Mixing: For walls and Large Heavy Tile applications: Place clean, potable water into a clean pail. Use approximately 4.8-5.0 qts (4.5- 4.7 L) of water for 25 lbs (11.3 kg) of powder. For Thin Bed applications: Use approximately 5.2-5.4 qts (4.9-5.1 L) of water for 25 lbs (11.3kg) of powder. Slowly add MULTIMAX LITE. Mix with a mixer to a smooth, trowelable consistency. Allow mortar to slake for 5 minutes. Remix without adding any more water or powder. During use, stir occasionally to keep mix fluffy. SLOWLY ADD MULITMAX LITE TO THE WATER.

Hey! Thanks for the feedback! I've sent this video to my adhesives product manager. There are a couple of improvements we can make to the instructions and packaging info. The funny thing is, this is one of our best-selling and most capable adhesives. It's our fastest growing product. Obviously, there's a mixing technique that we need to make sure is clear on our packaging.- YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT. The package needs to be improved.. -Ron Nash - President COO, Laticrete International. BTW- We suggest mixing in the water slowly as you go, letting the polymers hydrate and the mix get to the consistency you want. The potlife is 4 hours ONCE you let the polymers hydrate. Thanks for the video. We'll do better.

Hey Isaac, I'm going to repost this comment because I think it's important. I've watched your videos for a long time and you are such a skilled craftsman and a great teacher. But it's just not good enough to say, "Try not to breathe the dust." Silicosis is no joke. There is no treatment. Hundreds of people die every year from it, and it is a terrible way to die. Australia right now is banning engineered stone products like quartz countertops because of the risk to workers. They say people should have the right to come home from work without a terminal illness. I want you to have a long happy life. I want you to set an example for the thousands of people who learn from you. Please consider taking 30 seconds to put a respirator on. You definitely already have silica in your lungs and it will be there forever, but it's worth the effort to stop the accumulation. Don't die young because of a hardheaded old-school mentality. Thank you for the great videos and please be safe.

Dewalt is watching and planning to make a video about how heavy duty their drill is after watching it lose 5 years of life after mixing that thin set 😂

I am so glad you did a video on this, I hope more beginners see this and don’t feel defeated like I did. I ran into the same issue with my first Schlueter bag. I followed the manufacturing instructions (fearing I would mess something up if I didn’t) . It was like that, so stiff and unusable, I threw the whole bucket away, I felt so defeated. Then when spoke to a tile expert he said he never goes by the bag, goes by the feel. I was so annoyed. 😂 Any beginner would do what the instructions said! But Never again, now I go by feel.

Retired tile setter here-------I've seen the same thing with lots of thinset and floor patching products. As they made more and more different thinsets, the more problems and aggravations we had. Back when there was only 1 kind of thinset, we saw ZERO problems.

I spoke with technical support at Laticrete & was told to mix the mud to the consistency that I would like to work with & that would be sufficient.

That poor drill 😢

Your videos are the best out there! I am usually the “do as the manufacturer recommends” kind of guy. I’m only on my 4th bag of the multimax lite and a picky diy installer, I like it but have needed to add substantially more water. My first go at it was my shower, I mixed a half bag and it was a disaster. Went back to mixing by feel and will continue to do so. I’ve noticed this with many of the thin sets I’ve tried, it’s unfortunate the manufacturers have dropped the ball on a very important part of there product.

So glad I found this video-just wish I had watched it before mixing my first batch of Multimax Lite! I just abandoned a bucket full after mixing a half batch. I have the same mixing paddle and the first sign that made me nervous was how hard it was just to clean off the paddle. I think my mix was still wetter than your first try, but was still like glue. I struggled through troweling for 1 row of 12x24 porcelain for a shower and instinct told me to just stop. I cleaned it back off and just left the bucket, pissed and deflated, and afraid to modify the mix from what was recommended. Shame on you, Laticrete! I'm amazed your Dewalt drill could mix that. You nailed it on this video, and calmed my frustration and general pissed off mood. I will give it another go tomorrow, and today I'll just have a beer and calm down!😆 Keep up the awesome videos and thanks!

