Good unmodified thinset

[Donnie D.]

hey guys..ive used alot of ditra lately and used versabond to set the ditra and then custom blend unmodified to set the tile on the ditra..ive had zero issues..thats the only unmodified thin set i can get from hd or lowes locally..but there r some tile shops around me..now what r some good un modified thin sets that i could find at one of these tile shops?..what u guys recommend?

[Dan Kramer]

Ditra set, Laticrete's 317 and Mapei's kerabond are all very good. I think customblend is real cheap crappy thinset. But I could be wrong.

[Donnie D.]

ok i think a shop by me carries kerabond..ill try that one out..also does it make much different if i use versabond over the better flexbond to set the ditra?

[tilelayer]

kerabond is a good thinset, I like ditraset. I use 253 under ditra or tec fullflex or customs porcelain mortar or ultraflex 2

[Peerless Tile]

Laticrete 272 is favorite of mine for non mod

[tileguynky]

I use Uncoupling Mortar from Custom Building products. It's their "Ditra/Kerdi" thinset. So far it's the one online the most. Something in the Kerabond dries my hands out real bad in warm weather and even worse in the winter. With Ditraset being $4 a bag higher locally, I've not used it since Schluter school back in '09. TEC has a new uncoupling mortar which I've not used yet. I've also used their Sturdy Flex unmodified which is not bad.

For the underside, Versabond, Full Flex or Ultra II is what I use.

[HS345]

Just use the Versabond under, and over. You'll be fine.

Customblend is perhaps the worst unmod in the history of mankind.

[e3]

I think a cheap modified is better then a good unmodiied.

[Project_Pat]

We just used versabond marble/travertine medium bed mortar (hundreds of bags) to lay 4000 sq ft of this versailles pattern travertine in a huge custom home....We ended up mixing a full bag of custom blend with a full bag of versabond travertine/marble medium bed to offset the cost (9.00 vs 23.00 ) per bag, and because we would buy out the entire home depot inventory of versabond medium bed each week we worked on this house.

[ceramictec]

why didnt you just buy the Custom Medium Bed ?

[Project_Pat]

Hey Brian, my editing skills are slow

[technical]

Marble granite and travertine mortar is a modified medium bed mortar. VeraBond is a modified thinset mortar. CustomBend in an unmodified thinset motar.

Schluter has recomendations for good unmodified mortars, call them.

Floor looks nice Pat.

TCNA EJ171

[gueuzeman]

Looks nice- any expansion joints in it?

It would seem that anyone doing 4k ft. tile jobs would have access to a tile store that could get them a decent thinset. (shrug).

.

[Donnie D.]

yea i seriously have had zero issued with custom blend..ive used it over a 60 year old concrete slab and on a few ditra jobs to set the tile..but the next ditra job im gonna try kerabond..i would like to try ditra set but i cant get it locally

[Donnie D.]

ok so does it make really any difference which modified mortar i use under the ditra?..since it only meant to fill voids