Which is the best tile adhesive for your tiling project?

Tile adhesive works in 2 ways

1. Dispersal – The adhesive sets and bonds the tile to the substrate when the moisture in the adhesive is dispersed.

Moisture in the adhesive is both absorbed into the body of the tile or substrate plus the moisture evaporates through the grout joints.

So that’s why when you use this type of adhesive you grout the tiles the day after you have fixed them

This type of adhesive is the ready-mixed paste type that comes in buckets and is commonly used when fixing wall tiles

2. Chemical Reaction – The tile adhesive sets due to a chemical reaction that starts when you add water to it and continues until it bonds the tile to the substrate.

It can be used to fix wall tiles or floor tiles and is the cement powder that comes in bags.

These extra notes are here to assist you!

Porcelain tiles – do not absorb moisture so the best adhesive to use is the single-part flexible rapid set powder type.

Larger wall tiles (bigger than 30×30)  – Moisture cannot escape easily to the grout joints so the powder type would be better

Floor Tiles – when fixing to a suspended (wooden) floor movement is a possibility, so the FLEXIBLE adhesive will allow this without the tiles becoming loosened.

With Rapid-Set/Fast-Set powder adhesives the chemical reaction is speeded up which means you can grout sooner, or in the case of floor tiles walk on the tiles after a few hours.

Some powder adhesive has both flexibility and speed of setting incorporated into its characteristics

Glass wall tiles require the chemical reaction type, and there are specific Glass-Fix adhesives available too

Paste adhesives are available for tiling onto wooden floors. These are polymer (plastic) based not cement and so remain flexible after use ( well forever). Often you can also use this type to grout with, although diligence is required when cleaning off as once cured, the residues can be difficult to remove

As you might expect the higher performance types cost a bit more money – but then you do want the tiles to be properly stuck, don’t you?

This guide will help you pick the right type for your job – or just call Tiles and Mosaics on 0113 2310 218.