follow_along_with_video_below_to_see_how_to_install_our_site_as_web_app
Note: this_feature_currently_may_not_be_available_in_some_browsers
Discuss PVA or not in the UK Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com.
Shame. 13 replies and only two sensible answers, what am I supposeto think of that? And no, luck does not come into it, obviously the job was done well for it to last as long as it was needed.
PVA stands for polyvinyl acetate, and it is a rubbery synthetic polymer. It is commonly emulsified in water and used as glue. Many know it simply as "wood glue", or "carpenter's glue".
Cementious materials, such as many tile adhesives and grouts, or other materials which contain cement, such as concrete, are alkaline. Simplified, that means they have a high pH.
Alkali slowly attacks polyvinyl acetate, forming acetic acid, which has a low pH. Cement doesn't dry per se; it cures through hydration, which means it binds the water you mix it with chemically. This causes the pH of the substance to rise dramatically. Introducing an acid negates that process to some extent, preventing the cement or conrete from binding all the water it needs to harden properly.
It is hydrolysis which gives cement and concrete products strength, and holds them together. Without this process, it would merely be the powder you started with.
The acetic acid which is formed when cement and PVA comes into contact, either through mixing them, or "priming" with PVA, will continually free the water bound in the cement, and that will weaken the bond and/or integrity of the material. The effect is accelerated if the material is subjected to moisture, which is more or less always the case.
PVA isn't water resistant. It becomes slightly live when exposed to moisture, and this in combination with the exposure to alkali, accelerates the forming of acetic acid. PVA which is marketed as "water resistant" or "exterior grade", has additives which makes them water resistant, but they're not alkali-resistant.
Shame. 13 replies and only two sensible answers, what am I supposeto think of that? And no, luck does not come into it, obviously the job was done well for it to last as long as it was needed.
Sorry I didnt take you seriously Neil, the impression I got was that you where some know it all spoiling for a fight, or it was somebody at the wind up.
Profesional fixers who know there stuff dont use KIDS glue as a bonding agent but you know better, why dont you show Delia how to cook next?
Reply to PVA or not in the UK Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com
You're browsing the UK Tiling Forum category on TilersForums.com, the tile advice website no matter which country you reside. Our UK based online tiling forum has 48,000 members and started out in 2006.