Mags, here are some explanations of terms as we use them over in our part of the world. Maybe this will help?
We use
thinset or
dryset almost interchangeably. Thinset came to be used because it notes the "new" way of setting
tile, ie: with a
thin layer of
setting material over a substrate that was previously prepared.
Dryset is taken as synomous because the
tile is set
dry over the previously prepared and/or cured setting bed.
In the old days, as you might already know, tiles were
wetset in thick beds of mortar, with the floating and setting going all in one shot, and because the tiles were set in wet mortar (and the tiles were frequently soaked in water overnight) this was referred to as the
wetset, mudset or
thickset method.
We frequently use
medium bed mortars to set large tiles, and this gets its name because the sand in the material and the thickness of the setting bed is midway between the two extremes listed above. The medium bed mortar I use most often is Laticrete 220, and it can be built up to about 3/4" without problems with shrinkage or settling.
To further add to the confusion, we use
the thinset method to refer to any setting method that is applied in a thin layer-so this included mastic and epoxy.
But whenever we say
thinset , we also mean (and everyone knows what we mean) a portland
cement based setting material that is mixed either with water or a liquid latex additive (ie:
modiied thinsets).
Some folks use the term
dryset mortars to mean thinsets that have no additives.
Now, there is a quick rundown on how we use these terms.
If you really want to get down with the lingo, any of the above items that is sticky and can be used to stick something to something else.... that stuff is called
pooky.
Any material that is mixed and used to finish a surface, or to set block or brick, is called
mud. This includes any plaster or drywall compound that is used for plaster work or drywall (plasterboard), and also any mortar used for what you would call a screed or a render. For the screed, we call that
mud either
dry pack, floor mud or deck mud. For the render on the walls, we call it
fat mud or wall mud.