I think you can use Versabond- seems to be popular and at Lowe's. It is modified.

After much research, I decided to buy Tec XT grout, but not from Lowe's. It is not an epoxy, which if you read Bill V's faq's page, he recommends regular grout for regular installs. I haven't installed the grout yet so.... also read that Prism is a good regular grout.

Very nice looking tile!

I am curious about Maipei, though, they have mold resistant label on their regular grout, and I think they sell that one at Lowe's.

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ's by Bill V

What about trowel size - any ideas out there? I was thinking of using the 1/4 x 3/16 I have (v notch)

Found this table on a site:

3/16" - 1/4" V-notch Mosaics (floor & wall) to 4 1/4" common glazed wall tile
1/4" x 1/4" Square notch 4" tumbled marble (wall) to 6" & 8" wall tile
1/4" x 3/8" Square notch 6" & 8" (floor) to 12" & 13" (walls & floor)
1/2" x 1/2" Square/round Heavy/thick 12" & 13" and all 16" and up (floor & wall)

You won['t find Versabond at Lowes. That's at Home Depot. At Lowes, look for Laticrete's "Multipurpose" thinset.

As for the grout with the antimicrobial agents, both Mapei and Laticrete have the same kind of formulation, so either would work just as well. You're going to want a sanded grout, though. Don't let them talk you into unsanded.

Oops, yeah, we got the versabond at HD- they are right next door to each other- I can't keep track of where I get stuff anymore!

Bill, if you are still around- when I was setting the tile yesterday (yes, finally) I was using the versabond- mixed up nicely, good consistency, slaked, and was usable for about 3-4 hours until my arm gave out and it began to get a bit too stiff!

BUT... I found that the tile was slipping down the wall, some more than others, without any particular reason (as in surface, timing of setting, etc.,.) I kept having to go back and push the tiles up to keep them lined up. It all came out OK by the time it set, level, no problem, but what a pain!! By 1am I was getting a little testy.

I was putting up the following: 3/8" thick red body glazed tile, some 2 1/2 x 5, some 5x5, some slate mosaic (which actually held up better).

A disclaimer was that I needed to install from the top down (I know, I know) because the top border needed to fall in a very precise location.

Would the Megalite be useful? Or is it just some thing I have to live with if I tile against the grain (I have a hard time following rules, you know ;-)

The Megalite would be the ONLY way to go. If I were in your shoes, it wouldn't have taken me till 1 am before I was pulling my hair out and putting a sledge hammer thru that damn wall!! LMAO

This is what the Megalite and other non-sag lightweight thinsets were made for-- to basically take the place of mastic, where you can "hang" the tile from a level line and work down against gravity. With most other thinsets, as you've found, it's next to impossible to do. With them, you need to be sure of your layout, and either start from the very bottom, or from a ledger board, one course up from the bottom.

Thanks Bill, well, after getting back to tiling and mixing up a little less versabond, I frantically made a ledger board after I had started as the layout of the tiles under the chair was pretty much set up and boy- did it go faster! Still a little testy, though, I think it was leftover :) It is lookin' perty, tho. Fewer and Fewer cuts as I work around the room- no more outlets, window, pipes, drains...

I am a bit unclear as to how to go about this over my Kerdi'd area though.... should I just make a type of stand to rest on the floor under my lowest course of tile? I do not envision the poking of any holes into my Kerdi for any reason under any circumstances... ever :-O

Any pearls of wisdom?

Poke holes in your Kerdi, and set up a ledger board. :-)

Seriously-- pick up a tube of Kerdi-fix, and when you pull the ledger board, you can seal up the holes with the Kerdi-fix.

OR, you could do as I do, and go against Herr Schluter's recommendations, and use the Megalite over the Kerdi. :-) (Except in my case, I use Laticrete's version called 255)

Thanks Bill, actually yesterday I did end up rigging up a ledger board with 1 riser where there was Kerdi and the other side nailed it where there was no Kerdi, level, that worked out very well-- you will see it in the photos I eventually post.

It went so fast putting up the tile from bottom to top-- wow, imagine that!

Even managed to bake a pie after tiling to bring to a friend!

So that is how one would go about tiling a ceiling? Cannot imagine using ordinary thinset and not have the tiles clunking on my head!! Thank goodness for all, we have no plan for ceiling tiles!

Sarah

Actually, I've done alot of ceilings before the non-sag thinsets came out, and all with "regular" thinset. :-)

Piece of cake!!

nc8861, Can I ask you where you found your porcelain basket weave at? I've been looking for it and yours seems to be a good match for what I want (I'd prefer not to do marble). I'd appreciate any information you could share with me.

I am also looking for a basket weave tile and would prefer the price of porcelain. Please let us know where to find it! It looks very nice in your pic.