another Jeff's bathroom remodel

[cx]

Or get larger switch box plates, Dan. They have two sizes larger than the standard plates.

[ss3964spd]

I've been installed their Claro line of cover plates CX, unfortunately it doesn't appear they are available in larger sizes.

[cx]

Well, then unregard my last. Guess I'm just too far away from the industry to keep up with that sorta thing. And I'm technically no longer permitted to do my own electrical work in the fair State of Texas these days and wouldn't be trimming out my own 'lectric installations.

Alas, we long for the good ol' days, eh?

[wwhitney]

Maybe just center the single gang thermostat box over the 3 gang box. Centering is a pleasing form of visual coupling. :-)

Cheers, Wayne

[ss3964spd]

Sorry Jeff - didn't mean to hi-jack your thread!!!

Continued over on my own....

[rmckee84]

Not sure if you've found the answer you're lookong for, but I used the deepest double gang box I could find a mud ring my last strataheat install. I didnt have any issues.

[greenjp]

Ryan I picked up the Carlon box and mud ring linked earlier, they seem like they'll work fine. I've resigned myself to cutting out a section of the drywall to facilitate the installation so this should go in pretty easily.

Any tips on installing Strataheat?

I had a helper briefly yesterday so we took out the old 6'x4' mirror and the vanity top. Now the clock is ticking for me to get the room ready for the vanity.

[Sharon @ LATICRETE]

Sharon you can pass along a comment that it would be nice if the thermostat could be easily mounted to a retrofit type electrical box

Hi Jeff - thanks for the feedback. We are aware of this and have had others say the same. I believe our Product Manager is working on a solution.

[rmckee84]

It goes in pretty easy, if using the mat use a grout float to lock the wire into the lugs. I like to skim the mat with thinset before I install to protect the cable. I use a grout float for that too. If you have any specific questions feel free to message me if you need an immediate answer, but like I said its pretty straight forward.

[greenjp]

Thanks Ryan. I've never done this before so any and all advice is appreciated.

I was just coming here to post a few questions about mortar selection.

You answered one of my questions about skim coating over the wires. How long do you wait after the skim coat before laying the tile? Any special prep needed?

I got a 2-pack of Laticrete's thermal additive so am planning to use the 253 Gold for setting the tiles (I assume it would be fine with say Ultraflex 2 but figure better safe than sorry). Each pack is good for 25 lbs of mortar so I think I'll use one with half a bag of the 253 to skim coat the wires, then the second over top when setting the tiles.

For setting the mat itself I have two options in mind. I still find the "mix to a loose consistency" direction and what it looks like in the various videos I've watched to be at odds with the "follow the mortar manufacturer's mixing directions" advice, which never seems to result in anything I'd call loose or fluid. Maybe I'm overthinking it Mapei suggested the Ultraflex LFT which allows for 8 quarts of water per 50 lb bag. This is a good bit more than a typical mortar, and presumably results in a looser consistency? The other is what the gent from Laticrete who called me said, which was to mix up the 253 with the 6 quarts max for a couple of minutes, then add another half quart, mix for a minute, etc until I was happy with it. He said their video made it look like perhaps 1 extra quart was used. Any ideas about this? I'll be installing over fresh plywood, and have a wood float to press the sheets in with.

[rmckee84]

1. 12 hours is usually good, it can depend on temp and humidity of a specific site. Just try not to leave any high ridges.

2. Stick with the 253

3. This is a tough one, for installing mats I don't do a lot of measuring. You want it to be on the verge of being able to flow, but still hold a notch when troweling it. When you embed the mat you'll quickly be able to check and see if the mortar is getting a good bond with the fleece.

[rmckee84]

Here's what it should look like if you pull up a corner of the mat.
When running the cable take pics with a tape measure showing measurements from a given reference point so if you ever have to make a repair you know where the cable is located.
Notch the subfloor to allow the sensors and end of cable to sit low enough that they don't cause a hump.
Make sure and test the cable before during and after just like the directions state.



Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

[ss3964spd]

Did you run only 1 temp sensor Ryan? Does Laticrete's system use only 1?

I do know Schulter's uses 2.

[greenjp]

Thanks, good suggestion on taking the photos with the tape measure.

Do you do a megger test on the cable or just the resistance tests? Their install manual wasn't totally clear on this and the tech support guy said "most people" just check the resistance.

Both the thermostat and the wire come with a temperature sensor, so you'll end up with two. I'm going to install them both and leave one hanging in the box in case of a failure.

[rmckee84]

There's 2, I had forgotten to run the other when this pic was taken...I ran the other before I tiled.

I just checked resistance.