Modified/unmodifed thinset

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Pcnerd

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Guys,

I spent last few hours reading and not sure what I should buy for the contractor to use.

I have put tiles on a few restrooms and outdoor before and never put too much thought into in the past.

Now I am paying a contractor to put 800 sq ft of tiles on slab for inside of house.

Porcelain tiles will be 18x18 about 1/4" thick with spacer of 3/16". Modified thinset costs about $15 and unmodified $6. About 90% of the placement will be over slab and 10% over old thinset (old tiles removed).

We are in sunny Calif if the weather makes any difference.

Thanks.
 
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Why are you making that decision in the first place? if you are hiring a contractor, he should supply his own, and of course that makes it his choice. If you have some kind of deal, well then, just ask him what he needs.
 
Why are you making that decision in the first place? if you are hiring a contractor, he should supply his own, and of course that makes it his choice. If you have some kind of deal, well then, just ask him what he needs.


The deal is I buy the stuff. But I want to be informed before buying a bulk.

Serious, I don't trust a single word of any contractor now due to my experiences. I want to do my research first.
 
In many cases, there is more than one way to do something. The "right way" to do it is often depending on who you ask. I absolutely don't blame you for doing the research for your own knowledge, but asking a contractor to work with a particular material whether or not he prefers it, is not such a good thing IMO.
 
Part of what you are paying for when you hire a contractor is his knowledge. If you don’t trust him for that then I wouldn’t trust him for also doing the job. By all means educate yourself and then discuss what his plans are compared to what you have found out to be true or best. Ask him WHY? When the two are different and listen to his reasoning with an open mind.

The big problem with you selecting the materials is when something goes wrong down the road he will say well you bought the stuff. Letting himself off the hook. I don’t know a lot about laying tiles I have done a few jobs that held up for a very long time. I wont comment on what is best as there are experts that will reply I’m sure. I will say if the difference is ten bucks I wouldn’t even consider cost a factor.
 

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