The BIG PROBLEM with Musselbound Adhesive Tile Mat 

I just saw this product on IG and thought it was a great and easier alternative to using thin set. Seeing your pros and cons is really helpful in what project I do in the house and how I need to prep for it. My house was built in 1947 and not all walls are straight and flat so knowing this info and about the dust and wet saw is invaluable. I still plan to use it but my approach and prep will be different. Thanks for the review.

Thanks for stating the pros and cons. For me, the cons definitely saved me a lot of frustration. Going to use thin set. Thanks again.

Great, honest review! Your points are very helpful to my decision making. Think I can handle it for a small job I have in mind but not so sure for the above the tub surround idea I had. Thank you!

This is an excellent warning of what to expect with this product. Saving a lot of headaches and frustration here. Im still going to use it.

I think I'm going to try it on my kitchen backsplash. Thanks for letting us know about the dry time. Also I really enjoy watching your videos.

Nice job covering the pros and cons.

As a tile setter, I would never use this product in a shower or potential wet area. The packaging says it can be used in a shower, but I would not use it. Water and moisture find a way. I have used this product for a quick one day install at a small office kitchen backsplash. I cut the tile, installed it and grouted all in one day. And on occasion I have used it to create little mockups for clients prior to the full install of their tiles. Allows the client to view the tile with grout and any profiles on a small board. This way the client knows exactly how it will look, especially in the actual room lighting. The musselbound basically acts like tacky thick double sided tape. And it is not to forgiving on install. Most tiles today have grid patterns on the back to assist the thinset in grabbing and holding the tile. So due to the musselbound being really flat it only touching the grid and not the meat of the tile. And probably the back of the tile is only touching less than a third of the Musselbound. You need a minimum of 85% of the back of a tile to be covered with thinset for better adhesion and longevity. There are uses for this in dry areas and the right tile. It would be good for mosaics on table tops or something similar.

Another pro, and the reason I choose this product, was that it can be applied to almost any surface. In my case, I have an old fiberglass shower, which is a non-porous surface. Even with roughing and primer, thinset or mortar will not properly bond (at least according to documentation). The only “traditional” product I could find was a very expensive, very complicated epoxy product that appears to only be available in the UK. Musselbound, however, can be applied to fiberglass (or just about anything else).

I used muscle bound for a 6 inch high backsplash and loved it. I'm unsure if a large area would be worth it but would use it again for a backsplash.

Thank you for doing this video and answering all my questions and concerns. As a DIY’er it’s hard to know what products to use. 😊 Thanks again

Very helpful. I live in a 90 year old house so the walls are bot completely flat. I was considering this for a backsplash but not now. Thanks!

I personally use this often and what I have found is I preheat an oven to 220 and put the tile in the oven for 10 to 15 mins you must be sure the core of the tile is dry from cutting this with a wet saw and this will insure so. After 15 mins I set the tile to dry for approx 5 mins and than install it still warm so it sets and leave spacers so it don't fall just in case.. never had an issue with it coming back off after this method. If you are in a new build build a small closet I call it and dry the tile with a torpedo heater moving them around frequently until fully dry again apply while still warm this format saved me a lot of time and Labor than using motor and customers love how it cuts the time in half with a lower labor price offered and I do warranty this for 2 years mainly because this is a new product and I wanna make sure it will last if not I will redo the tile at no cost through my insurance

Very helpful review and tips. Thank you.

Always enjoy your videos. You are an amazing DIY. That being said…. I would never not use cement board on a shower. Just personal opinion….

wow, Great information. clear my thoughts about the musule bound kind of product pros - cons. great information. thanks :)

I'm going to try it on my backsplash thanks for the ideals and 2 thumbs 👍🏻 up for shorts.

Excellent review; thank you very much!

Thanks for the information. I was looking at using this product but after your video I’m sticking (get it) with thin set.

Very helpful review. I could imagine applications where it would be great, such as narrow/tight areas. But it seems like too much of a handful on a big project

Thank you! This looks like great stuff, but not good for my project. Thanks for saving me the time and money!

Time will tell if moisture weeping through the grout will affect the adhesion. As for lining up each strip next to each other, if you overlap by 1/4 inch, then cut along the overlap, you will have a perfect seam. IMHO, I still prefer thinset. Thanks for the video.