Yeah, I followed the instructions on water volume the first time with Multimax lite and it was pretty much useless until I added a bunch more water. Burnt out my drill and had to switch to an old one. Ended up watching one of your old videos to see how it should look and act. Made a complaint about it at Floor and Decor, but they pretty much ignored it since I'm just a DIYer. Great video, I hope you hear back from Laticrete.

Thanks man, I've been setting tile for over 20 years and still learning

Now I'm confused, the video I watch right before this one (BACKERBOARD/DRYWALL Transition Tile Shower Wall), has you praising MULTIMAX LITE. Thank you for your videos, I have been watching them for days now. They are giving me the confidence to tackle my small shower.

Good to see that I'm not the only one. Same experience last year. Tried to call Laticrete, couldn't get a human, left a message, they didn't call back.

Thank you for confirming this, believe it or not there's not too many videos on the subject and I basically was running into the same problem with all set, the first time my thinset was setting up a way to quickly, you have to look and get a bunch of your videos I noticed it was way more runny than what I had mixed up so I just tried to get it close to videos

Oh man that looks perfect! I'm so sick of the latest greatest thinset bs. We have always added water to our liking and waited a few minutes to mix again. If your prep is good the average mortar will be more than sufficient.

Just a couple weeks ago I sprung for the multi max lite for the first time, and rather than just mixing to the consistency I like as usual, I followed the instructions on the bag and had this exact same problem. After I worked out the ratio I was very happy with the product, but yea they need to fix their recommended ratios. Thanks for the video addressing this!

Looking forward to the follow up video. I'm a DIYer about to remodel a 3x5 shower. I have purchased several Laticrete products for my project largely based on this channel. I am going to waterproof the walls and floor with hydroban sheet membrane adhered using MultiMax Lite. I am happy with this approach but I would have likely had this issue had I not watched this video. I understand that this is likely just a clarity issue on how to mix the MML. But even reading the comments, I still see what I think is inconsistency on how to mix the stuff. I see three comments from Ron in the main channel. One says "Slowly add MULTIMAX LITE." (to the water in the bucket?). A second comment says "That’s why we sat 'slowly add the water.'” (to the MML?). I see a third comment that says "BTW- We suggest mixing in the water slowly as you go" (to the MML?). So which is it? Add MML to water or water to MML? Or does it matter? I'm afraid if I slowly add water to MML I'm going to get what we saw here but on a worse scale. So I plan to add and mix MML a little at a time to 5Q of water already in the bucket until the bag is all in the bucket. I'll let it slake 5 min and remix and hopefully the "feel" will be right at the end of all that. But c'mon, if this point matters and especially if you are doing damage control Ron, please be consistent in your replies.

I agree. The first time I used MML I mixed to the proportions listed on the bag. I got the same results as you did. On a test run the tile popped off the cured thinset way too easy. I went on and mixed it up to get the right "feel", and everything was good after that. I suspect that Laticrete printed bogus proportions on the bag so they could reject warranty claims due to, "the directions on the bag were not followed." Anyway, I still like MML and use it a lot.

I just used three bags of Multimax lite. I put a little water in the bucket, then add powder and water until I get the smooth consistency I like. I never mix an entire bag. Mixing a small amount has been working great for me. Thanks for your video. In Rochester, it costs $70 per bag.

My back hurt after watching. Another informative vid from the Master remaining honest.

I work for Laticrete in our technical department. I get a lot of calls with customers watching your videos. I was also a tile contractor prior (which means I never measured water) I agree this mortar needs a little more water and this is amazing.

I gotta say, I am certainly impressed with the DeWalt cordless drill! By the way, it's slake, not slack. 😉

This one spoke to me, first few batches of thin set I mixed for my first shower was grueling

Just had this problem today with Tri Lite. Had to pull the tiles off the wall. Thanks for the info TC. Pretty unbelievable how off they are on the ratios.

I’ve run into the same experience with the Tri Lite recently. I even tried adding the mortar slowly and it just did the same thing. I started putting the same amount of water that a normal 50lb bag requires and was able to get a nice creamy consistency.

Thank you for this. I mix per instructions and I figured this was my fault because I’m new to the game.

