Tile fixing tips that are easy to avail

If you have or are in the process of purchasing floor tiles for your home and you are going to be installing the tiles yourself, you are going to need the appropriate tile adhesive for the job at hand. The area you want to tile may be the patio, your kitchen, living room, dining room or your new bathroom. All these different areas will require different adhesives.

A lot of factors must be kept into consideration to select the right adhesive depending upon whether the area is indoor or outdoor and the whether it would be exposed to constant moisture and rain showers and finally the tiles you have bought – granite, ceramic, porcelain, etc. Generally you will be able to find out what adhesive you will require from the tile adhesive manufacturers or the sales person where you purchased the tiles from.

Cement Powder Based Adhesive: Most cement powder based adhesives are good for laying ceramic or quarry tiles inside that is in bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms and outside that is in verandas and patios, of your home as long as the substrate is solid concrete with no movement. You will, however, have to make sure the substrate has been swept and washed thoroughly to remove any dust or grease and some adhesives may require the floor to be primed first so read the tile adhesive specifications.

Flexible Rubber Based Adhesive: The flexible adhesive is rubber based with a polymer modified cement. You just have to add water to it. It can be used for laying a variety of tiles such as porcelain, ceramic, quarry, marble, vitrified, granite as well as the reconstituted stone. It works on substrate such as thick cement sheeting and concrete that allow only limited movement. Again the substrate has to be free of grease, moisture, dust or dirt. It may require pre-priming. Although, you can use flexible rubber based adhesive indoors and outdoors, some adhesives are not recommended in areas subjected to constant moisture such as shower floors, so check the product specifications.

Two Part Flexible Rubber Based Adhesive:  Instead of adding water, this adhesive comes with a pale of liquid acrylic to make it more flexible and adherent. If you want to carry out tile fixing onto a substrate that has movement or spring such as timber or you are laying tiles to an area that has a smooth, glossy surface such as existing tiles or steel trowel finished concrete then this is the appropriate adhesive to use. But it is recommended that you try to stiffen the timber substrate as best you can and use a flexible additive in the grout as over time the tiles and grout may loosen and come apart from the floor. Also it is recommended that you roughen the smooth, glossy surface for better adhesion. Always make sure when mixing the adhesive that you don't have it to dry and stiff or to wet and runny.