I took a whack at installing some granite tile tonight and ended up
aborting the process. I mixed up a 12.5 pound box of Henry brand
MarbleFlex 316 thinset mortar. It called for 1.5 quarts of water, and
I mixed it well with a drill/paddle.

When I applied it though, it dried in a HURRY. Should I have wetted
the Hardibacker before troweling on the mortar? The consistency looked
good to start, but man did it dry out - even in the bucket - in a real
hurry. It was crumbly after 10 minutes tops.

Does the temp of the water matter? Should I wet the backs of the tiles
and the floor first? Thin the mixture, even though it says not to on
the box?

Thanks.

JP

On 23 Feb 2006 17:20:29 -0800, "Jay Pique"
wrote:

When I applied it though, it dried in a HURRY.

This is a "Fast Setting" morter. Actually that name on the box is:

[HENRY 316 MarbleFlex Fast Setting Thinset Mortar]

Fast Setting being the give away here.

The pot life of HENRY 316 MarbleFlex Fast-Setting Thinset Mortar is 30
minutes at 70°F at the most.

Regards,
Ed

Ed wrote:
On 23 Feb 2006 17:20:29 -0800, "Jay Pique"
wrote:

When I applied it though, it dried in a HURRY.

This is a "Fast Setting" morter. Actually that name on the box is:

[HENRY 316 MarbleFlex Fast Setting Thinset Mortar]

Fast Setting being the give away here.

The pot life of HENRY 316 MarbleFlex Fast-Setting Thinset Mortar is 30
minutes at 70°F at the most.

Yeah, I read the box. I might could have worked with 30 minutes, but
it was more like 10 before it became way too dry to work. Thermostat
set at 63.

Next time I'll try a little more water I guess. Plus, I'll let the tap
run to ice-cold and see if that'll help.

JP

Jay Pique wrote:
Ed wrote:
On 23 Feb 2006 17:20:29 -0800, "Jay Pique"
wrote:

When I applied it though, it dried in a HURRY.

This is a "Fast Setting" morter. Actually that name on the box is:

[HENRY 316 MarbleFlex Fast Setting Thinset Mortar]

Fast Setting being the give away here.

The pot life of HENRY 316 MarbleFlex Fast-Setting Thinset Mortar is 30
minutes at 70°F at the most.

Yeah, I read the box. I might could have worked with 30 minutes, but
it was more like 10 before it became way too dry to work. Thermostat
set at 63.

Next time I'll try a little more water I guess. Plus, I'll let the tap
run to ice-cold and see if that'll help.

Unless you have a compelling reason to use fast setting materials, the
extra working time is far more valuable. Fast setting materials rarely
make the work go faster and can often make it take _much_longer and
cost more.

R

http://henryshop.com/html/prod-316.htm

RicodJour wrote:

Unless you have a compelling reason to use fast setting materials, the
extra working time is far more valuable. Fast setting materials rarely
make the work go faster and can often make it take _much_longer and
cost more.

The guy at the store said that is what I was supposed to use with
granite. I think I'm going to use the regular stuff this time.

JP

Jay Pique wrote:
RicodJour wrote:

Unless you have a compelling reason to use fast setting materials, the
extra working time is far more valuable. Fast setting materials rarely
make the work go faster and can often make it take _much_longer and
cost more.

The guy at the store said that is what I was supposed to use with
granite. I think I'm going to use the regular stuff this time.

Not every salesman has extensive installation experience or knowledge.
The Henry stuff seems to be an alternative to epoxy thinset used for
marbles that curl when wet. Granite doesn't do that, at least none
that I've ever heard of.

What exactly are you putting down and where?

R

"Jay Pique" wrote in message
oups.com...

RicodJour wrote:

Unless you have a compelling reason to use fast setting materials, the
extra working time is far more valuable. Fast setting materials rarely
make the work go faster and can often make it take _much_longer and
cost more.

The guy at the store said that is what I was supposed to use with
granite. I think I'm going to use the regular stuff this time.

JP


Only for certain sensitive stone types. Particularly green or red marble.
For most jobs, white modified thinset will work out fine. HD sells 50lb
bags of Masterbond for about $21.

Yes you should dampen hardibacker before setting to it,
and as has been mentioned, there's not reason to use
quick setting thinset unless you have to. Why a salesman
would sell a DIY'er quickset- I don't know. Quickset materials
rarely last more than 10-15 minutes despite what the directions
say. I only use it when repairing a few tiles in a high traffic
area that is difficult to keep people/animals off of for more than
a couple of hours.

thetiler