Unusual installation

I'm working on a bathroom right now in an old house. There is a window in the tub surround. The house is a typical old house around here, with 4" block with brick on the outside, tied into the block every other course. There are no studs on any of the exterior walls or party walls of this townhouse.

I shot pressure treated 2 x 4's onto the block, shimmed to plumb, and with mucho construction adhesive. I intalled Utilicrete on the studs in the surround and on the wainscot.

Yesterday, I floated mud in the window opening to true up the block/brick rough opening, and mudded the sill so it is flat. I have 4 pieces of stone that have been fabricated as sill, head and side jambs. Once these have been set, a glass block "artisan" will set a block unit in the opening, which I will grout the perimeter of with the same sanded grout that is used on the stone in the shower.

The question is this: Should i use thinset to set these heavy pieces of stone (3/4" thick x 8" wide) onto the mud, or should I use some type of brick mortar?

I plan on waterproofing the whole thing with Laticrete 9235.

Ideas? Anyone ever done something like this?

Rob

[LDavis]

Rob,

Have you seen any info on Laticrete's Latapoxy 310 rapid stone adhesive? Sounds like the stuff to use on your header piece. I've got a feeling a good modified thinset will work for the sill and jambs, but if your going to use the "310" on the header, might as well use it on those too.

I haven't used this myself, but I heard a "spiel" on it.

Latney

I've seen the demo pieces at the store, and it looks like impressive stuff. I hadn't even thought to use it.

I like the rapid set part of it...being able to walk away from it within minutes knowing it's not going anywhere.

I'll call the Laticrete rep and see what he says.

Rob

[cx]

Surely Jana's Daddy ordered the jambs cut so's the head jamb sits atop the side jambs so's to be supported whilst the glue dries, no matter what kind he uses. Surely.

Latney:
Is that Latipoxy 310 something real expensive? I have bid one job that wanted a clear span beam wrapped with the same rock as some interior walls and couldn't anybody think of a product to use to glue the ones on the bottom. Didn't get to build the house, so it was never a problem, but I've been looking for something that would work well ever since.

Only product I've ever used that I thought would do it ran about $100 a gallon and they would never even tell me definately that it would hold rock to wood (rock to rock it's indestructible), and it wasn't real quick setting at all.

[chip]

Stone to cement, is no big deal.

You are installing inside of a window, right?

The thickness would suggest a medium bed or thick bed mortar.

I personally think epoxy would be over kill, and the product that latney talks about is designed for exterior cladding, I believe. (Ask your buddy if they had any problems with the climbing wall at Coverings)

I keep forgeting, John, how long have mortar and stone been staying together with mud and cement?

Art (If I could just re-invent the wheel) Phenis

Kelly

Sit on top???Wow, what a great idea!

Oh yeah, that's how it is.

Art

OK smart guy. What I was asking is whether or not thinset would be suitable , given the size and mass of the stone. Or, what type of brick mortar to use in place of thinset.

Medium bed mortars sag on the vertical, don't they?

[tileprof]

rob ; cx has the right idea..sill(sloped of coarse),soffit,then jambs. Definatly thinset!caulk all internals.Did the same at my buddy's house.The sill protruded about 1" out from wall and 1-1/2" past opening on each side,looked good! We had to put a sealer on the stone so that when wet wouldn't appear darkerin color.

[John Bridge]

Yeah, thin set.

Art,

It was the Romans who invented cement mortar, but they also depended a great deal on gravity, hence, the Roman arches, etc. I would not try to stick up a piece of rock upside down with nothing holding it but brick mortar. And if I did manage to stick it up there, I would never walk under it.

Where's your picture?