Thank you so much for the video! It’s so good to know.

To all you pros who mix by feel: no one can get a “feel” for thinset until they do it right quite a few times. Because of the slacking time required, we can’t even guess at the beginning. The instructions should be correct without excuse. It’s not a good sign.

I prob would have not dropped whole bag...kind of fed in until whole bag in... And it sure looks like more water is needed. Great Video though!!! Thanks for putting it our there!!

This video was me fighting the spinning mud bucket two days ago, thank you for posting this. Now I know I need to stand on it. 😂

I wish I would have seen this about a month ago. I followed the directions as well and had similar results.

So..... I've used MML on a few bathroom jobs and even a large kitchen/breakfast room floor close to 550sqft. Used about 15bags of this using the correct water that the bag listed. The only difference is we had white instead of gray but I wouldn't think that would matter. But..... What we do is pour 4qts in the bucket first then slowly add the thinset for mixing with a Milwaukee mud mixer and a proper paddle.... Not the one you used Isaac. Then once all the powder is slightly mixed we add the last quart of water and it works out great..... No issues at all. But again my supplier only has white but I don't see why that would matter. Anyhow just thought I'd share my experience. Now...... With that said...... I don't use that anymore with the crazy price increase. Instead I use allot of mapei thinset.... S2, s1.... LFT Flex. Love mapei

when i was a kid i worked with my uncle, he was a stone mason. he made a mortar from scratch that was about that consistency. we used natural stone in a basement that was converted to a wine cellar. it was hard to put on the stone but you could not pull the stone off of the ceiling of the cellar. just saying when they mean heavy they mean really heavy. when pressed hard onto the concrete it created hella suction and could not be pulled off by hand.

I remodeled my bathroom about four months ago, and I had the exact same problem! I stopped making mixing full buckets because of that. I was using the exact same mixing paddle as you are, but, eventually I also switched to a different paddle and had much better results. I never did try mixing another full bucket though.

Good video. You are 100% right. LHT Plus are the same way. Tri-Light is not as far off but still too thick when mixed according to instructions. What does altering the mix do for the warrantee?

As a first time bathroom remodel DIYer currently in the middle of the job I have watched almost all of your videos and actually pivoted to MML before I started tiling the shower. I really think it would make a big difference if you were to mix only half the bag or less at a time even using their water recommendation. A five gal bucket just really isn’t the best mixing container for an entire bag of thin set. Since I only have time/energy to spread one wall or so at a time (4x16 subway) I found mixing anymore than 1/3 to 1/2 a bag is just too much. I actually found online that 1 red solo cup of powder is equivalent to 1 pound of thin set so I can really dial in the amount to make so I don’t waste any. If you tried the exact same exercise with 1/2 a bag and 2.5ish quarts of water I bet you would see a little different result.

I’ve been viewing for a few years now and I’m a few years into my own business and I often try to use my measuring cup but then resort to adding water this is common… also some grouts if you add the recommended amount will flood your grout… I feel safer just mixing to my own liking which is the way I did it as a helper… unless of course we are mixing to level a large area or do a lot of tile then it might be quicker to find perfect amount of water🥳

Multimax lite and trilite are my go-to thinsets. I've never followed the recommended water/powder ratio. Just go by feel. Awesome video

Great vid. That’s why I only use megalite. It’s the best period

they have to change water qty used this product 2 weeks ago simply added more water got the texture were i wanted it then it was fine noticed immediatly that the instructions were wrong been tiling for 35 years. thanks coach

Jajaja this is funny isaac I enjoying see this 🤣..but thanks for sharing this for us God bless you buddy

First time using MML I thought I was doing something wrong. Since then I have been adding close to 2qt of extra water per bag. I have been concerned about the strength due to the extra water over what is instructed on bag. Maybe you can try a strength test of some sort. I’m sure you don’t have a Robinson set up.

