Mortar for Kerdi???

[armandtet]

Well I'm a little stuck here, hopefully someone can clear up this confusion.

I bought all the supplies for my shower about 3 months ago. I ended up with three bags of mortar:
1st bag is to apply the kerdi to the drywall
2nd bag is to apply the ceramic tiles to the kerdi
3rd bag is to apply ceramic tiles to basement slab.

At the time the salesman had told me which bag was for which application, the problem is I can't remember what he had instructed me. Here's what I got:
1 bag of Mapei Kerabond premium grade dry-set mortar
1 bag of Ardex x4 G Thin Set Mortar
1 bag of Ardex x5 Thin Set Mortar

I'll try and attach a picture of the bags in the next message.

Thanks in advance,

Armand

[armandtet]

Here's a picture of the bags

[muskymike]

Hi Armand, you want to use the Kerabond for applying the Kerdi and for setting the tile on the Kerdi. I would say you can use the Ardex on the concrete floor for setting the tile.

[armandtet]

Started snooping through my receipts and found the paper he had given me.

Kerabond (24.95) - Kerdi-Drywall
White Prolite, (I'm assuming this is the Ardex 5x) (47.95) - Tile-Kerdi
Motar (I'm guessing this is the Ardex 4x g) (26.95) - Tile-Cement Slab

Would that make sense??

Or would I be better off bringing back the bag of white prolite and exchanging it for Kerabond?

armand

Anyone know why the one bag of Ardex (5x) would cost twice as much as the other bag (4xg)?

[muskymike]

Hi Armand, I'm not sure bout the Ardex as I have never used it. I know Kerabond is good for Kerdi behind and on top.

[Jaz]

You didn't mention what type of tiles you're installing. Basic soft bisque ceramic, porcelain or natural stone. What's going on the shower floor and bath floor?

Kerabond is perfect to install Kerdi to wallboard and all tiles to Kerdi. Kerabond would also be fine for the bath floor IF the tile are NOT porcelain.

Porcelain requires a modified mortar except when the substrate is Kerdi or Ditra.

I have no idea why you have two Ardex products. I'm not sure you need the X4.

Where are you located? BTW, Ardex makes some of the best products known.

Jaz

[armandtet]

I'm using ceramic tiles throughout shower and bathroom. Walls in the shower and the floor in the bathroom are getting the same 12x12 tiles, and the floor in the shower is getting a 3" mosaic tile.

I made a deck mud base on Sunday, and am hoping to get to the tiling this weekend. Would it be alright if I used the Ardex x5 to apply the ceramic tiles to the kerdi? I'm also going to tile the ceiling of the shower.

The shower isn't anything extravagant 40" x 50" shower, with one large niche.



BTW, I'm located near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

[Jaz]

OK good. They're all technically ceramic, but specifically the 3" are porcelain and most likely the 12" are too.

X5 is a high quality modified thin set. Schluter says no to that.

I'd use it for the bath floor for sure and probably the ceiling. What is the substrate of the ceiling?

Jaz

PS: oh, Saskatchewan, that's why those prices. At first I thought those were "installed' prices.

[armandtet]

Substrate is for the ceiling is 5/8 moisture guard sheetrock.

So I should probably bring back the Ardex X4. Use the Kerabond for the Kerdi, and for tiling to the Kerdi. Use the bag of x5 for the ceiling and bathroom floor.

Do you think that one bag of Kerabond would be enough to do the kerdi as well as the tilling for my shower?

Yeah, we seem to pay double for everything up here. My wife and I were going to take a trip to Minot, N.D. to buy all this stuff, but could never find the time to do it.

[Jaz]

You will need a modified thin set for the ceiling. I would return the X4 unless there's something I'm missing about your situation.

It seems like the X5 is the expensive one. If so, and if they'll take that back, I might return that too. I would then either buy a cheaper modified for the ceiling and bath floor, or buy more Kerabond along with the latex additive that goes with it, (Keralastic) for those areas.

One bag of Kerabond will not be enough. I would buy 3-4 total. How big is the floor?

Jaz

[armandtet]

Bathroom floor is about 6x6

What does the latex additive do?

[bbcamp]

The latex additive turns Kerabond, an un-modified thinset, into a modified thinset. Modified thinsets are more flexible and stick to some substrates better than un-modified thinsets.