Which HD thinset for 12" porcelain ? (Versabond/Flexbond/Porcelain)

[gia]

Versabond is frequently mentioned in favorable manner here, yet same company seems to make "Porcelain Thinset" which seems to be better for porcelain, and costs same as Versabond ($15). And they also seem to make more expensive FlexBond ($22) which is supposed to provide some additional level of protection against cracking. Since I need about 2 bags anyway, price difference is not an issue. So which one would you recommend?

TIA!

P.S. I'm doing it over hardwood floor, 3/4" plywood + 1/2" plywood + 1/4 HardiBacker.

[doitright]

Hi Gia

Of the three, 1st - Flex Bond, 2nd - Versabond, 3rd - Porcelain Tile Fortified mortar.

No matter what product you wind up using, don't forget to prewet the Hardi board, before you apply the thinset. Also, don't spread too large an area, or the thinset will dry out superfast.

[Rd Tile]

Seeing you have 2 layers of ply over that hardwood, you might be ok, I don't know, but I don't like having hardwood flooring anywhere in a subfloor for tile.

[Davy]

I agree with RD, the hardwood would have been taken out for me to tile this area. Might not cause a problem but could.

[gia]

My floor is suspended over crawlspace. The floor itself is 3/4" plywood. In addition I put 1/2" plywood underlayment, and 1/4" HardiBacker. So there is nothing else under those two layers of plywood, besides joists.

[doitright]

Hi Gia

Thanks for the clarification. That's how I interperted it.

I'm going out on a limb, thinking you also checked your deflection?

[gia]

it was quite small (1/16' in worst place over 10")

[bbcamp]

No, John was asking if you checked to see if your joists were strong enough for tile. Use the Deflecto thingie (icon top right of page), or tell us the joist size, spacing and maximum unsupported span.