Tallguy's Master Bath Remodel

[Tallguy]

Hello all, I bought John's Kerdi Book 10+ years ago and it got me through my first shower, and this is my go to site for advice on anything tile.

Anyways, doing another bathroom and I have a section of wall that will be tiled with 12X24 in a dry area. The wall was semi gloss paint with a heavy knockdown texture. I sanded it pretty well down into the knockdown texture. I had some thinset left over in the bucket doing Kerdi, so I decided to skim coat it to sort of fill in the texture and thinking I was doing a good thing versus maybe a primer. As soon as I finished I realized maybe that was a mistake as it is a very thin coat, feathering at some points. I did really "burnish" it into the wall with a 6" drywall knife.

Trying to figure out if I should just remove and replace the drywall or go with it as is. Thanks for any advice. This is my house by the way, I just pretend to be a tile contractor once every decade

[Tool Guy - Kg]

What mortar is it?

[jadnashua]

Drywall is cheap...you'd eliminate all of the uncertainty and gain a flat surface if you just replace it.

[ss3964spd]

Originally Posted by Jim

Drywall is cheap....

My thought too. You might spend more time and energy obtaining a suitable tiling surface on that wall than you would just replacing it.

[Tallguy]

Mortar is Mapei uncoupling membrane mortar (not modified).

Absolutely should have replaced drywall in the beginning to save the labor I already put into the wall

[cx]

Welcome, Mark.

I would not recommend the use of that particular mortar in your application at all. A good quality modified thinset mortar (ANSI A118.4) might work OK, but I agree with the guys above; replace the drywall for best results.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[Tallguy]

Thanks all. I will replace the drywall.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

I asked which mortar because I was hoping you had used a modified. But because you didn't, I agree with the others. Dang. Oh, well...at least the material is cheap.

[Tallguy]

I have read that it is policy to keep all questions about my project in one thread even if very different. So...

We have 40 sqft of shower wall with an expensive "deco" natural stone tile on matts. This will go over Kerdi up to 7 feet and plain sheetrock from 7 to 10 feet. I need a thinset that does not sag as the spacers will be a challenge (I will use some spacers but really just need the tile to stick. I consider this a pretty heavy tile but not that heavy. It is 11X13 or so.

I have been researching way too long and my short list is Custom Prolite (can get locally at Home Depot), Lacticrete 255 (I think I can get within 30 min drive) and Mapei Large Tile and Stone Mortar (Can get locally at Lowes). Cost is not a factor as I need a bag.

I know Kerdi should not have modified thinset but I cant find an unmodified with good sag properties (does not mean its not out there, I just cant find any). I don't have any issue using the modified on small tiles like this over kerdi(4"X4" dims on the shapes)

Thanks in advance!

[cx]

I've not use the Prolite, Mark, but it's gotten good reports here and I don't recall any negative comments about its technical aspects. At something over a buck a pound, price is the only downside I can see.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[MAPEI - Technical Service]

Our Large Tile & Stone Mortar would be a great choice for this particular project. It is non sag and non slump, so the weight of that mosaic should not be an issue at all. You should be able to find that product at any Lowe's store, and the white would be a better choice versus gray to try and avoid any shading in the stone pieces.

If Lowe's is out, Ultraflex LFT is nearly identical in performance and would be available at contractor-driven supply houses as well as Floor & Décor.

[Tallguy]

Thanks CX and Mapei Tech. I will choose one of those two simply since they are within 5 mins of my house.

[Tallguy]

Can someone please change the thread title to:

Tallguys Master Bath Remodel


Thanks!

[Tallguy]

Question regarding grouting and natural stone. Hoping Mapei Technical also sees this as I will be using Mapei Ultracolor Plus FA grout

The same deco tile I posted previous needs to be sealed before grout. Trouble is the tile has ridges so I cannot figure a way to seal without getting sealer on the sides of the tile. I have tested with water with various methods and the best I can do is about 1/2 the side of the tile wet and 1/2 dry, but even that is tough, meaning very easy to get sealer on the entire side of the tile.

Will this pose a problem with the grout if the sides of the tile are sealed? This tile will be on one of our shower walls floor to ceiling (a 4' X 10' wall) so there is a lot of it to do!!

Thanks again in advance.