We poured a mortor walk-in shower and curb. I sanded the shower floor and put the tile down. It didn't want to stick, so I removed the tile and sanded it again. It seems to be grity (sandy) is this the way it's suppose to be? Or what do I need to do. We can't afford a contractor at this time. Could my husband have poured the morter wrong? Thanks Teena

Hi Teena:

If you are sanding the new shower floor to increase the grab on the mortar you should stop doing that... ;) Instead, vacuum up the loose sand and then try setting the tile in the appropriate substrate again only this time... let it dry for 24 hours (or as installation instructions on the bag/bucket indicate) at a minimum.

Given 24 hours, a chemical reaction occurs that bonds the two materials quite tenatiously! That is...if all was done right...and you are using the correct setting material for your tile.

Tell us a little more about how you guys did your mortar pan and curb... O.K.? Did you use a plastic membrane, a hot-mopped pan, a kerdi-schluter pan, or a copper pan?

What kind of tile and what kind of thinset mortar... modified or unmodifed? If unsure, just let us know what the bag/bucket says.

Then tell us what you used for mortar, etc.. The more you can tell us the more we can help.

MARK

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Mark nailed it: when you sand it, you create fine dust. That dust must be vacuumed.

For best results, you can take hammer and "ding" the floor surface. More dings, the better grip you'll get...

Take spray bottle filled with water and spray the entire surface few minutes before you start troweling thin set. Mix thin set on this side. Use proper notch trowel.

Can you post a photo of your shower so we get better visual ? Thanks !

We used a plastic membrane, Mapei (ready to use) Mortar For Tile (up to 12" x 12") for floors and walls. For shower bed and curb we used Quikrete Mortar. I couldn't find out if it was modified or unmodified