sWe's Tiling Tips - How to Tile

[Ajax123]

But not as easy to get hold of country wide ,off the tile retailers shelf...:mad2:

Agreed - I think it will improve though. Three years ago there were a grand total of Zero available in the UK - now there are three that I know of and I know at least 2 other manufacturers who are in development. At last they seem to have realised that we anhydrite whores are not going away and are getting on board. I am nurturing one or 2 relationhips with people willing to stock it - 2 deffinites at present, Norfolk and North Wales, and several other possibles - I know it doesn't sound much but I am thinking along the lines of "from little Acorns" and all that.

 

[sWe]

Myeah, anhydrite is a bit troublesome to tile onto using cementious adhesives. I find that a major problem is that it's got to be completely dry before anything goes onto it, and that's a bit hard to achieve most of the time, especially on new builds. Fortunatly for me and other tilers in Sweden, anhydrite isn't that common over here; afaik, it's mostly only used in office buildings where they use it to level the substrate prior to installing laminate floors and such. Only ever seen anhydrite in a few other places than office buildings.

The few times I've encountered anhydrite I've either ripped it out or gone completely nuts with primer.

Epoxy primer is probably a good idea in some places, but I'd be wary using in places where there is/could be rising damp, as epoxy tends to seal it in.

I've never seen gypsum based adhesives in retail over here. I suspect that if it's at all availible, it has to be ordered in bulk quantities, and then it's only viable for larger corporations that can afford to have their cash locked in stockpiles of materials.

Oyeah, btw, I tried to correct a small error in the post on anhydrite some time ago, but it didn't stick, it seems... I mixed up hydrolysis and hydration in my head when I wrote it. The correct one is hydration. Hydrolysis I the exact opposite of hydration iirc. In case anyone cares that is, or if there's someone here who could use some fancy words to throw in the face of builders who're about to do stupid things

Btw, regarding gypsum based adhesives... How's that when installing, say, travertine? Gypsum adhesives harden through dehydration, don't they? That could cause staining on certain stone. Just a thought.

 

[Ajax123]

Myeah, anhydrite is a bit troublesome to tile onto using cementious adhesives. I find that a major problem is that it's got to be completely dry before anything goes onto it, and that's a bit hard to achieve most of the time, especially on new builds. Fortunatly for me and other tilers in Sweden, anhydrite isn't that common over here; afaik, it's mostly only used in office buildings where they use it to level the substrate prior to installing laminate floors and such. Only ever seen anhydrite in a few other places than office buildings.

The few times I've encountered anhydrite I've either ripped it out or gone completely nuts with primer.

Epoxy primer is probably a good idea in some places, but I'd be wary using in places where there is/could be rising damp, as epoxy tends to seal it in.

I've never seen gypsum based adhesives in retail over here. I suspect that if it's at all availible, it has to be ordered in bulk quantities, and then it's only viable for larger corporations that can afford to have their cash locked in stockpiles of materials.

Oyeah, btw, I tried to correct a small error in the post on anhydrite some time ago, but it didn't stick, it seems... I mixed up hydrolysis and hydration in my head when I wrote it. The correct one is hydration. Hydrolysis I the exact opposite of hydration iirc. In case anyone cares that is, or if there's someone here who could use some fancy words to throw in the face of builders who're about to do stupid things

Btw, regarding gypsum based adhesives... How's that when installing, say, travertine? Gypsum adhesives harden through dehydration, don't they? That could cause staining on certain stone. Just a thought.

The Epoxy Primers will not trap moisture but what they will do is act as an effective barrier to sulphates which is what causes the ettrignite reaction as they migrate to the surface as the residual moisture moves around in the system. If you could get it truly dry the reaction would not occur because it need water to progress. Of course getting it truly dry is impossible because it will, as with all screeds, equillibrate with atmosphere. I am surprised you don't see more of it in Sweden because I was under the impression that a lot of gypsum products e.g. wall board, wall blocks etc were used over there. Maybe not though. If you were to use an Epoxy DPM this is a different thing to a primer and it would indeed supress the moisture. The idea is that it controls the rate of moisture escaping in order that it can escape through the flooring at a rate at which it can cope. Some anhydrite Manufacturers now have completed tests which allow DPMs to be used in certain curcumstances. Heated screeds are still a touchy subject but this will no doubt come as well in time.

Hydration, hydrolysis - what's an "olysis" between freinds. I knew what you meant.

As for it staining Trav. Not certain but will find out. Don't beleive it would be a problem because it is white. The moisture level will be very low compared to the amount of gypsum present so the massive majority of the water will be used in the crystallisation reaction. I will hoever do some research amonst my European colleagues who use gypsum based far far more and come back to you.

 

[MRW]

Thanks for these sWe's. I am a newbie to the forum and as a plumber a newbie to the tiling world, but your explanations of thinks are really excellent and a good read. As somebody said at the start these could do with being on a pdf

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

nice touch marcus

 

[bcfcdaz]

thanks for taking the time to write all this valuable information on the forum and allowing people access to it.Very much appreciated..Daz.

 

[Driveby]

A great source of very useful info, a big thank you from a newbie.

 

[Ant]

Thanks sWe!

Great for newbies such as myself.

Ant

 

[larmar]

Very nice work Gooner

 

[DHTiling]

eh?..........

 

[oldie]

Many thanks for this guide, great info for tilers just starting out and even for me who's nearly retired.

 

[Graham100]

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to write all of this down in an easily understood manner.

 

[jwatson]

Brilliant "swe's guides"
i shall call it from this day on the tiling bible.

 

[marcel]

cheers that is great info mate!!

 

[dotto]

thanks m8 very useful pieces of infos here.