Hi, can anyone give me some advice before I start tiling!

I need to know whether or not I need to prime cement board before commencing tiling

and also...

I have ceramic tiles for my shower/bathroom measuring 12 inches by 18 inches. I have bought BAL Grip (D2TE Tile Adhesive for Walls) and I was wondering if this is the best adhesive to use.this adhesive was suggested to me by topps tiles. My worry is whether it's strong enough to hold the tiles securely on cement board (for one wall) and on plastered walls...

Any advice would be gratefully received!!

Thanks
Steve

Hi steve.

No you don't need to prime the boards, usually a wipe over with a damp sponge to remove surface dust will suffice.

And that tubbed adhesive isn't suitable for that size tile...( topps ha ha)....

You will need a cement based adhesive...( bagged)

As dave said a damp sponge to wipe dust of the boards.
those tiles are too big for BAL grip again as dave said use bagged adhesive.

take the adhesive back to topps and swap it for bal ctf powdered adhesive the price difference is only a few quid,or if you think you can work quick enough then swap it for toppfix rapid set,much cheaper but you will have to work reasonably fast or mix small quantities at a time!

Thanks David, that's really helpful. I've got a bag of BAL Natural Stone which is the Cementitious Powder which I was going to use for the floor tiles. Do you think that would be any good for the wall tiles or would you stick with the CTF?
Thanks
Steve

it would work butswap it for ctf or toppfix mate it's a lot cheaper!

I'm assuming you're a relative newcomer to powdered adhesive, so I'd advise a standard (not rapid) setting single part flexible adheive mate

Originally Posted by doug boardley

I'm assuming you're a relative newcomer to powdered adhesive, so I'd advise a standard (not rapid) setting single part flexible adheive mate

yes total newcomer.. done a tiling course but now the learning begins there is so much adhesive and grout dont know where to begin

That topps muppet really ought to be put straight, new in his job perhaps.

Originally Posted by steve.

yes total newcomer.. done a tiling course but now the learning begins there is so much adhesive and grout dont know where to begin

don't get tied in knots Steve, for most tile fixing, a single part flexi will serve you well! It's when you get involved with glass and mosaics that more specialist adhesives are generally needed, (and some wood floor substrates where you may need a 2 part flexi)