Why Should You Choose Tile Adhesive Instead of Cement Mortar?

Why Should You Choose Tile Adhesive Instead of Cement Mortar?

With the active development of the ceramic tile industry, ceramic tiles of various textures, materials, and specifications emerge in an endless stream. However, no matter how beautiful the tiles are, if the wrong materials are selected, the effect will not last. For the performance requirements of tile adhesive materials, the most important thing is the adhesion and the durability of the bonding.

ceramic tiles

Traditional tile paste uses cement mortar, a paste material composed of cement, fine aggregate, and water, and its principle is to achieve tile paving through mechanical anchoring.

There are many problems with traditional tiles paste:

The current ceramic tile has high density and low porosity. When the larger the ceramic tile, the higher the viscosity. It is difficult for cement mortar to stick it firmly and firmly by mechanical anchoring.
Cement mortar is suitable for the thick paste method, which enhances its adhesion by increasing the weight. However, some tiles are more appropriate for the thin paste method from the decorative effect, so cement mortar is not ideal as the paste material.
The cement mortar itself has limited cohesive force, and it will produce a hydration reaction when it meets with water, that is, it will continue to shrink and solidify, which will cause hollowing, cracking, and other problems.
Compared with cement mortar, tile adhesive is currently an ideal tile paste material.

In addition to cement, there is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), starch ethers, latex powders, water-reducing agents, etc., in tile adhesive, which has better adhesion and better durability.

tile adhesiveIn the performance standard of tile adhesive JC/T 547 “Ceramic Tile Adhesive,” the tile adhesive is classified according to the size of the adhesive force and the lasting adhesive force. C1 and C2 are the two common tile adhesive levels, C1 is the ordinary type, and C2 is the enhanced type. C1 grade tile adhesive has an adhesive force of ≥0.5 MPa, and C2 grade tile adhesive has an adhesive strength of ≥1 MPa. The adhesion here refers to the bonding under standard conditions. After soaking in water, it went through high and low-temperature cycles, freezing and thawing cycles, that is, the tile adhesive is required to have lasting adhesion in various common environments.

What does 0.5 MPa adhesive force mean? In an area of 10cm*10cm, a tensile strength of 0.5 MPa is 500kg. As far as the current ceramic tiles are concerned, such adhesion is very safe. If you are pasting vitrified tiles with low water absorption, you can consider using C2 tile glue.

Of course, a good tile adhesive is inseparable from the right raw materials! If you are looking for high-quality ingredients, SLEO is your best choice!