Adhering vinyl tile to joint compund?
by
BB
+3
The vinyl tile above my tub instert kept coming loose so I took it all down to see the issue and put new up.
Little backstory: This is a tiny tiny old house I rent that was built in 1940s. It has a lot of issues as far as settling and the landlord does little to keep it structurly stable, but has given me permission to do small updates & repairs. I've been here 5 years, so to me it's my home, not just a rental & it's all I can afford.
I don't have any real experience in house projects & maintenance so I'm not looking for perfection, just improvements and honestly, my fixes, no matter how bad, are better than the effort the landlord cares to put in this house. For example, he put new windows in last summer (it HAD to be done), the major gaps between the window and house were strung with caulk, not even filling the gap side to side, just a loose string of it. They were large enough gaps that foam sealant should gave been used, so I went back and redid it. He uses caulk for EVERYTHING.
I felt the backstory would help you understand the landlords standards, or lack of, so you'd realize I'm trying for simple cheap repairs that are an improvement from the current state. I do realize most of my "repairs" are fairly temporary, but I'm in dire need cosmetically.
Anyway, I removed all the tile and saw where the landlord had covered a window, but didn't build it up in the inside to be flush with drywall (Note: 90% of the walls in the house are plaster, but he did put drywall around the tub). So, the previous tile was not sticking in that spot due to a half inch drop on each side where the window met the drywall (see pic). -- I hope I'm making sense. To build it up and make it flush I used joint compound. The picture I attached is messy work I did in my 2 hours of free time after work, I haven't sanded it or done anything with it yet. My question is, what will adhere the best to joint compound? The tiles are 18x18 and weigh about 2.5lbs.
I have the heavy duty liquid nails and a can of contact cement. Will either of these bond with compound? And will they support the weight of the tile?
Wow! I have to say that I think tiles that heavy are a recipe for disaster. I think you'd be better off to go with a lightweight vinyl or something that looks like tile. You don't want one of these falling on your head while you are taking a shower! It appears that the tub surround is vinyl anyhow. I'm afraid that without tearing out the whole thing and starting over you are just asking for trouble. Go cheap, go lightweight, make the best of it. Bathrooms are tricky anyhow. Good luck.
Do not use liquid nails or contact cement. It will not hold. You need full adhesive coverage on the wall and tile. For tile that large and heavy you will definitely have to use thinset with a 1/2 " grooved trowel on the wall. Also for large tiles butter the back of the tile with thinset using the 1/2" grooved trowel. This creates a suction when you apply the tile to the wall. Just make sure the walls a flat.
You don't have anything to lose by trying the liquid nails with your tiles.
You can use tile mastic which is made for vinyl tile You still need to put the mastic on the wall with a grooved trowel. You don't need to butter the back of the tile since it is vinyl. Ribbons of liquid nails would work for smaller tile even though I wouldn't recommend it. But the size of your tile and the weight needs better adhesion.