ceramic tile installation?

Question

I have installed ceramic tile in my shower and it turned out beautifully. Beneath it I put in the backerboard and then applied a coat of Ceramic Adhesive (that I purchased from Lowe's) with the tiles on top and then mixed my own mortar with a sealer completing the job. Next we decided to tile our bathroom floor and same thing....and it turned out great....no problems what so ever. Now for my problem....we decided to do the same in our Laundryroom and kitchen floors....with only one difference and it is the brand of Ceramic Adhesive called Acrypro from Home Depot. Since we have been using this Acrypro Ceramic Adhesive...the tiles don't seem to adhere to the ceramic adhesive/floor. It is the same install with backerboard, tiles, etc....only thing different is the adhesive. I am so disappointed as I have tried to remove it, clean it up again and re-install and still seem to have problems. The only thing that seems to help some is by putting heavy weight on the tiles, but it is hard to do for all. I am wondering if it is just the brand that is causing me so many problems. This is the second pail we bougt at $30.+ a pail. I am prepared to return the last pail to Home Depot and go back to Lowe's to finish the job....correctly! Has anyone else experienced this type of problem and what did you do to resolve it? Any suggestions would be helpful (for this project and future projects). Thanks!

rob s · Accepted Answer

I need a bit more info but I m going to take a guess at the problem.  The type of tile you used  on the wall and the size trowel you used. 
  The type of adhesive you used in the shower was  mastic in a pail. ? Not a thin set? I don t recommend this type of water based adhesive in a shower. If you used a small "V" notched trowel for a smooth or small tile , the tiles tend to get more adhesion.
 I m guessing you used a larger sized tile on the kitchen floor. This requires a large notched trowel and again  I strongly suggest a thin set not a mastic on the floor. There are several technical reasons I suggest this. Even though the pail says floor and wall  adhesive.
 For your kitchen floor,I m guessing the backing of the tile isn t getting enough coverage, you get to spread out a larger area on a floor and this type of glue tends to tack over fast with more air contact and the cement board is also drawing moisture out. These are a few guesses , but if you e mail me through my avatar ( you can check my qualifications there) and  send me more info , we ll answer your question for sure. Again, w/o more info these are educated guesses.  And I m also assuming  you bought Acrylpro ( you left out the L I think) since this is a type that HD sells.
 E mail me back through my avatar if you  have more info , we ll solve your problem.  GL

Anonymous · Answer

For best results yes an experienced installer would be a good choice however if it's a small surface you can easily do it guiding yourself with spacers which can be bought depending on the size of the grout line you want to use. Marble is more difficult to cut when installing and it also needs to be sealed after you complete the job compared to ceramic no sealing needed. If you have a large surface and you do not start-finish equal size tile (at times entire tile cannot be used when finished one end of the room) or you cannot place all tile in perfect level than it's a waste of money because it becomes noticable. A fair install price being you supply al materials is on average 3 to 5 dollars per sq foot.

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ceramic tile installation?

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