Ditra membrane worth the money?
Comments (12)
Floortech
12 years agodavidro1
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Ditra vs. hardibacker for tile floor
Comments (7)Ok, great info.: time vs cost vs elbow grease... But what I also want to know is how long does this product last. If I'm going to do a job, I'm going to do it right and it's going to last. I don't care about the time, cost, elbow grease if I know that my finished product will last 5 to 10 years longer. If that is the case, then I will spend more, work longer, and put more elbow grease into the job. Is there an average life expectancy? Any follow up data being accumulated? So that I can add this 4th variable into the mix? I really like your other information though so don't think that I'm being negative. I've searched the internet to answer my lifespan questions, and have come up empty handed. Ditra/Hardibacker I really don't care. Warranty's are great, but anyone w/ hands on experience and personal testimonies concerning lifespan? Thank you Josh...See MoreSchluter Ditra
Comments (19)Apologies if this is thread highjacking, but this discussion struck me as the most appropriate for this inquiry. When we were taking bids from contractors for our new construction house, one of the contractors specified a mud job for the master bathroom (both floor and shower) and kitchen/mudroom and Schluter Ditra for all other bathrooms. In talking with a tile installer at a flooring store this past weekend, he said he couldn't think of a situation in new construction where a mud job (as contrasted to Ditra) would be appropriate. Is that right? We're not likely to be using any natural stone but we will likely be using large format porcelain (or possibly ceramic) tiles in some of the bathrooms (12x12, 8x24, etc.) We will have electric radiant heat pads in the floor of two of the bathrooms and hydronic radiant heat in the kitchen and mudroom. We're flexible at this point and want to do whatever will make the installation safest and sturdiest for the long run even if it costs a little extra at this stage. Thanks in advance for any advice....See MoreTo membrane or not to membrane?
Comments (58)I'm new here, joined just this past weekend, but my input would be to leave well enough alone. Hindsight being 20/20, perhaps you'd have done it differently. And in the future, you will. In this case, you didn't, and as DH often tells me, ''if-dog-rabbit.'' Saving $400 to not use the waterproofing at the outset and now to consider throwing an additional $2000 at the completed project, for a fix that would potentially be the most half-assed way to do it, seems questionable to me. On top of that, the original work was done by a man with a good reputation and messing with it at this point might cause him to withdraw his original workmanship guarantee. Honestly, you have the best of all worlds right now. You were lucky enough to have a good worker to begin with, saved the original $400, plus you have the opportunity to check in the situation behind the walls to catch any problems in their infancy. Enjoy the shower, save your $2000 and maybe use it to go on a trip....See MorePutting porcelain tile throughout the house - will my body hate me???
Comments (9)We have all tile on our main floor. It is hard on the feet and joints. If you can get used to wearing slippers/shoes around it is fine. But we also put area carpets down and carpet runners (sort of like little habitrails) around the house which make it easier to walk in bare feet). I prefer bare feet but have slippers I wear around the house often. All flooring is a tradeoff. Carpet is soft but easily soiled. Wood gets scratched and need refinished, often with noxious chemicals. Tile is hard but easy to clean. My favorite flooring was a solid surface linoleum I had in an old house. I'm not sure they make it anymore. It was a solid material all the way through, had no odor, repelled dirt and was soft to walk on because the sub floor was plywood. I must say the wood look tile does look fantastic. The only issue we've had is cracking when the tile spans a doorway and they are on different heat zone pours (our heat is in-floor hydronic). To fix that we have used the grout caulk to patch those areas so it is a bit more flexible. Probably a better tile installer could have avoided this issue. Would I put it down again? Probably not if I knew I was living here so long. I would have put down my solid surface linoleum. But since this subfloor is concrete I may not have gotten the softness I liked out of it. But I would not have had to deal with cracking grout issues. The reason I didn't put it in was I was concerned about resale. Wood look tile has a more high end look. I was interested in hardwood but didn't know how it would perform with the expansion and contraction of the floor heat. I also was concerned it would insulate the heat too much. If you get carpet go with a thin berber (ours was a cheap berber). We had that in our upstairs and the heat came through beautifully. Then we got a cheap plush style and the heat does not come through very well....See Morepinstripe
12 years agoFloortech
12 years agodavidro1
12 years agofloorguy
12 years agosippindoc
9 years ago
millworkman
9 years ago- PRO
Carpet One Columbia
9 years ago 
PROBy Any Design Ltd.
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoWhat do you think, is Ditra worth the money?
It's a good product but there is much better preforming options with less thin-set restrictions. Why not prepare the floors with Ardex 8+9? The cost is lower and Ardex 8+9 is also rated as a crack isolation membrane where Ditra is not. Ardex 8+9 is waterproof as well without all the banding work Ditra requires.
ARDEX 8+9: Concrete sub floor
This is the first coat of Ardex 8+9 over a concrete sunroom floor here in Vancouver. Crack isolation membranes should measure three times the length of the tile. Most crack isolation membranes are between 3'-6'. Since this room will get a 3' wide tile I needed one huge sheet. This is where the cementious memebrane from Ardex excels.
I also like that there is no voids under the membrane for little silver fish bugs to crawl around in and make homes. I find silver fish a problem in many Vancouver high rise condo's and try and stop them from making new homes on my projects.
Does your answer change if we install slate rather than porcelain?All the more reason to use Ardex or NobleSeal CIS. Both those tile choices will want to see a modified thin-set used.
PROMint tile Minneapolis
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoNice work John,
How did you prep that slab prior to the 8+9...?
Before any membrane goes over a slab , in addition to cracks the installer should also be looking for moisture content in the slab and understand if it has a vapor barrier below .
(in addition to and Unlike Johns Above grade example )We do use ditra on occasion but not for any serious crack isolation and never slab below or slab on grade. For cured slabs 30-40 days old min. We prefer true crack isolation membranes and the best thinsets for these applications like a submersible flexible highly modified thinset.
brickeyee