VersaBond-LFT 50 lb. Gray Fast-Setting Medium Bed Mortar for Large Format Tile and Stone

I am a Red Seal Installer that has worked for the largest flooring installation company in Southern Alberta for the last 17 years. I have used Versabond many times in the past, in fact, it was used exclusively in one of our major builders between the years 2018-2021. It was easy to work with, and seemed to create a good bond. It is now July 2023. We have replaced well over $70 000 worth of material due to this one thin-set. Over time, the bond has released from the substrate causing tiles to move, crack, and grout to crumble. Many jobs, in different homes, on different substrates including Wedi, Ubertile, Schlucter Ditra, and douglas fir ply (as specified in the Tile Terrazzo and Marble Association of Canada handbook) installed by several other Journeyman installers have failed, so it is not specific to one person or installation style. It is just a bad product. We even had the rep come to inspect a job with us to see if they would hold themselves accountable; absolutely not. He was obviously there to find whatever reason he could to find fault in the environment, not his product. While there, we removed two 12x24 tiles (in one piece and with great ease) and showed that NONE of the mortar stuck to the substrate, only the tile. And even the material that was on the tile could be scraped off as if it was drywall mud. Thinset should not crumble between your fingers. As a test, knowing that we were replacing the entire 230 sq ft foyer anyway, we reinstalled the two tiles; one with a new bag of Versabond LFT that the rep brought (because he thought that maybe the bags we used were expired), and one with Schlucter All Set. When we returned two months later to replace the entire area, 80% of they Versabond tiles came up in one piece and undamaged because the mortar simply released from the substrate, and the one tile put down with Schlucter came up in pieces no bigger than a post-it note. Moral of the story = it's garbage. It might seem like a decent product at first, but within 5 years, there's a good chance of failure, and the company has NO interest in standing behind it. We kicked Custom products out of our store, including all mortars, grouts, and levelers. We have since moved to another manufacturer which we have yet to have any failures with, and has much better representation. For the homeowners out there, I can tell you from many years of experience, you are much better off going with Mapei, Schlucter, or Uzin. Don't run the risk of failure.

Use it on 12/24 works perfectly!

VersaBond-LFT 50 lbs. White Fortified Medium Bed Mortar Makes the job go smoothly. It not only secured the tiles but makes them stand out and look great. Take a look at the job afterward!

I was very disappointed with this. It was recommended when I bought my tile and it doesn’t match at all! It claims to be a dark grey color but when it dried it was a very light grey and it looks awful! I’m going to have to regrout the whole thing with something darker

The grey is some kind of mustard yellow tan or something. The ledger stone is grey, the cement backer is grey, so the yellowish thinset squeezing between the joints looked terrible. Seems to stick ok though.

Great product, I have done hundreds of tile floors and versabond is the only product I use! I never have issues with tiles not adhering!

Love this use it in my floor.

Good mortar. Easy to mix. Slow drying gives plenty of time to work. Large pieces need to be supported on a vertical surface.

Good quality product. Used to lay 12x24 porcelain tile. Used Grey color and white. Something weird happens. Gray and white should be the same product and when i mixed both (separately. lol) Gray color appears to be more smooth and creamy (what i like) when white one has kind of sandy filling (Probably due to different ingredients) plus it looks like dries faster . I don't like it. . Anyway. I like gray. Will buy for future protects.

It was great to work with. Thanks