Is gypcrete bad???

Brad_10

I had a small shock yesterday. I am installing my radiant tubes and have half of a 1700 sq ft install down.
I was planning on using Maxum gypcrete for the hard surface.But a respected infloor installer said to avoid this product due to law suits from cracking in multiple jobs around the country.
He recommended light weight concrete.
Should I rethink my decision to use Maxum Gypcrete?
Thanks Brad

Dan Peel

No

Gypcrete is a wonderful product BUT it will never provide a hard surface, nor is it recommended around moisture. IF you intend to have the poured substrait become your finished floor go fibrated concrete with p stone over a slip sheet. If you are covering with a finished floor - engineered etc. then the self leveling attributes of gyp may well be desirable. Then again you can choose warmboard or one of the other low mass on-top radiant systems. Enjoy....Dan

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marc

ask for specs

from the concrete institute, for the recommended way to pour concrete at 1-1/2 in. with less than 5/8 in. over the tube. gypcrete works wonderful over tube. the only cracks i see are due to settling of the building and the local plumber (just kidding). i still am in awe of the guys who pour 1-1/2 cement mix over wood subfloor, just asking for trouble. marc

Brad_10

I am going with tile over the gypcrete.
I got another message on the Journal of Light Home Construction web site and someone said that all you really need to do is make sure they pour the gypcrete in 2 lifts.
I am going over 16" on center TJI's with 1 1/4" plywood.
I really think that would be plenty strong.
I was never able to find anything about lawsuits on the internet anyway.

Weezbo

gypcrete has a purpose.

so does 3/8th's" minus...your floor finish is perhaps more likely what you need to have clearly in mind before using either one...or another The guy installing the floor finish may say in order to stamp these stencils in or colour this floor you will need such and such...you are also dealing with many more issues when the floor is exposed vs covered.

hr

Tile over gyp

I read something about the use of a reinforcing mesh with the gyp, when tile is to be used?

Any of the gyp installers heard of this method.

Seems the biggest challange for gyp is wet or potentially wet areas. Bathrooms sure have the potential to be "wet".

Think I would rather have a good old mudset tile job in the bathroom and use the gyp in the other less critical areas.

Nothing beats a well installed mudset tile job. Most need a jackhammer to remove! Nice to do the walls this way if you can find a tilesetter that still does the mud set method. Takes a lot more time and skill than the CBS systems so common today.

hot rod

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Troy_3

Gypsum concrete

Gypsum concrete is Good. Portland over wood is Bad! Portland is hard but very brittle. Over a wood floor it will crack a lot. Gypsum has the advantage of flexural strength. It will flex much more with the wood before it cracks.

Unknown

it *used* to have problems, I believe, back in "the day" before all the gyp manufacturers refigured their products. I believe they have figured out the kinks in more recent times and that now gypcrete is a fine product.

However, I am interested in how others are dealing with the "moisture" problem with gypcrete. I am not familiar with this issue and what can be done about it. Certainly people (radiant and non radiant) are using gypcrete in bathrooms. are there safeguards that can help make sure there is not a problem?

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