Please Don't Thrash Me For Using AcrylPro...

[BigCraig]

First I hope this is the right forum,

I installed 12X12 Porcelain tile in my entire downstairs area and used AcrylPro because I work extremely slow and using thinset would have hardened to fast to work with(yes I am that slow, due to med reasons)

Now that it is getting colder some of the tiles are popping up and some when tapped on you can hear it is kind of hollow sounding(about to loosen) while most about 70% are solid as a rock.

Taking up the entire floor is out of the question due to finances so can someone help me and suggest a better product to do the repair with, would Omni Grip be better? Or a thinset that gives me plenty of open time.

Thanks

[Lazarus]

I relly hate to say it....but Acrylpro is NOT the way to go. You need to use a latex-modified thinset for your project.....even if you have to mix it just a "little bit" at a time. What you're using is causing the problems....and will always remain so........

[Davy]

Yep, I agree.

A good thinset would have been alot cheaper than mastic. Also, thinset is designed to set slow and can be remixed a time or two as you go.

[BigCraig]

I have already completed the project, now the problems are starting to surface, now I need a repair, pulling up the entire floor is NOT an option, should I use a thinset of some kind to re-set these loose tiles?

[Davy]

Yes, take the grout off the tiles while you have them up, also clean any mastic off the tiles and floor and use a good modified thinset to stick them back.

[BigCraig]

Thanks Davy, what would you recommend for a good thinset, I don't trust HD anymore

[Davy]

HD has Versabond, it's a good thinset that is plenty strong.

[tilelayer]

omnigrib is mastic also, anything in a bucket is bad, very bad!!!

[EGL]

Craig,

Like you, I tend to work slow when tiling, but my reason is that I'm just anal and obsess over whether things look right and am picky. I used Versabond thinset on my master bath shower, and have been using it on my current guest bath remodel. It comes in a 50 pound bag, but I usually just mix up 1/4 of the bag at a time. It has about a 2-3 hour working time, I think, and that's usually plenty for me. I used to be nutty over precise measurement when doing these partial batches, but after you do it a few times you get an eye for what it should look like when properly mixed.

Also, whatever cuts or prep work I can do beforehand I go ahead and do and then mix the thinset and go.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Howdy BC,
Yeah, bummer it didn't work out for you. The porcelain tile didn't help the mastic situation any....with it's really low moisture absorption.

Out of curiousity, can I ask what you used as a backerboard? Was this over plywood, a cementboard, or.....???

[floorman67]

keep a few bags of latex-modified thinset around.

although you say ripping it out and doing it right isnt an option for you, over time, as they pop and loosen, you are going to end up doing it to most of the floor anyway i fear.

[BigCraig]

Tool Guy, this was set over thouroughly cleaned and very level concrete

floorman, my fear also they will all, or especially in traffic areas need to be reset and hope everyone concurs using versabond to do the repair will be the most effective.

I HATE MASTICS

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Well, let's hope the concrete floor pulls the moisture out of the mastic and it dries and hardens up as much as possible.

As for the Versabond, everyone agrees that it will serve you well.

[floorman67]

yep modified versabond is a good product.

[BigCraig]

One more thing if I can, when I apply thinset to the concrete, do I run the trowel all the way down to the hardened surface leaving 1/4" trowelded thinset?