Thinset for Ceramic Tile Floors

[wilhelmpaoloquinto]

How is it possible to lay tiles in unfinished concrete? Please answer quick :D

[AsktheBuilder]

@wilhelmpaoloquinto You need an answer like that? Easy. You go to my AsktheBuilder website. See at the top where it says "Shop"? Go there. Look in the left column for Consult. Click that and order a 15-Minute phone call.

[jessi330]

Excellent video. Here's my issue: I've got diagonal planks over floor joists, and atop that is plywood (don't know the thickness). Previous owners put sheet-laminate on the plywood. Most of it is torn up but there is some very stuck on portions. Tried scraping with a putty knife and hammer under the edges with minor success. Also tried a heat gun to goo-ify the old adhesive. Can I lay backboard over it? Should I remove the plywood and put backerboard on subfloor planks? What's my best option?

[Deckion2187]

Tim,

That was a peanut butter consistency not pancake batter.

[anniemcu]

Like your lungs? Wear a mask! That dust is *not* good for you. Read those instructions and warnings!

Otherwise, thanks much for the info!

[mississauga0909]

I use a paint mixer attatchment to my electric drill for small amounts. A big paddle requires a really powerfull big drill.

[Etherglide]

Just to pick up on a small point. You use white thin set when you are laying white tiles or very light tiles because if you use grey the dark colour MAY SHOW THROUGH the body of the tile. Sorry to nit pick. Its an important point though.

[AsktheBuilder]

@Etherglide Correct. In this video, I'm installing a dark gray tile. That's why I used gray thinset. To cover all aspects of thinset about tile floors, well that would be a one-hour video, not six minutes.

[Solarpassive]

@AsktheBuilder I have been doing tile since 1988. I have learned that the best way to mix thin set is to start with the water THEN add the thin set. Also, I find that a margin trowel makes it much easier to mix.

[AsktheBuilder]

@Solarpassive Great tip. As I say all the time, there is more than one *right* way. It's whatever works best for you. I'll try my margin trowel and see what happens.

[zmanifest]

@AsktheBuilder Err Tim, The consistency of Thinset was more like peanut butter, not pancake batter.

[AsktheBuilder]

@zmanifest I'd love to see the peanut butter you use. The one I use, if I were to turn the jar upside down, it would *never* come out of the jar. Turn over my bucket of thinset after I've mixed it up, and it WILL flow out of the bucket - not rapidly like water, but it will flow.

[TheGuider]

You have the best video explaining thinset so far... Very simple, and very informative!

I'm a beginner, and I've only started tiling floors, and your video is exactly what I have been looking for :)

Thank you so much!

[jimmym1a1]

What situation would call for a sanded grout vs a non-sanded grout? Also tiling OVER existing tile; I guess you can do it, BUT are there any really bad disadvantages in doing so?

[charleykocher]

Thank you so much! I am renovating a bath and all your tile videos are so helpful for my success. You are going to make me look good!

[AsktheBuilder]

@charleykocher No worries. Thank YouTube for making this free exchange of knowledge possible. Be sure to stop back and let us know what happens. Tape a quick video of your project and load it to your channel. Then contact me and I'll add it here as a video response. We'd LOVE to see how it turns out.

[The03235012]

Can I mix thinset a day in advance in a 3 gallon bucket with a top seal before laying it down?

[AsktheBuilder]

@The03235012 You can, but it will be rock hard when you go to use it. What is your motivation for doing such a thing? There are retardants that you can put in to slow or suspend the hydration reaction, but why not just mix the material fresh when you need it?

[steleryan]

Okay, I have a question. If you mix the entire 50 lb. bag in a bucket and seal it with a lid.....will the mix still harden? If so, how does it not harden on the pre-mix that you buy at say....Lowes or Home Depot?

[AsktheBuilder]

It will be like rock when you reopen the lid. The bagged product is cement-based. The chemical reaction hydration happens when you mix it with water. The premixed stuff is acrylic-based and hardens the same way paint does when it is exposed to air.

