Excellent, that I have already. The reason I asked is I thought I read somewhere on this forum that "gunned glue" was not the preferred method of doing it. I will have a couple more questions but I'm not ready to ask them yet. I'm having to put down the subfloor in small sections because one big piece won't fit around all the door casings. Also it keeps me from falling through the floor :) I like the basement but I don't want to take that route down there.

Gunned adhesives are not suitable for gluing between sheets of plywood in a subfloor applciation for a ceramic tile installation, Dan, but fine for your current application.

Planning on putting down Ditra in the hallway due to spending major time trying to section the subfloor into place. Still have to lay out the underlayment so it overlaps the subfloor seams. Don't want to do that again on the CBU. Can the Ditra be sectioned on the floor also? The hallway has 5 doorways in it so I have to fit it around all the door casings. Does it matter if the little dovetail holes in the Ditra don't line up from one section to another? Thanks.

Long as you cover the whole floor, Dan, Herr Schluter doesn't care much at all where or how you cut the Ditra. The alignment of the waffle pattern isn't important, either.

My opinion; worth price charged.

May or may not use the Ditra now, was unable to procure the 5/8" plywood, went to two HomeDepot stores and neither had it although it's listed on their website as being in stock. So I ended up with the 15/32" stuff over the 23/32" subfloor. Now there's going to be a height problem between the hallway and kitchen using the standard Ditra. The XL will make the hallway floor a little higher (about a 1/32nd) but probably not enough to matter. Nobody around here carries the XL so that will be special order. Because of the weird cuts and shape of the hallway I made patterns to cut the underlayment with, roughing them out with a jigsaw and finishing the edges with a trim router. If I end up using CBU specifically HardiBacker, after I rough it out with a diamond blade on the angle grinder, can it be trimmed to size with the router? I'm using masonite for the patterns so I can run the router bit with the bearing against the pattern.
One last dumb question: Should I put some rosin paper down between the subfloor and the underlayment as future squeak prevention? Since gluing them is a No No I thought that might be a good idea. Or not :ct:

If you use this article as a guideline for installing a second layer of plywood, it won't squeak. :)

Dan, you really shouldn't need your cuts to be any more accurate than you can make with your angle grinder. That stuff is very hard on woodworking tools.

You don't want anything at all between your layers of subflooring.

My opinion; worth price charged.

Thanks, I will save the precision cuts for the tile if I ever install it :crazy:

I almost have the hallway done so I can finally put some tile down. I may have to cut the first row of tiles about an inch off (18x18) so I can fit the tile into a doorway. Is there a minimum cut on tile using a tile saw from the Homer store? I won't know for sure until I start to dry fit the hallway. Since all the tiles will need to line up from the hallway to the kitchen it's going to be a juggling act.

Since I haven't bought the tile for the hallway yet (~40sq ft), is it usual (SOP) to continue the same tile from the kitchen into the hallway? Or would you put down something different sized/color? The kitchen tile is what they call Portland stone. They also have something similar in 12x24 Portland Gray stone. Thanks

Finally got the hallway ready for tile. what a job that was. If I was paying myself, I would have to charge about 10 grand for this job. A couple of quick questions: I'm using 18x18" tiles with a 1/2x1/2 notched trowel. Once I put down the "key" tile and level it X&Y, do they have a tendency to continue to move until the mortar sets up? I figure I will put down the key tile and reference all the rest from that one. I'm just concerned with "drift" while setting up. Just wondering if I need to invest in a leveling system to avoid the dreaded 'lippage" Thanks.

I haven't closely followed this thread so I don't know if you have a photo or drawing of your hallway but I would never install 1 tile and let it set up. The usual strategy is to install a line of tiles and make sure they are straight and line up with each other. What if you level the tile but the hallway isn't level?

Anyways, you can do it however you want but I would recommend a different strategy. :)

That was the plan, when I say key tile, I mean the starting point. It will be in the kitchen and run down the hallway. The floor is level more or less. I was just wondering if I need a leveling system if the tiles move a little due to "sinkage" once they're set. Thanks.

Finally got the kitchen floor done. The wife hasn't killed me in my sleep yet, probably waiting until I'm finished. :nod: Still need to do the hallway and now the bathroom but that's another project for the winter. Just trying to finish the kitchen now. Plan on using 3x6 beveled subway tiles for the back-splash and behind the stove and refrigerator since you will be able to see behind them (unlike the cabinets).
So here's the questions:

• Any pro or con to using thin-set or mastic for wall tiles?

• When putting in a subway tile pattern, best to start from the bottom and work up or start at the top (bottom of cabinets) and work down so the odd sized pieces end up behind the cabinets?

• Do you typically end the back-splash at the counter-top or continue it below the surface of the counter-top and caulk the interface between the counter-top and back-splash?

• As far as grouting these subway tiles, can I use the Fusion Pro grout I used on the floor? I was just worried about possible scratching since it's a sanded grout (I think).

This is an old house with plaster over drywall and there's not a square wall to be found anywhere so fitting the counter-top will take some finesse. The wall cabinets were a treat, put the corner cabinets in first, and then had to fit each adjoining cabinet so all the bottoms lined up. Many trips outside to use the trim router (keep the dust out of the house) until I got it to fit. Easier to cut a little more off then add some :) Because of the low ceiling height, I was trying to mount them as high as possible so they're not on top of the counter-top. I'm sure real cabinet installers would have just mounted them about an inch lower and put up some molding to cover up the uneven gaps around the top. Well, enough of my life story tonight, thanks for the help.

You can use mastic for that application if you want. Of course, we always recommend thinset mortar, but if I was going to use mastic, a kitchen backsplash would be the one place.

You'll want your counters installed before you start the backsplash. Then you'll start at the counter and work your way up to the upper cabinets so that the cut pieces are (mostly) out of sight.

Are you butting the tile together, or will there be grout joints larger than 1/8"? Typically you would use an unsanded grout for subway tile that are butted together and result in a 1/16" joint.

I was thinking of using 1/8" spacers on the tile since I read somewhere that the lugs aren't consistent. Will the Fusion Pro scratch the surface of the tiles? I was going to use the Fusion Pro just because I have most of a gallon left after the floor. Doesn't have to be that though. The color is Platinum on the grout, guess it goes OK with white tiles. I wasn't sure which was better, thin set or mastic. Would Versabond work fine? I have the Big Tile and Stone Bostik mortar but that's $35/bag compared to $16 for the Versabond. Still have a hallway and bathroom to do so I'm hanging on the $$$$ pooky for that :)

These are the tiles I'm planning on using:


U.S. Ceramic Tile Bright Glazed Snow White 3 in. x 6 in. Ceramic Beveled Edge Wall Tile.