# Durock is wrong side up



## Jason Whipple

I'm working on my addition and have a guy here (an employee) putting down the durock in the kitchen area. When I got home this afternoon he had about 60% of the area done BUT the rough side is down

Will this affect my tile in any way? I planed on using slate for the floors. The sheets say rough side for mortar and smooth side for mastic. He was thinking since the sheets were being put down in mortar that the sheets had to go rough side down. (it's been one of those days all day today!)


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## JazMan

Jason,

That is not a problem, thin set will stick just fine to the smooth side.

Did you happen to check the deflection rating of your subfloor though? Natural stone requires a much stiffer subfloor than ceramic or porcelain, If it's not built for natural stone spec'd at the time, it most likely will not support slate.

Jaz


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## ChrWright

I agree... It shouldn't be a problem. 

But I'd still smack him around a little... :whistling


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## Jason Whipple

JazMan said:


> Jason,
> 
> That is not a problem, thin set will stick just fine to the smooth side.
> 
> Did you happen to check the deflection rating of your subfloor though? Natural stone requires a much stiffer subfloor than ceramic or porcelain, If it's not built for natural stone spec'd at the time, it most likely will not support slate.
> 
> Jaz


Should be OK for deflection. I have 2 x 10's 16 o.c. spanning 17' with a triple 9 1/2" LVL in the middle of the span. Over that I put down 3/4" t & g Advantech sub flooring:thumbup:

I'm going to use 1/2" thick slate because there is also a wood stove going in it for heat. I don't think 1/4 would hold up to the heat.


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## Jason Whipple

ChrWright said:


> I agree... It shouldn't be a problem.
> 
> But I'd still smack him around a little... :whistling


Yeah, I busted his balls a little. He's got his wife on his mind lately, she's due any day now I have to cut him a little slack for that.


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## neolitic

Purely in the interest of science, we once did 
a shower half and half.:whistling
That was 10 years ago, and no problems so far.


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## MattCoops

Actually, when we used to use durock I usually installed it "upside down" because of the crowning of the sheets.

But, about this situation, I don't know if thicker slate will solve it, but around a wood stove the slate gets pretty hot. We had to rip up some a while back and replace with a ceramic "look-like" slate.

But tile around a wood stove is a great idea. Tile has great solar benefits.


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## JazMan

Jason,

OK, so you're saying the joists span a little over 8' right? That's fine, but do you have a single layer of 3/4" Advantech subfloor? If so, not good.

Jaz


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## ChrWright

neolitic said:


> Purely in the interest of science, we once did
> a shower half and half.:whistling
> That was 10 years ago, and no problems so far.



Some bosses even harp on their guys for not making sure the printed labeling all faces the same direction... :whistling

Reminds me of the old Phil Hartman SNL skit "The Anal Retentive Carpenter". 

Miss that guy.


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## DavidC

Jason W said:


> Yeah, I busted his balls a little. He's got his wife on his mind lately, she's due any day now I have to cut him a little slack for that.


And I suppose he's expecting a little time off for that to boot! 

Are there no soup kitchens? :>)

Best wishes to both of them. 

Good Luck
Dave


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## Jason Whipple

JazMan said:


> Jason,
> 
> OK, so you're saying the joists span a little over 8' right? That's fine, but do you have a single layer of 3/4" Advantech subfloor? If so, not good.
> 
> Jaz


Wouldn't the 3/8 durock applied w/ thin set help it? What should have been done? Not trying to argue but I've seen slate installed on less than what I'm doing it on. Do you think 1/4" slate will take the heat of the wood stove?


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## Jason Whipple

DavidC said:


> And I suppose he's expecting a little time off for that to boot!
> 
> Are there no soup kitchens? :>)
> 
> Best wishes to both of them.
> 
> Good Luck
> Dave


I got him a box of condoms and the whole set of Gary Katz finish carpentry DVDs for his upcoming off time:laughing: I hope he uses them both! He was one of our best installers on our exterior job in NY.


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## PrecisionFloors

Jason W said:


> Wouldn't the 3/8 durock applied w/ thin set help it? What should have been done? Not trying to argue but I've seen slate installed on less than what I'm doing it on. Do you think 1/4" slate will take the heat of the wood stove?


Durock adds no structural strength whatsoever. Its sole purpose is a surface to bond tile/stone to. You should have a minimum of 1 1/4" of plywood in addition to meeting deflection standards for the joists.


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## DavidC

PrecisionFloors said:


> Durock adds no structural strength whatsoever. Its sole purpose is a surface to bond tile/stone to. You should have a minimum of 1 1/4" of plywood in addition to meeting deflection standards for the joists.


The job we learned this on we ended up going back and adding another 3/4" ply from underneath, screwed and glued. Pain is the ass but fixed our problem and lesson learned. TCNA handbook since then.

Good Luck
Dave


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## Jason Whipple

Well that sucks! Back to the drawing board! 

I was hoping to have the floor tile and counter tops made from the same stone.:sad: Their was no room for the extra layer any way.

I guess I'll be looking for porcalin now


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## Jason Whipple

DavidC said:


> The job we learned this on we ended up going back and adding another 3/4" ply from underneath, screwed and glued. Pain is the ass but fixed our problem and lesson learned. TCNA handbook since then.
> 
> Good Luck
> Dave


Now there's an option! The dream is still alive:clap:


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## JazMan

I vote for porcelain. It'll be much easier to maintained too. 

Jaz


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## Jason Whipple

JazMan said:


> I vote for porcelain. It'll be much easier to maintained too.
> 
> Jaz


Would I be OK with the floor the way it is? Could it take the heat from a small wood stove over it?

BTW thanks for all the help with this everyone:thumbsup: I want to do this right.


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## ChrWright

Do you have a picture or link to the wood stove in question?

What's your source for the slate you were going to use? What format?


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## Jason Whipple

The stove is something similar to this but it's an antique that we found for half the price.

The slate is local Vermont slate. I was thinking about a 16" x 16" tile or 18" x 18" The kitchen area is roughly 16' x 15' wide open and no cabinets.


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