[jb12031]

I am doing a shower in slate tile. I have thin set for marble & stone. Is that right ? Also, how long do I wait before removing the spacers and scraping the excess mortar out of the lines ? It's the walls I'm concerned with.....hate to see all my work go sliding down the wall....

[SonofaBowler]

Do you guys really know what you are talking about? Joey Petroni's you tube video instructed my cousin to use old paint mixed with wall spackle to grout his tile. Now it's all chipping up. I know the wall spackle can be used for various projects, but to hold a tile in place?

[AsktheBuilder]

I only approved this comment because I'm in a good mood. It's almost unbelievable. Give us the exact title of this video so we can all watch it. To answer your question: Yes, I know what I'm talking about.

[seephor]

Great video but a little tip. You want to pour the water in the bucket first then add the mortar. It makes the mixing job a lot easier

[theTRUTHpg]

white isnt if it seeps between your grout lines, you would have to scrap that out before grouting anyways. Its if you use a light marble or other porous stones. If you use grey the grey will seep through the back of the tile and will turn your nice white marble grey

[marc7388]

i prefer to use a bucket trowel ,not a paint scraper...you make it sound enjoyable not laborious,which i feel it is after 2o yrs tiling lol.

[EmbrunFalcon91]

@marc7388 you do tiling? I have a question. Does masonry have anything to do with tiling? Because im 18 right now and im takign a masnry course and in abour 10 years im gonna look for something tha isint as hard on the back. Tiling looks nice so i was looking into it

[AsktheBuilder]

Two entirely different skill sets. Tile work requires a greater degree of precision. You do work with clay products in both situations, mortar, etc., but it's vastly different.

[BoBzIsHere]

great information thanks! just one thing, it wasnt a pancake like mixture, i know this because i make pancakes aswell..and pancakes have more of a liquide texture than what you showed us. All good though thanks

[AsktheBuilder]

Hilarious!!! You and I need to have a pancake batter Throw Down..... I'll show you how to make batter. :->>>>>>>>>

[BoBzIsHere]

Yeah we should, except you wouldnt make yours right...sorry to say, not with that texture...batter is more liquidy it pores into the pan and then cooks away..

[AsktheBuilder]

Thanks! You bet a drill and mixer come in handy when you have lots to mix. It does make a smooth batch indeed!

[JessandJR]

should be wearing knee pads. my boss is cripple now because he did it for 20 years without them

[JessandJR]

should be wearing a face mask.

[rruizsat]

Tim, Can you use thin-set on an outdoor patio concrete slab or what would you recommend? Thanks.

[AsktheBuilder]

Yes you can. Be sure to read the label of the product to ensure it's rated for exterior use.

[adam200784]

Over here in the uk we have the same sort of product that goes off in 2-3 hours so it can take light foot traffic and when on wood it has a arcylic addative to make it flexiable for a wooden floor. White adehisve we use for mainly fixing natural light colour stones and all porcelains as they stain.

[ceramictilepro]

Tim. You did a nice job on explaining the basics of thinset and how to mix it the "home owner" way. There are so many types of thinsets out there: dry-set,modified,medium bed for large tiles and even one for tiling over cracks in concrete slabs to name a few. I agree in staying away from mastic

[AsktheBuilder]

Thanks. I'm sure you understand that one could do a 1-hour DVD on just thinset. It would take perhaps 100 or more hours of videos to show much, not all, of what a true professional knows about tile installation. No one can afford to invest that time in these videos.

[azmekong]

Excellent videos, thank your for your help, just bought a house and you explain everything really well, and I plan on using your tips. Thanks again.

[Catnipsta]

You really should wear a mask when pouring this thinset, not a nice material to have clogging up one's lungs. Just think what it does when mixed with water !!

[AsktheBuilder]

Indeed. It's tough to tape a video with one on. You should try it. You have a channel, so put a mask on and talk. Tell us when you have the video posted so we can watch it. :->

[proxkyjo]

seems like he was just looking out for you....