Almost bought something like this when I did my kitchen backsplash. So glad I didn't now. Cost stopped me but the drying part you brought up would have ended me haha. Thank you

Great thanks, gave me a lot to think about,

Mellissa u r badass ty for the product demo & update

Very informative!

The best way to gauge how good a product is to ask the obvious question- do the pros use it? If it’s everything it claims to be the pros will be the first to adopt it.

Awesome, thanks ❤

Great review :)

Wow, those are major cons. You saved me such a headache!

Thank you so much. From the information you provided, I would not use Musselbound, as a novice DIY'er.

try put the wet tiles in the oven for 3 minutes at 350 degrees and then let them cool for 10 minutes to dry them out quicker :)

Thanks!!

Thank you.

I’d probably never consider it, but you’ve convinced me it’s not worth it, anyway 😊 Too finicky a product and I’d rather be free of whatever chemicals it uses 😅

This was super helpful, and I would have had to discover these "cons" on my own, I think I will stick to (pun intended) traditional tiling methods, dust, and all...

Great video! Doesn’t look like a product that I should use on my project.

Intense stickiness. Sounds like my 8 year old son after two popsicles.

I think you need a lot patience to use this product and get it right thanks for info less of a mess though ❤

Thanks

I wish I hadn't used this. I have one tile that keeps falling off. I didn't find it any easier than using mortar

Very Nice

seems really bad to me that you can't replace a tile if one cracks. thanks for the great video

Thank you so much! I won't be using this product because of all the cons you listed (too many!)

Thanks for the in-depth review. I don’t think I’ll be using this product any time soon. Is this an interior product only or could it be used in an outdoor kitchen application.?

Melissa, this is an excellent video. I can picture myself having the same issues. Thank you so much for sharing....💕 What do you think about using it on kitchen backsplash? Much smaller application. Thanks so much.

I soooooo wanted it to be practical for my application, but the extended dry time after cuts would become a concern. This may be a moot point for others.

Not worth it, IMHO. The fact that you lost a day waiting for the tile to dry eliminates the positive aspect of being able to install and grout on the same day. Also, I like the ability to reposition my tile if I need to. I understand that for you, being only able to work a few hours at a time, it would make sense to try the Musselbound product. Me, I think I would have just mixed up small batches of thinset and worked that way. But, I also feel the same way about pre-pasted wallpaper. It's sooo much easier to work with old school wallpaper and if you just apply paste to the walls (instead of the back of the wallpaper), you avoid all the mess and hatefulness of pasting the back of the paper. Regardless, your project turned out beautiful and I think you did an amazing job.

How is the shower holding up, can you do a review in a few months to a year?

Excellent review what is your confidence it will stand up to the test to time and use? To what degree did the grout insure adhesion. Thanks

what's the reason you could not use a large tile? btw, my builder charged me 1 sq2 for $11 to put on my summer kitchen wall, it's around 63 sq2, should I accept their fee or use this? thanks

Great review. It seems like it would be best for a kitchen backsplash or small area. Not being able to use a wet tile saw for cuts is a nightmare. I guess you could use a grinder to cut (eww) and then a wheel to smooth the edges? It's also hard to have a super plum surface to set tile on. I'd personally rather use thinset and have to wait a day to grout.

What about cutting the tiles? Is there an easy way to do this? Thanks.

I’d never use this. Thanks for the heads up

Your feedback made me wonder how would someone go about renovating the shower down the road? How in the world would they get the tiles and adhesive strips off the wall the start fresh? Yikes!

Is there any reason to roll a sheet from floor to ceiling? I would think cutting the roll into smaller pieces make it easier to install without wrinkles. Just more seams to tape over.

really need the seal tape for a floor? use a substitute tape?

To be honest I’m surprised you didn’t use musslebound on the floor seeming how easy your talking about tiling is

So if your wall isn't perfectly straight and plumb then I guess this product wont work properly. Doesnt seem like the time saving is even worth it or that much considering all the hurdles of prep you have to go through.

Why would you use an adhesive mat for Wet areas..from what I understand it is best for backsplashes ONLY

well, $50 for 15sf is really crazy.

LOOK LIKE KATE MARA

You are adorable

Wouldn’t trust it