ok….if the cracks are not separating or un even…then this would be what I would do.
At this point it is not the place to look to save money, think of it as building your house, you wouldn’t want it on a cheap, sloppy foundation :-)
1. If the floor is like you said I would use a product called Fracture Guard 5000 made by Mar-Krete Systems. http://www.merkrete.com/literature/MKFG5000.pdf rolls on, easy to do and works real well. Should run you around $100 to cover 300 sq ft. you put it on thick, cleans up with water. Great stuff. I’ve used it and Ditra a bunch. should be ready to tile over with 3 hours. if it is a little sticky when you go to lay the tile sprinkle some dry thin-set on it.
2. you will also need to put some soft joints in. If any straight run of tile will be 25 feet or longer, you need a soft joint in there.. You can buy soft/control joints or what I do is use caulk the same color as your grout. The Ditra handbook has a good write-up on soft joint placement. On the last tile job I did just last week in my own house I did it this way. We laded 243 sq ft 20×20 ceramic tiles, diagonal and broke the bond, it will be on my blog soon, for the soft/control joints I just used the grout that I use. I use only Trucolor grout by Hydroment, http://www.bostik-us.com/our-brands/trucolor/default.html you can get in on line. It stays a little flexible when it dries. Ok I assume you checked on the grout, calm down it will be ok…....yes, up front, it looks expensive…....BUT.....it is the easiest grout I have used, it does not require sealing ever, and before you say sealer is cheap you are using the wrong one, I never use the box store cheap stuff. I use the Miracle product called 511 Impregnator I think you can get it at Home Depot for around $35/qt.
I get it here http://www.miraclesealantsdirect.com/servlet/the-Sealers/Categories for allot less. ok back to the grout…..it is also stain free. I give all my clients the choice between regular stainable grout or for a little bit more the stain free grout that they never have to seal, everyone picks the stain free, I use it in my own home as well. By the time you figure sealing it 2x and the cost of the sealer it isn’t real more money. This is a biggie for me ”it dries the same color as on the charts or when you put in wet”, true story........ ok off of the grout rant.
3. since you are putting stone down you will want to seal all of the tiles BEFORE you lay them, yes I said before. Why? I ‘m glad you asked, if you do not seal the tile before you will have a real mess on your hands when you get the thin set on the tops of the tile, we all do. If you seal the tile it will wipe right off with a wet rag. I use a cheap chip brush from Home Depot and paint the “tops”, do not seal the sides where the gout goes or your grout won’t stay put :-). then after grouting I seal again or “enhance” the stone. I use Miracle Mira Matte enhancer, I like this one the best because it doesn’t look all oily but really brings out the color in the stone. If you want a pre-view take a tile and wet in down with a rag. This is what the tile will look like if you enhance it.
4. Since you are laying 18×18 tile I would use a 1/2×1/2, at least, sized trowel, trust me on this one, you will want allot of mud to lay the tile in. I would be really surprised if you floor is “Perfectly” level, everywhere. You should also use a medium set mortar, not a thin set. I use a product called “Big Tile and Stone” by Hydroment. http://www.bostik-us.com/Files/TDSfiles/Big_Tile_Stone.pdf you will be surprised how much you will use. I used 6 1/2 bags on the 243 sq ft I did. we had some waste the 1/2×1/2 trowel really eats it up.
5. Last,but by no means least, you can us a leveling system to help, I said “help” with the lipage as it is tough to get everyone perfect in that large of a project. this is when one edge of the tile is different from the other, this is also the reason you want to use a big trowel size. see I’m not crazy after all. I use a product from Raimondi see link http://www.amazon.com/Raimondi-LS100KIT-Tile-Leveling-System/dp/B003PON2DA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1291554494&sr=8-1-spell look at the amazon site for the separate items, floor pliers, wedges and clips. the larger size bags you buy the cheaper they are, you will use at least 1,000 before you are done…...
it is not as overwhelming as I make it.
roll on fracture guard 5000
seal before and after
use a medium set verse a thin set
1/2×1/2 sized trowel
enhance “optional”
grout and seal the grout 2x, if you don’t use the trucolor grout.
sit back, sip a iced tea, take some Advil and enjoy your work!!
my 2 cent for what its worth
have fun
I do not claim to be an expert tile person just someone who does it and tries to do the best he can. Feel free to call me if you run into issues or have questions 865-556-9419
-- Todd- Oak Ridge, TN
