can anyone tell me the benefits of an epoxy primer - the forum recommended it when I enquired about tiling over a bitumen floor in an ensuite. also 'sbr' stands for?

The epoxy primer aids in the adhesion process to the substrate...the epoxy primer bonds to the subtrate creationg a stable base to tile to.

And SBR stands for styrene-butadiene copolymer..

SBR - Styrene Butadiene Rubber - also known as GS-R amongst other brand names - Most commonly used Synthetic Co-Polymer of styrene and butadiene -Water soluble ion its liquid form (I think) Used as an additive in rubber tyres and crutch tips and thge rubber bits on the bottoms of walking sticks and probably in the soles of my trainers....occasionally used in screeds and concretes to obtain very high flexibility (You can fold a good SBR screed in half without it breaking) - also often used mixed with portland cement as a primer/sealer for concree and cement based screed surfaces prior to laying subsequent materials on top e.g. bonded screed on concrete slab. As a primer is often susceptible to high levels of moisture which can cause a softening of the primer reducing its effectiveness.

Could also stand for spectral band replication for all you computer geeks out there.

One of the benfits of epoxy I guess is that it is pretty impervious to most things. I like it in my game (anhydrite screeds) cos used as a primer it prevents migration of sulphates fromt he screed to prevent ettrignite formation. As for using it on bitumen I would think iot would be ok cos epoxys are used extensively in the petrochemicals industry as primers and surface coatings. 2 and 2 together with bitumen being derived from oil. NOt certain though so best to ask an expert in epoxy. company called Merlin Coatings springs to mind - they make epoxys for construction and for the petro chemicals industry so have experience of both. talk to them about Barrier Coat.
Hope it helps

thank you dave. would you be inclined to take up a tarmac base (basis of original post) and replace it rather than tile over it even if it is primed

great post thanks ajax

That depends really....my kitchen floor is bitumen and tiled and have no issues with it.....it's all in the prep and right products to tiles with.

I agree with Dave - it is all down to materials. Are any of the other de coupling membranes available for use with small format tiles? I know Genesis G Mat can be used over bitumen

so if I left the tarmac down - tell me again what you would advise - tiles are 50mm travertine mosaics which will also form base of shower area

Originally Posted by mscg

so if I left the tarmac down - tell me again what you would advise - tiles are 50mm travertine mosaics which will also form base of shower area

My advice is that if you can use a decoupler do so but make sure the supplier is happy with the substrate and the tile format.
If no decoupler is available make sure the primer/sealer you use is sutable for bitumen. I think epoxy is probably the way to go but my experience of bitumen is severely limited so advice from a more qualified expert than me is in order.

Also not sure about the expansion and contraction characteristics with bitumen substrates so this needs to be dealt with. A decoupler would deal with this and I guess a flexi addy would also deal with it.

Just had a thought as well - Instarmac make tile adhesives, primers and bitumen products. Maybe a call to their technical department might help.
Their Ultra proflex SP I think can be used on asphalt.

thanks again ajax