Laticrete Strata_Mat by Laticrete

4 out of 5 stars

I want to preface this by stating that this is the first time I have ever used anything but cement board/hardibacker for a kitchen floor under 12x12 times so was kinda leary about my installation technique. so i did do a bit of research including forums & video's for any tips & trick of working with it. I didn't actually purchase this on amazon, I got it through a floor & tile store friend. We are renovating after a house fire that left our apartment in our 2 family home gutted. I got a great deal on enough ceramic tile for the kitchen & bathroom sadly the kitchen floor was already close to the level of the hardwood floors and already 2 layers of plywood so if we wanted to install the ceramic tile without having a trip hazard when you enter the room we had to find a thinner option to the hardy backer. After much research we decided on a combination of Redgard waterproofing/crack suppression & Laticrete Strata_Mat. I am so pleased with the results I just had to share a review & some pictures here on amazon. I will admit that the Laticrete Strata_Mat is quite a bit more work than cement board, but the results are well worth it. the only reason its getting 4 instead of 5 stars is because it is twice the work of cement board..

First off we washed & treated the plywood floor with redgard for waterproofing, making sure to get the seams extra well to aid in crack prevention. Once that was dry we began the process of laying the Strata_mat

so we cut or Strata_mat so was ready to be placed down. (making sure that we went the opposite way of the floor board seams so the seam lines lay like a grind, not along each other.)   

We then mixed our modified thinset mortar So it was ready - You need to make the mortar a little wetter than you would for laying the tile to help it adhere to the Strata_mat fabric easier. Also, Lay out enough thin set out to lay your first piece.

next we put down our first piece. The nice thing about this compared to Ditra (the orange stuff from lowes) is that you can sorta see throughout it enough to see a dark color change, so any large white sections you see are the spots that need to be pressed down to make better contact. It really makes it so much easier when you can see how well it has made contact.

Once you see an even darkness through the mat you can move to the next piece. You can use a grout float to press down the mat. (I wound up using just a spare piece of smaller tile to push it) there is no set time needed & you can walk on & begin laying your tile right away, that's just awesome if you ask me!!. The results are an amazingly secure & I'm so thrilled with the way it turned out

Pro's

Thin - this is a great alternative to cement board when tile might is an issue.

Amazing stability & crack prevention.

The divits in the mat create a very strong bond. These tiles won't be coming up any time soon

Con's

A lot more work than cement board - Make sure you set aside extra time to lay this down before starting your tile work..

Very uncomfortable to work on - If your not using knee pads, use a piece of cardboard or something to kneel on. Trust me... You will need it.. Your knees will thank you.

I have no problems at all recommending this as an alternative to cement board/hardy backer when night is an issue. It may be a few more hours of work, but sooooo well worth the extra time.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018A2TO0G?keywords=STRATA_MAT&qid=1456981701&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2