Don’t Use Tile Adhesive in These 6 Ways Anymore!

A decorator kindly wanted to save the cost for the owner and suggested to use tile adhesive to mix with cement increase the amount of material. However, the tiles soon fell off in large areas! In the end, the two parties are in dispute over liability for loss.

After seeing such a piece of news, the experienced bricklayer may have been roaring at the stupidity of the decorator：

Don't use tile adhesive to mix with cement!

Don't use tile adhesive to mix with cement!!

Don't use tile adhesive to mix with cement!!!

But why?

The production process of it is composed of five parts: proportion calculation, weighing, mixing, processing, and tile adhesive packaging. Each of these processes has an important impact on the performance of adhesive products.

It contains an appropriate amount of cement, which is scientifically formulated by adding various additives to enhance adhesion and flexibility on the basis of cement.

The proportion of multiple ingredients in the product is the most important. After years of experiment and practice, the tile adhesive formula is continuously improved, and its proportion has an impact on the effect of paving. Therefore, when the construction personnel use tile adhesive, he should strictly follow the packaging instructions, not to mention any additives at will.

Today, I will sort out the misunderstandings in the use of the tile adhesive. Supervisors, have you ever been tricked?

Misconception 1: Tile adhesive is the glue

Tile adhesive, literally speaking, many people may think that it is cement and glue. It is not a glue. Its main component is cement, which is made up of high-quality cement, graded quartz sand and various polymers. It is a safe and environmentally friendly product that does not contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene.

Misconception 2: Mixing cement and mortar in the tile adhesive

As in the case mentioned above, to use tile adhesive mix with cement seems to increase the amount of material and reduce the cost, but in fact, it causes a significant loss! The reason is that special additives in adhesive products can generate forces between molecules to stick the tiles firmly. Adding cement will change the product formula, thereby reducing the cohesive force, and the quality of the product cannot be guaranteed.

Misconception 3: Large disposable scraping area

In the environment of outdoor, dry, and windy weather, if the scraping area of the cloth glue batch is too large, the surface layer will be dry before the tile can be pasted, which will cause the tile to fall off; Use a toothed scraper to scrape the glue on the surface evenly, and each construction should be within about 1 square. If the outdoor climate is dry, the walls should be moistened in advance.

Misconception 4: Long usage time, need to add new glue to mix before use

Some decorators will mix the water to use tile adhesive powder to the remaining adhesive the day before in the next morning. The practical components of the adhesive have undergone a chemical reaction after mixing, and adding water will change its performance, resulting in insufficient bonding strength in the later stage; The adhesive should be used immediately within 2 hours after mixing and discarded immediately after it dries.

Misconception 5: Paste tiles directly without leveling

Due to the low strength of the base layer and the presence of oil stains, it will directly affect the adhesion of the tile adhesive, resulting in hollowing and causing the tiles to fall; If the wall is not strong, the base surface will cause delamination easily and fall off. If the wall is not flat, the defect is too large, which will lead to improper contact between the ceramic tile and the wall, which will cause hollowing. Therefore, don't use tile adhesive directly with self leveling. If you did, you need to learn how to fix tile hollowing.

Misconception 6: To use tile adhesive to fill the gap

Tile adhesive and tile grouts are all building materials, but tile glue can only be used to paste the back of tiles. If tile adhesive is used to fill the joints, it will block the shrinkage joints of the floor tiles, causing the floor tiles to arch up due to heat, which is easy to hollow and fall off. Therefore, special tile grout or a seam agent should be used for caulking.

Don't use tile adhesive in above 6 ways anymore! we will have a good start for applying tile adhesive. Except for what we have discussed above, applying efficient and proper hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) for tile adhesive is also important. Our MelaColl™ HPMC products provide the following features in applications:

• Improved sag resistance
• Improved workability
• Improved adhesion
• Improved heat and freeze-thaw resistance
• Improved water retention

To learn more about tile adhesive additives, please CONTACT US or find our WEBSITE for your reference.