Loose Tiles in front of Shower and Vanity

[CountryB]

After my last road tip I noticed some loose floor tiles in front of the Shower and Vanity. I pulled about four tiles. Looks like Monaco used a "mastic" and did not get full coverage. The comb lines in the mastic are plainly visible and not squished down to fill the gaps.

I cleaned up the back of tiles and removed the mastic on the floor as best I could.

I need to research a little and figure out what the best thinset, mortar, mastic, whatever, I should use over the OSB subfloor.

In home tiling typically an isolation membrane is put down over the substrate then the tile goes on top of that. That allows for some movement in the subfloor and tiles (expansion/cracking slab, etc.). But that wont work here since I have some tiles stilled attached and I need to match the height of those.

I'll need to put the tile directly on the subfloor (OSB wood). I suppose if the tile cracks in the future then I should switch to a non-tile floor (engineered wood planking or vinyl or something else).

[jacwjames]

I've had luck using Liquid Nail to put tile on wood. It sticks to just about everything and does allow for some movement.

[CountryB]

Thanks for that tip Jim.
I spoke with technical rep for Laticrete, and he said their 254 Platinum thinset would be the best choice. Then I called Mapei, the other big supplier of thinset products and they said their Ultraflex-2 would work.
Although tiling over OSB is not recommended. It waqs also recommended that I put down some mesh tape over the seams in the OSB panels.

Both reps said tiling over OSB is not recommended, but that's the way Beaver/Monaco did it.

If any of these tiles come up again, I'll replace all the tile (and carpeting) with LVT which we want to do some day anyways. https://www.spectracf.com/what-is-lvt-flooring/

[jacwjames]

Good luck, hope it works.

[Greg5OH]

Just tiled my crown royale with uncoupling membrane.
yes over OSB is not recommended as it moves in random directions and is deemed as "unstable".

Ultra flex 2 is OK, as would be any well modified thinset. needs to be modified to retain the moisture in it so the wood doesnt pull it all out instantly.

[CountryB]

If I was removing the entire tiled section (I'm just doing a couple of tiles in front of the Vanity/Shower) I would put down a decoupling membrane. But since I'm just replacing some loose tiles within the group of tiles, I have to be sure they are all flush with each other - so I'm just putting them directly on the OSB (as the other tiles are laid).

If Beaver/Monaco had used a decoupling membrane when they laid the tile, I probably wouldn't be fixing loose tile now.

[William Willard]

Use the flex thin set & use enough so the tiles will be even -- HomeDepot has it -- About 20/25 dollars for a 80 lb bag -- That`s alot of thin set for a small job, but keep it dry & use it for any tile project -- I have a bag that I purchased years ago, & it`s come in handy now & then -- Bill Willard

[Woodman018]

Why not just use mastic like Beaver used. I retiled my coach and getting the old tile out was very time consuming without tearing up the osb. I heated each tile with my propane torch and it came up without damage to the osb. When I was ready to lay the new tile, I prepped the osb with redguard and all has been well. I now have a heated tile floor and it is laid with mortar. For what you are doing, I would use mastic and make sure I got good coverage. If you don't want to do that, there is a product called fixafloor that will work, check that out as well. If and when you ever want to switch to vinyl, check out loose lay vinyl planking and use the glue that is recommended. I just laid a little over 400 sq ft of it in a customer's house and it is a really nice product.
Dave

[arcaguy]

I'm pretty sure that any type of thinset is a portland cement based product that even though it has flex in the name will flex very little. There is something called Type 1 adhesive which is a type of mastic but I'm pretty sure is waterproof when cured. It is water clean-up when it is not cured. I've never used it to set tiles but I have used it to laminate plywood to get the correct thickness floor to put cement board over.

Here's a link to Mapei's type adhesive instructions. While it says not to use it over OSB you don't have a lot of choice. http://www.mapei.com/public/US/produ...-type-1-en.pdf


You might also call Monaco or whomever owns them now.

[CountryB]

Originally Posted by Woodman018

Why not just use mastic like Beaver used.

I'm not sure what Beaver used. Looks like Mastic - if it is, are there different types?

I retiled my coach and getting the old tile out was very time consuming without tearing up the osb. I heated each tile with my propane torch and it came up without damage to the osb.

Never heard of heating the tile. That's a neat trick.

When I was ready to lay the new tile, I prepped the osb with redguard and all has been well.

I've used Redguard and Schluter Ditra on some home tile jobs. I prefer the Ditra because you don't have to worry about getting the thickness correct (as with a liquid applied product) and it's less messy.

I now have a heated tile floor and it is laid with mortar. For what you are doing, I would use mastic and make sure I got good coverage. If you don't want to do that, there is a product called fixafloor that will work, check that out as well. If and when you ever want to switch to vinyl, check out loose lay vinyl planking and use the glue that is recommended. I just laid a little over 400 sq ft of it in a customer's house and it is a really nice product.
Dave

Thanks for the info.

[kenwyatt]

Have replaced 4 or 5 broken ones in mine and have a loose one to fix. Got a premixed mastic at HD. Do not remember the brand but it was standard off the shelf, so far everything is still down. Been about a year