Does blending tile adhesive with cement save money?

Not long ago, a decorator tried to save homeowners money by suggesting adding cement to the tile adhesive to increase the amount of material used, allowing more bricks to be pasted. However, soon after, the installed tiles fell off in large areas! Since then, the two sides have been at loggerheads over who is responsible for the losses.

Knowledgeable professionals may have already been shouting: Tile adhesive should not be mixed with cement! Tile adhesive must not be mixed with cement! Tile glue cannot be mixed with cement! So, why exactly is this so? In addition, apart from this, are there any misunderstandings about the use of tile adhesive that must be clarified? Next, Dezny will reveal the truth.

Misunderstandings in using tile adhesive

Misunderstanding 1: Equating tile glue with ordinary glue

Just from the name - "tile adhesive", many people may mistakenly think that it is a mixture of cement and glue. In fact, tile glue is not an ordinary glue, its main component is still cement. It is made of high-quality cement, graded quartz sand and a variety of polymers pre-mixed according to factory standard formulas. It is a safe and environmentally friendly product that does not contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene.

Misunderstanding 2: Adding cement or mortar to tile adhesive

Just like the case mentioned above, mixing cement into tile adhesive may increase the amount of material on the surface, which may seem to save money, but in fact it will cause serious losses! The reason is that tile adhesive relies on the intermolecular force generated by special additives in the product to firmly adhere the tiles. Adding cement at will will change the formula of the product, reduce the bonding force, and cannot guarantee the quality of the product.

Misunderstanding 3: After long-term use, mix new glue with old glue and use it again

Some masters may mix the tile glue left the day before with water and tile glue powder the next morning. However, the active ingredients of the tile adhesive have undergone chemical reactions, and adding water will only change the operating performance, resulting in insufficient bonding strength in the later period. Tile adhesive should be kept for a short period of time between mixing and application, and should be discarded once dry.

Misunderstanding 4: The disposable squeegee area is too large

In dry weather, when scraping glue over a large area, the construction cannot be completed in time, which may cause the bricks to fall off if the bricks are pasted again after the surface is dry. A toothed scraper should be used to evenly scrape the glue onto the work surface, and the area of glue spread should be controlled within 1 square meter each time. In hot and dry weather in summer, the wall should be pre-moistened.

Misunderstanding 5: Directly pasting ceramic tiles without leveling

The biggest advantage of tile adhesive is its thin-layer construction, which can be used for a long time without hollowing or falling off. When the ceramic tile size is less than 300-600, the thickness of the glue layer is about 3-6mm, and when the size is larger than 300-600, the thickness of the glue layer is about 5-8mm. If the base surface error is large, direct use of ceramic tile adhesive will increase the construction thickness and significantly increase the cost. Ceramic tiles are prone to insufficient grout, causing hollowing. If the glue layer on the wall and the back of the tiles is applied too thickly, it will shrink during solidification, causing the tiles to crack. During construction, be sure to control the thickness of the glue in accordance with standards.

Misunderstanding 6: Using tile adhesive to fill gaps

Although tile adhesive and grout are both construction auxiliary materials, tile adhesive is only suitable for pasting the back of the tile. If you use tile adhesive for caulking, it will block the expansion joints of the floor tiles, causing the floor tiles to expand due to heat, making them prone to hollowing and falling off. Therefore, special caulking or caulking agents should be used for caulking.

By correcting these misunderstandings, we can use tile adhesive more effectively to ensure construction quality and durability. I hope the above information provided by Dezny will be helpful to you.