When to ditra

[ciela]

I found this forum a little while ago and you guy have some wonderful advice!

I'm planning to tile my bathroom using Ditra as an underlayment. I've pulled up the linoleum but, of course, there's now a layer of annoying glue I have to get off. Although it's been taking forever, I've been dampening it with water and it's been coming up. Sweet.

Now the question. Does the plywood have to be completely dry before I start applying the ditra? or can it still be a little damp? I'm finding myself in a major time crunch and I don't think I can wait a day or two for it to dry before I start putting stuff down. Seems to me that the thinset would wet the floor anyways so it wouldn't really matter. But, of course, I'm the novice here and that's why I'm asking you experts :)

Thanks!

Ciela

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[Mike2]

Hi Ciela and welcome to the Forum. Glad to have you with us. :)

This is a tough call as we really don’t know how much water was used during the adhesive removal process. You don’t want to trap moisture that may have found it’s way into the inner cores of the plywood. Personally, if I was sure the plywood was Exterior grade AND was only slightly damp on the surface I would continue forward with the Ditra application. If on the other hand I had to get the floor fairly wet in order to remove the adhesive and the plywood readily soaked up the water, I’d let it dry out a few more days.

[ciela]

Ok, guess I'll just have to wait then :) Better safe than sorry.

Also, (this may seem like a dumb question but what I've been reading in different books has confused me a bit)

I'm replacing a plywood board that's rotted along the edges. Now do I want the board to be flush against the adjacent boards (as it is now) or do I leave a little space between them?

Thanks again!

Ciela

[Mike2]

Definitely a little space Ciela. :nod: An 1/8" expansion joint should be placed between the plywood panels. If you already have two panels butted up against one another, setting a skill saw depth equal to the ply thickness and cutting out a space can be done.

[ciela]

Oki doki, that's what I thought.

Now for another question: How long do you have to wait after tiling to grout?

[jgleason]

With unmodified thinset to set your tile over the Ditra I would wait a minimum of one day but I would prefer two.