Adhesive for tiles in the bathroom - choose with an expert

Ceramic tiles today are the most famous and sought after material for repair in the bathroom. Its variety of shapes, colors and textures will allow modern housewives to realize all their fantasies. The beauty and the undeniable practicality of the tile is obvious. When choosing a tile you like, pay attention to one very important aspect - the glue to which it will be attached.

What should I look for when choosing an adhesive? Let's understand. The bathroom is the most humid room in the house, which adds certain difficulties when choosing a glue mix. Before going to the store for glue, it is necessary to consider:

• on which basis we will fix the tile - plaster, old tile, plasterboard, etc.
• a kind of tile and its moisture-absorbing properties - it depends on how much glue it absorbs
• area of ​​one tile , the larger, the thicker the layer of glue that it will have to apply
• the surface size of , on which the tile will be glued, on averagefive kilograms per square meter.

After evaluating all these parameters, boldly go to the store in search of the glue we need. So which glue is in priority: dry or ready? It all depends on your requirements and the characteristics of the room in which the facing will occur. For example, in the bathroom experts recommend choosing dry, its basis is cement.

Ready glue has one important point, it can be applied only on a perfectly smooth surface, and it costs an order of magnitude more. To date, dry glue is more popular due to its availability and optimal combination of characteristics.

adhesive Now we will take a closer look at the properties and compositions of adhesives. By composition it is divided into three types: epoxy, cement, dispersion.

• Cement. Adhesive, which includes cement is quite versatile. This is the most budgetary version of the glue, at the same time, it has high gluing ability. It is based on about ninety percent of cement. Proportion for breeding such glue: on three parts of glue one part of water. You can work on uneven surfaces.
• Dispersion .A mixture of acrylic, artificial resins and astringent additives. This adhesive is best suited for working with surfaces with plasterboard. To work with concrete, it suits the worst, for example, they are not recommended to glue the tile on the floor. The glue is ready to work, packed in buckets, this saves time on the dilution of the glue.
• Epoxy. This two-component adhesive has three subspecies: fluid, mineral filled paste and paste with ultrafine filling. Liquid in a consistency glue falling into small cracks and improves the adhesion of the material to the surface. Wood, cement, concrete, metal, plywood, plastic and this is not a complete list of surfaces on which it is possible to work with this kind of glue.

When choosing glue for ceramic tiles, you need to understand what kind of tile size you will glue. The larger the area of ​​the tile, the higher the bonding properties of the glue, which it will be attached to. Well, if the composition of the glue will include quartz sand and latex components.

Let's look at three types of tiles and glues that are optimally suited to each other:

• Mosaic. For its installation it is possible to use both cement-based glue and polymer base adhesive. Some manufacturers produce special "super-white" glue, for laying mosaic.
• Porcelain tiles. This finishing material has minimal moisture absorption, therefore, the usual glue here does not fit. Good bonding to the surface, elasticity and increased stickiness, these are the three main factors that should guide when choosing a glue for porcelain stoneware.
• Large floor tiles. A large tile that is laid on the floor is recommended to be fixed with adhesive with increased elasticity, it can be, both glue on cement basis, and glue with the addition of polymers.

Let's take a closer look at the most common form of glue, like dry mixes on cement basis. The advantages of this type of glue are obvious. Dry glue for tile can be laid tiles on the walls, almost any curvature, without pre-preparation of the working surface. The price of such glue is several times lower, which is a significant advantage. Clay will reliably keep your tile for 50 years, and during this time you will get tired of any, even the most original tile. Dry mixes have one more advantage, for all the strength and reliability of the glue, if you decide to change the tile, dismantling will not cost you much effort. The tile is firmly held, but at the same time, it is easy to dismantle if necessary.

Especially I would like to highlight such an adhesive material as "liquid nails" .How appropriate is their use when facing ceramic tiles? If you choose from varieties of liquid nails, then when installing tiles it is recommended to use - acrylic. It is necessary to take into account one feature, in contrast to glutinous mixtures, the use of liquid nails is not waterproofed. The use of liquid nails, when installing tiles, is possible in places where water does not enter.

The main advantage of this glue is the possibility of its use both indoors and outdoors. But, to use universal adhesive, it is recommended with caution.

Its "universality" is a very relative concept. Large size tiles from 30x30 cm can not be attached with this glue either. Experts recommend that you carefully consider the choice of glue and choose it based on your specific conditions and not be guided by the name.

In any repair should pay special attention to the calculation of the number of building materials. Let's figure out how to calculate the number of tiles for a bathroom. Let's start with the floor. There are three main ways of laying tiles on the floor:

• tile is installed along the edge of the wall
• tile is installed at an angle of 45 degrees to the wall. The
• is diagonal-chess, used for mounting tiles with a pattern or consisting of several colors.

Here are the basic rules for the calculation:

• determine the length and height of the surface to be tiled in centimeters
• subtract from the wall and door dimensions if it is
• measure the length and width of the floor in centimeters
• choose the size of the tile to be laid on the floorand not the wall
• , the result is calculated first in square meters, then, based on the size of the tile, calculate by the number of tiles in pieces.

Now we need to calculate how much glue we need to lay the tile. For this you need to take into account several factors:

• to study the base of what material it is made and the number of irregularities on it. With a relatively flat surface, if the grooves are up to 3 mm, the consumption of the adhesive is minimal. If the irregularities are deeper, the glue is also used as an equalizer. There are special glue compounds for leveling the walls. The same method is used in the case when the underside of the tile has a pronounced relief, with the glue consumption increasing many times.
• The larger the area of ​​the tile, the thicker the adhesive is applied to it, from 2 mm at a size of 100x100 mm, to 4.5 mm at a size of 300x500 mm.
• , there are times when several tiles used in one drawing have different thicknesses, this difference will also have to be leveled with
• glue. The required amount of glue is calculated as follows: the total number of square meters of the working surface is multiplied by the amount of glue that is necessary for laying the tiles per one square meter.

Stack tiles, a business that requires certain skills. The price for such work on the market is quite high. The cost of laying one square meter by an experienced master is usually equal to the cost of one square meter of tile. Consequently, the more expensive the material, the more money the work of the tile pencil will cost.

There are several rules, adhering to which you will be able to master this process yourself :

• First we dilute the glue, as written in the instructions on the package.
• The tiling is laid from the floor to the ceiling.
• We measure the level of the surface and apply the rail so that everything is smooth.
• First row of tiles laid on it.
• Apply adhesive to the back of the tile with a notched trowel.
• Apply and press it against the wall, paying attention to the glue evenly distributed throughout the area.
• For an equal distance between the tiles, we use plastic crosses that are removed before the seams are putty.

Watch the video on laying the tiles with your own hands.

It is recommended to clean the joints after 24 hours, after finishing the main work on the lining. To do this, we recommend using a rubber spatula to qualitatively seal all joints and prevent moisture from penetrating the bathroom. For maximum effective moisture insulation, you can use special sealants. When choosing them, pay attention that the color of the sealant is successfully considered the color of the tile. The technology of laying tiles on the floor has a similar technology. Begin laying from the far corner, moving towards the door.

Determine which adhesive mixture is considered the best hard. Often, this is a matter of habit, and how many masters, so many opinions. Different elasticities, perhaps, the most basic difference of adhesives from each other. Let's list several brands that have good characteristics among professionals: Eunice, Cerezit, Starateli, Mask, etc. Among a wide range of glues for tile, everyone can choose the most suitable brand for their needs. We recommend not to overpay, and pay attention to the "economy" series, which meets all the standards that are now presented to the glue bases.

We wish you easy, fast and beautiful repair!