Re: Anhydrite moisture testing, putting some ideas to you Trusted Peop
I think you may have hit a nail firmly on the head there deano that the adhesive manufacturers are not confident so you get poor or conflicting advice. My own advice has always been consistent and i Am absolutely confident that it is simple to stick tiles to gypsum. THe issue I see is that the adhesive manufacturers (especially the larger ones with a veritable strangle hold on the market) have not responspded by developing or bringing already available adhesives into the uk to suit. Mapei have a gypsum based adhesive in Europe specially for these screeds. Why oh why oh why does the tiling industry not demand that they bring it into this country. Weber have one and what is their fear, that the tiler is too daft to know the difference and will use the spare bag at the end of the job on a cement based screed. Firstly I would give tilers more credit for brains than that and secondly it would actually still stick perfectly well to a primed cement based screed anyway.
As for tilers wanting I get their heads around these screeds this makes my blood boil because the evidence that I have suggests otherwise. Ok a minority may be interested but most are not. I have offered training courses to help educate tilers about these screeds for nearly four years. BAL have offered them in all of their training centres. Most get cancelled due to lack of interest from tilers. my colleagues and i Have offered training in tiling schools, building colleges, tiling outlets, directly with tilers amongst her outlets for education. We have offered to devote our own precious time to getting this much needed mp but apparently not "much wanted" education across the UK. We have offered training to Mapei, weber, nicobond, ultra, and ardex. I would suggest that there are probably in the region of twenty thousand individuals who make a living out of tiling in the UK (I am happy to be corrected on this number of statistics are available) I reckon despite advertising that maybe forty tiling contractors in four years have accepted this training even when it has been free of charge which the vast majority has been. We even ran one for the tilers forums up at perfect home and gardens place and only four tilers turned up. S much for it being much wanted. The most I have seen at once at any of the others is three and as i say most have been cancelled due to lack of interest. of the manufacturers only Ultra and nicobond took us up on the training offers to their staff. Nicobond are the only ones who responded by developing a suitable adhesive although the ultra system seems to work well generally speaking as it is. The big boys are not interested and as far as I see it the tilers are more interested in complaining than about taking up offered of training. The smaller manufacturers like norcross and granfix have seen the market moving and have responded with the introduction of gypsum based adhesives. Kerakoll and benfer both have systems which are compatible.
It is not the screed manufacturers place to say to an adhesive manufacturer that their system does or does not work. that is their job. Sreed manufacturers are experts at screeds. Adhesive manufacturers "should be" experts at adhesives yet most stick with the old fashioned idea that cement is best. Cement is one of the most destructive materials we produce in terms of it industrial impact on the environment. it is also known far and wide that cement is not compatible with gypsum. Well if you always do what you've always done you will always get what you've always had and realistically since these screeds came to market in the UK three decades ago very few adhesive companies have gt on with developing compatible systems. Flipping heck, they even have a gypsum based adhesive manufacturer in Turkey where hese screeds have only been about for a few years. The old objection I used to hear ten years ago was that they were waiting to see what he market does. Anhydrite had already been in the uk for twenty years then. Well guys get with the program the market is using gypsum screeds at an alarming rate of knots. The anhydrite screed market has grown consistently throughout the recession when the traditional screed market has more than halved. We ain't going away. Work with us instead of against us and we might get somewhere for the tiler who is stuck in the middle.
I have never ever avoided taking calls from tilers or anyone else for that matter when they have needed to know how best to tackle these screeds either visiting sites, through pms on here or by telephone and as far as I am aware most of those I have had a personal dealings wwith are now comfortable to work with them.
Pebbs - I offered to meet up with you once I start my new role. I was serious about that offer and Am still perfectly happy to do this and will contact you through here to arrange it as and when you are ready once I restart work.
