Kitchen 1/2 bath and laundry

[blueheels2]

Hello everyone glad to be he re. Been lurking for a couple of weeks and I'm ready to jump in. Will try to post some pics here in a day or two.

A little backstory. I am an electrician by trade but work was slow so I was loozing at about 3 weeks home. Wife and I had planned to pay someone to tile these 3 areas for us but when the downtime came we decided I would do it. Last time I did any tiling was about 15 years ago and I was not proud of the outcome of my efforts.

Anyway I ripped up the existing linoleum 2 Sundays ago in anticipation of having the next 2 weeks off. Welland ter I destroyed my kitchen and laundry work Called me in last week so that put the project w
4 days behind.

Thanks to all the posts I read while lurking I took some action.

1. Ripped out linoleum and pulled all 5 million staples with a pair of needle nose and acts paw.

2. Ran deflector calculator and came with a value that was 637 or 67 but I don't remember now. Good for tile.

3. Assessed I had 3/4 t and g plywood suitable for tile. Read a lot and I know most suggest another layer of sub floor but I gambled based on my adequate deflector number.

4. Installed 1/4" hardibacker using a Pro-Flex thinset I don't remember the name of at the moment. Used the Hardibacker screws and taped the joints but I've been doing it as I lay the tile.

5. Started installing the 13" porcelain 2 days ago. First 2 days went slow since I was by myself. Wife chipped in today and we have installed most of the full tiles. Will spend most of tomorrow cutting and installing the rest. Hopefully all the tile will be in by tomorrow. I'm using Pro-Flex platinum and a 1/4" x 3/8 " trowel. Have to go back to work Monday so it maybe Thursday or Friday before I can grout. Space is about 310 sq. Ft.

Lots of typing. Will add more soon and hopefully some pics if I can figure that out.

[cx]

Welcome, Gibbby (there really three Bs in that name?)

I don't see a question for us in there.

[blueheels2]

So on Saturday I let my mom lay some tile for me. Not much maybe ten to 15 pieces. Anyway today I was laying out some cuts to make and I noticed her lippage was unacceptable. I tore them up with a wonderbar and a hammer. It appears that on these tiles there was full adhesion to the tile but very little to the hardibacker. What is the problem here? Is it because she didn't follow my instructions to wet the hardibacker with a sponge before applying the thinset? Was the thinset too dry. I will try to take a picture and post if that will help but I'm not to tech savvy so that may not work out well. You can literally see the imprint of the hardibacker in the thinset on the back of the tile. Almost looks llike it was stamped in there. I assume with proper adhesion the thinset would be very hard to remove from the hardibacker.

[blueheels2]

Buehler?
Buehler?
Buehler?

[Houston Remodeler]

1- She didn't pre-dampen the CBU

2- Yes, see #1

3- Could have been, coupled with #1 which would have made it worse for adhesion

4- Especially after a few days.

[blueheels2]

Thanks

[blueheels2]

So I'm laying the rest of the tile tomorrow and plan on grouting Saturday. Wife is planning on using sanded grout from Home Depot. I was not impressed with the help I received when purchasing the thinset for the tile and backer board so I went to a tile shop. Do you suggest I use something from Lowes or would I be better off going back to the tile shop?

I know I need to seal the grout but do I need to seal the tile as well?

[blueheels2]

Should I seal the tiles before I grout?

[Kman]

I usually recommend epoxy grout in most applications. It's not necessary, but it resolves the problems that usually arise with cementitious grout, such as inconsistency in color, color washout, fading, and staining over time.

Epoxy grouts are more work and they cost more in the beginning, but if you take the time to do the job correctly, you don't have to worry about sealing the grout, ever. To me, that alone is worth the extra cost and work.

If it's not something you want to tackle, I'd look into the additives that are available for cementitious grout. They take the place of water, so you're less likely to have problems due to water hardness, and some of them preclude the need for sealing the grout afterward. They will likely need sealing later on in the future, but not right after installation.

[blueheels2]

So I couldn't find a quality epoxy grout on short notice so I went with the TEC stuff from Lowe's in 12.5 lb bags. Used the grout booster instead of water with the color mix and everything came out great. Easy to use and went down really fast. I say things went well and they did except for I have a wicked case of efflorescence on my tile and grout. I'm kind of ticked off about it. It's going to be a good looking installation when I get this crap off.

From reading I think I have to wait 10 days to treat it with acid?

Does anyone suggest a product to get this crap off my floor?

Will vinegar work?

Thanks

[cx]

Unlikely you have efflorescence so soon after grouting. How 'bout you post a photo of what you're seeing?

And it would be helpful to know what the TEC "stuff" was that you used and also the specific additive.