I can 100% confirm this. Tried to mix MML exactly per bag ratio 5:1. It was completely unusable and for a noob like me this was hard to understand. Contacted Laticrete and they said simply to “mix to desired consistency “. In the end I came up with a mix ratio correction close to your 30% value. That’s 1.3 times more water than called out on the bag. Sal diBlasi does have a video where he emphatically says to follow the mixing instructions. Not with this product! Still in the end - properly mixed - MultiMax Lite is awesome stuff even for a noob like myself installing large format marble the job went extremely well. And I must say the results were great in large measure to your input here on Tile Coach. Thanks Isaac! At least now I know I’m not crazy. ;)

Yea man, laticrete is infamously stingy with their water ratios. Seems like they're pretty receptive to the trades too. Curious why they've lagged so long on this bug complaint. I am looking forward to checking out their new drain, though none of the local suppliers are carrying it yet.

I literally know nobody in the industry that uses mml at the recommended water volume. Its insane at that point. I was told by rep that you can go up to 10% more water

I also have the same issue with the Tri-Lite as well. A whole bag mixed with the recommended water ration is WAY to dry. Very hard to mix and probably 1/3 the pot life and open time is less than 5 minutes.

I always go by feel on my thinset and patch. I follow the recommended water for grout and self-leveling products though.

A day late 😭 i just had this issue last night following a video you posted in the past. I got through it, but i had to keep “kneading the dough” it was a horrible experience 😅

Plus you put it all in at one time I would have slowly put dry mix in not just all at the same time especially for the drill you were using

I pay $12 for a fifty pound bag of modified thinset that does the job just fine. And I charge the customer $50 per bag. Equaling a material profit of almost $400 on a shower remodel. You simply don't need all these expensive products.

It’s important to understand the feel more than anything. The product is the best by far and away. It’s like whipped butter. But you have to mix it to a good feel on all of these products.

im sure you are 100 percent correct, but not sure because in my 40 years of tiling i have never measured water per instructions. i always mix by feel and have never had an issue and thats saying something after perhaps 100 thousand mixes. im sure your mix might be slightly looser if you use a proper 1/2 drill without a grout mixing paddle. it seems the trend lately is using these whimpy grout paddles because people want paddles that can spin with battery drills. with the more square blade paddle and electric drill , i believe the mix would have been a bit different. also i believe adding all the powder first, changes the outcome, if you add powder in 3 to 4 separate steps it probably will end up a bit thinner also

Thanks man! Seriously laughing out loud… I’ve only used that to install sheet membrane. Never even read the ratio. That’s absurd though. Really disappointed laticrete did something like that

Same thing happened to me. Seized my drill trying to mix it. Thought I somehow fudged the water ratio. Bought a second bag, same thing. $100 down the drain. Never again. Good grout products though.

Thank you for showing this

Follow directions for stronger arms.

I used a battery powered drill for mixing once, I quickly learned that's the best way to burn out a drill! Now I only use a corded power mixer.

I haven’t used the multi max lite, I use All set and 6- 6.5 quarts is what I use to set tile. 7.5-8 quarts for membranes.

Im confused, in another video where you are demonstrating the flofx drain, you said you were also using multimax lite, which was white and very easy to spread. Are these two seperate products? Or is it the color that denotes different consistencies? Looking in the laticrete site i only see 1 multimax

I used the same thinset in my diy bathroom. I never tried to mix up the entire bag at once. Only in half bags and half mix ratios. Worked perfectly fine for me that way. Not sure what the issue is here but I did not experience this at all

Does it have to be the amount of water by spec? Can’t it be more preference based on consistency?

True words!! Thank you!👊

I like Tec ulitmate 6 or all set. It's what's basically most readily available in my area.

When I first started tiling, I bought a 50# postage scale to measure out smaller amounts of thinset (concrete etc) and then used the correct ratio of water. This was after I burned out my first mixing drill on a 50# bag and 5 gallon bucket. But this definitely looks like the stated ratio of water isn't correct.

Saw this after just doing an install. Per laticrete instructions I got 30% less coverage than they stated, and that’s after adding a bit more water to improve consistency. After playing around with ratios I ended up at around 7 quarts per bag and consistency was perfect, though I wouldn’t go above 7 quarts if sagging was a concern. I see other mention adding it slowly, but I did about 1/4 of the bag at a time, mixing at low RPM, and ended up with the same consistency as shown here.

