question about Schluter Ditra

[sassbs]

Im going to be tearing out the old tiles on the main floor.
i was thinking of using this product for the simple ease of it. Can I apply this directly to the wood underneath the tiles? in other words the original hardwood? or do I have to lay down some plywood or something on top of the hardwood?

Also, what would be better to use... Ditra or the wired mesh/ (dont know what proper name for it is)

thanks

[Tornado2dr]

I'm not sure why you would put it on top of existing hardwood, wouldn't that make for a really horrible/weird transition?

Either way - I found their website helpful in the past. Simple user guides like this:http://www.schluter.com/media/schlut...dbook_2012.pdf

[Mk1Racer]

Im going to be tearing out the old tiles on the main floor.
i was thinking of using this product for the simple ease of it. Can I apply this directly to the wood underneath the tiles? in other words the original hardwood? or do I have to lay down some plywood or something on top of the hardwood?

Also, what would be better to use... Ditra or the wired mesh/ (dont know what proper name for it is)

thanks

I know a couple of professional tile guys, and they swear by Schluter Ditra. The biggest issue, is the extra cost ($1.25 - $1.50 per sq. ft.). But from everything I've heard, it's well worth it.

I'm a bit confused. You had tile installed over 3/4 hardwood flooring? Or are you talking about the underlayment sub floor? It's my understanding that you install S-D w/ thinset, and then install the tile ov top of that, w/ additional thinset. As the other poster said, check their website.

[MAC]

I've used ditra on the last two tile jobs I've done. Well worth the extra cost, it's that much faster. BUT, if the subfloor isn't really solid I still feel better using a screw down underlayment like hardibacker. That makes for a bomb proof platform for your tile.

[Tornado2dr]

I've used ditra on the last two tile jobs I've done. Well worth the extra cost, it's that much faster. BUT, if the subfloor isn't really solid I still feel better using a screw down underlayment like hardibacker. That makes for a bomb proof platform for your tile.

This. You still don't really want any "bounce" under tile.

[Jettavr666]

I've used ditra on the last two tile jobs I've done. Well worth the extra cost, it's that much faster. BUT, if the subfloor isn't really solid I still feel better using a screw down underlayment like hardibacker. That makes for a bomb proof platform for your tile.

This is what I did. I havent heard anything bad about the schulter system, but I have always used hardiboard and never had issues.

[sassbs]

thanks for the advice. im going to go into a local tile store and figure it out. I know the mesh is labor intensive plus time consuming, I'd rather spend the extra $$$ and get it done double time.

[paul wall]

Hardibacker, Durock, etc is NOT to be used for support whatsoever. It is only an isolation membrane, like Ditra. If you are unsure of your existing subfloor being strong enough, you want to install additional plywood and or framing underneath before doing any tile work. Once your substrate is acceptable, you can than use the Ditra.

Here is a good little tool for calculating your flooring system:

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/deflecto.pl

Check out the John Bridge Tile Forums though for anymore more tile related questions. There is alot of very useful information on the website and the folks there are helpful as well.