[AsktheBuilder]

I agree, but the point I was making is the fact that if you were wearing the proper mask then my voice would be so garbled you wouldn't be able to clearly hear what I was saying. You could spend 90 seconds during each video listing all the safety aspects of each task no matter if the video is about sawing, using a drill, painting, installing shingles, etc. You simply don't have that kind of time in these short videos to cover every aspect. I was trying to get Catnipsta to try it to see.

[ceramictilepro]

Good point Tim. A mask would not work here. There are so many types of thinsets available from: dry-set, modified,medium beds for large tiles and even some for laying tile directly over cracks on concrete slabs. They all are very dusty no matter how you mix it. I have mixed thinset for 20 years now and use a cartridge filter respirator

[MetatroN197924]

thank you very much for your video,it help me to make the floor of my house with tiles.

[seanseanseanseansean]

Are there any warnings on the bag about breathing that powdery stuff? Is it okay to whiff it in like that?

[AsktheBuilder]

I'm sure there are. It's never okay to breathe in dust.

[Zeamus634]

How is that anything like pancake mix?

[AsktheBuilder]

Your comment makes me think you've never mixed pancake batter to the right consistency. Go watch a chef do it. :-> Or better yet, just trust what I say and mix your thinset the way I show. You have the option of making it stiffer or wetter. Do it all three ways and come back and tell us which way works better to ensure the tile stays permanently bonded to the floor. :->>>>

[Mandalorx10]

wait,wait,wait

He might ofc be talking about crép batter.

wich has a very low viscosity.

and there are many,many difrent types of "pancakes"

But seeing as how Tim is a red blooded American he means american pancakes.

[AsktheBuilder]

Correct. American pancakes, not those thin things that look like burritos.

[Zeamus634]

If thats what you want to call it, but you are right in saying about the different ways to make pancakes.

[Mandalorx10]

Five stars!

[zakzak000]

I've alwasy been taught to add the powder to the water not the other way round!

[AsktheBuilder]

And the extreme danger in doing that is what in the world happens if you start with too much water in the bucket????? Doing it my way, and adding water in small amounts you never add too much. Your way is fraught with peril.

[zakzak000]

Hmm we in the UK do things very differently. Any powdered products always gets added to the water as you get a better mix. Here when we do proper plastering the plaster is always added to the water, same as when mixing tile adhesives.

[AsktheBuilder]

That's great, but you didn't answer my question. Say you have a product that only needs one gallon of water. Someone puts in an extra 16 ounces by mistake. You only have one bag of mix. You're SOL buddy.......

[zakzak000]

Well from experience you don't. I know from my bucket i get half a bag of plaster to half a bucket of water. Experience has taught me that. If I added the water to the plaster it would have ruined my mix. There are skilled trade here in the UK plastering is one of them, Something you Americans know nothing about, its an art form. Anyone can dry-line a room it takes a master plasterer to skim.

[AsktheBuilder]

Commander, you missed the point in the video. This video is for beginners and it says right on the bag of mix it's just fine to add water to the powder. And as for plastering, we have quite a few talented master plasterers over here in the Colonies. I went to your channel, and there's not one video there about what you know. I suggest you channel all this energy you seem to have into making videos that show us what you claim to know.

[Mandalorx10]

DO WHAT TIM SAYS!

Or you'll find your self in a really nice pear of sement shoes! :D

[AsktheBuilder]

Thanks! I was wondering when the cavalry would arrive.

[soaringman]

funnyt you posted this now, I got a big tile job starting monday

[sirbata]

for who are these vids made for

?

If for homeowners... good advice yet incomplete... if for ppl in the trade.... hmmm

[AsktheBuilder]

They are made for anyone that doesn't know what was discussed in the video. There is an entire *series* of these about the different steps. You can't put all the info in one video. Keep searching.....my channel. And if you still feel they are incomplete, maybe you should tape some if you have knowledge in this area.

[MadBadVoodo]

Five Stars!!

[SlingingYapper]

Hey man, havent seen you making videos in a long time, hopfully you have more on the way.

[AsktheBuilder]

I do. You have to have a place to tape them..... and then the time. It takes a lot of resources to make these videos.

[CanadianToolGuy416]

cool, I actually never knew what thinset was made out of