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AR15.COM
6/22/2014 3:07:47 PM EDT
I'm re-doing my parents tile bathroom. My great-great uncle did it 38 years ago. It's a second floor bathroom. My question is with the base layer. The tile has never had a single crack in it. He did a great job. But now I'm tearing out the old tile and noticed a base layer that I haven't experienced before. It looks like he first put down a metal pan on top of the plywood flooring. Then a vapor barrier. Then it looks like they poured some form of thin set/concrete substance on top with a wire mesh in it. After tearing out the tile it doesn't have any cracks or seem soft anywhere. So do I need to tear this out and put cement board down? Or can I just put the tile on top of this surface?  Thanks in advance
6/22/2014 3:14:19 PM EDT
[#1]
It's a mud bed
Old school way of doing things when we had craftsmen, not installers
Before I get hated on , craftsmen are still out there but not the norm theses days
You can tile over the bed with the appropriate mortar
6/22/2014 4:03:16 PM EDT
[#2]
So do I need something other than just the generic thin-set that you buy at Home Depot?

I consider myself a craftsman, just not with tile
6/23/2014 2:44:10 AM EDT
[#3]
It really depends on what tile you install
For example, my company usually installs large format porcelain
Or natural stone so we mostly use custom marble and granite medium bed
Setting mortar or prolite
Mortars don't shrink when used in thicker applications like thinset
6/23/2014 3:05:16 AM EDT
[#4]
schluter KERDI is a waterproof thin membrane that is layed over the shower pan (mud bed in your case) and then tiled over.  I would suggest using it in the entire shower area.
6/24/2014 1:45:52 PM EDT
[#5]
Now my next question. When the tile was done they installed the medicine cabinet first. So in turn, there isn't a mud pan where the medicine cabinet was. The new medicine cabinet has legs, so the flooring under it needs to be complete. What would you guys suggest? Can I put cement board down in that area? Thanks
6/24/2014 4:05:09 PM EDT
[#6]
I'd mud bed that area too, backer board will not be the same thickness if the mud was done correctly.