Hardi scrap...let it dry and have him try and pull it off so he can see how stuck it really does get.
This bussiness is rough.
We have to know so much stuff unlike trades that do just one thing....yet we don't get plumber kinda dough.
Go figga
Ya stewpid hinjew.........you shoulda asked someone to spec it for ya....CYA. You spec it you're on the hook.
You should be fine. I believe most of that stuff goes on with thinset. FWIW; being near the FP I would have used WB.
E
It's no where near the
It's no where near the fireplace. Like I said..it's surrounding the brick wall beyond the fireplace/box right up to the ceiling. No where is the Hardie within 3 feet of the firebox and even if it were...it's cement board.
I have no question whatsoever in my mind that it may even be remotely a fire hazard.
Also...I've used Hardie in the past to do a small facade wall that I stuccoed with mortar and it grabbed stuck really well.
I'll letcha all know what tech support tells me in the morning.
Update: Woke up to an email this morning from the homeowner...I was shuddering b/4 I opened it. He said the fireplace looks great. He said the mason had a bit of a hard time at first but he figured out the right mix and it went up smoothly.
I think he's just old school and never tries out any new products from what I can tell b/c I'd been watching him work for months on different projects at my customers house. He does nice work but like I said..he's an old school Turk.
Man that email made me feel alot better. Wish he'd had sent it to me b/4 I went to sleep..ugh.
Glad it worked out!
Now that he went over your work... he owns it!