We should start a campaign to get more sponsorships for this man! Do you know how much product this guy has sold to everyone watching his content?

Manufacturers have been doing this for a long time because less water gives them higher numbers when it's tested at TCNA so the water used in the test is what they have to recommend

Try their grout Permacolor, I always add more water to it, I don’t understand why they do that, grouting is already a cardio.

So many people here responding w/o watching/listening to the video.

I don’t like laticrete thinset. I prefer Ardex, however laticrete grout is my go to!

Man. Wish I would’ve seen this video sooner before I fell into this exact scenario with the ratio It stuck to the sub floor fine. Didn’t stick to the strata mat too well tho Had to take it off with an angle grinder and start again

When you call tech support they will tell you up to 6 quarts, also they will be changing the directions on the bag to reflect that

Good review for the drill!

Would you add more water for applying membrane?

I wish you would have a set a tile per the recommendations, I wonder how it would adhere if at all, then compare to the adhesion to your preferred ratio

I've realised that a lot of adhesives are like this, I always have to add more water than stated. I don't understand how the manufacturers think the adhesive is workable with the ratios they recommend 🤔

I find same with there selflever the flow calls for off the top of my head 4.3 letters of water I find it needs 5.3 to 5.6

Do you ever use 254 platinum of 257 titanium? I use it for submersible/submerged applications (swimming pools/ waterline tile). Would like to see your honest opinion on it. Thanks for all the info.

Surely its an altitude thing right? Nationwide they have to average it to 5oz but does it say to add more if needed? Thanks for sharing

RIP to the shoes, another victim of the Tile trade. Appreciate you Isaac

Great video. I know it a no no but would you add water to that mix and use or just throw out? Thanks

I've had similar problems with TEC instructions

I experienced this over the weekend...to make matters worse it was tiling a shower ceiling...back still hurts, I think I tore my rotator cuff and have carpal tunnel syndrome...and I can still smell the burn from my 1/2" drill motor....UGH - thank you for enabling this DIY'er to enjoy the company mutual misery allows...AWESOME channel - thanks Isaac/Coach - and KUDOS to Laticrete Pres/COO for the comments - good leadership there for sure.

Been using the titanium and found it is difficult to get a good consistency also.

I wonder if the instructions were written for a smaller bag.

Can I use multimax lite with Kerdi sheet membrane?

I would only use this thinset gaged porcelain panels. It has the consistency of urethane wood floor glue

Did you use the proper water?

I’m thinking they assume no one mixes a full bag of thinset at once, because it doesn’t all fit properly in a 5 gallon bucket typically….maybe what they assume is we will add 7/8 of the bag or 3/4, and that would work with 5 qts

I use Mapei Ultraflex LFT designed for large tile. Following the instructions, it behaves as expected and is $30/50lb. Can anyone say why I should instead choose this sketchy Latecrete for $50?

I've never measured the water for mixes. Just go by feel.

6:23 - a cement that keeps your trowel at 45 - how much more could you possibly expect?

wetter is better with the light wt stuff. prolite 4 sure it gets a skin very quick when not soup.

In Laticrete lineup, the most versatile thinset for any residential applications,would Tri lite.

Laticrete has the same issue with their Tri-Lite. I mixed 1/2 bag, so instead of 5 qts, I used 2.5qts. It wasn't even close. Mixed up like clay. Very disappointed at $60+ a bag.

Is there a updated video?

Hi Issac If you look on the bag there is actually two different set of directions for mixing depending on whether it is for the floor or the wall. The floor directions I believe say you can use a little more water but as you have demonstrated in this video that you need more water then they are calling for. I was a newbie when I started tiling my first of two bathrooms and was having the same problem but by watching your videos and Sal's I figured out by looking at the consistency of your thin set and just kepted mixing in a little more water until it looked the same. I have figured that 6.5 quarts is about the right amount of water for Multimax lite. I can't say enough how helpful your videos are! Thanks and keep them coming!

Issac-you still ok with plain multimax on the walls ?

Get a better mixer, d handle or 300-900 RPM. always save some water for the top of bucket!