Silicon and adhesive

[TopTrainer]

Hi

• would I still need to use silicon around the edge of my procelain kitchen job even in if I was not tiling the walls to the floor?

• I was in my local tiling warehouse the other day and was discussing self levelling compound with the view to buying some and the owner of the place who is also a tiler said why did i not use adhesive on the floor to level it as it can with some products be laid 25 m thick? he said its the same price as levelling compound ...............i have to say i was very confused and i decided to ask about this on here ....can anyone answer this or do they do this etc

TT

[sWe]

Hi

• would I still need to use silicon around the edge of my procelain kitchen job even in if I was not tiling the walls to the floor?

• I was in my local tiling warehouse the other day and was discussing self levelling compound with the view to buying some and the owner of the place who is also a tiler said why did i not use adhesive on the floor to level it as it can with some products be laid 25 m thick? he said its the same price as levelling compound ...............i have to say i was very confused and i decided to ask about this on here ....can anyone answer this or do they do this etc

TT

Hi...

Not quite getting you on the first one. Are you tiling a regular splashback, or are you tiling the entire wall? In any case, I'd silicone the gap, however tiny, between the kitchen top and the wall, as dirt might get in behind otherwise.


There are adhesives you can level with to some degree as you go. I believe you brits refer to them as PTB, ie pourable thick bed, but they're hardly useful for every single floor job, partly because of tile sizes, partly because they tend to be a bit messy working with, partly because they tend to be expensive, partly because of other factors.

It's easier to work with thin adhesive beds than thick beds.

Read this for more info on SLC. There's a post in the same thread about the use of silicone as well.

[TopTrainer]

Hi
Im not doing splash backs im doing a floor do i need to use silicon around the edge by the walls as an expansion joint?

With regard to the adhesive i got the impression he was refering to puting adhesive down as you would a layer of latex and let it set then fix tiles , but using the addy as leveling compound

[grumpygrouter]

yes I would silicone round the edges, even with porcelain. To "level" with adhesive is really for evening out small uneven bits and if there is a lot to level out you would need to do it in layers. SLC is generally ready to fix tiles after 3 to 4 hours so why mess around laying multiple layers of addy that take 3 hrs each to dry?

[sWe]

Aye, silicone around the edges unless all the substrates are massive, ie old concrete or brickwork, in which case you can use regular grout. If you're going to use... um... watchemacallits... um... You know, a 10cm high row of tiles, or a wooden strip... What's that called again? Can't remember.......
Anyways, if you're going to fit one of those, just leave a half cm gap between the last tiles and the wall. That'll serve as an expansion space, and since it'll be covered, it won't be visible.

As for leveling with adhesive... As grumps says, but I'd add this: using adhesive instead of slc to level a floor, is a bit like using two-in-one grout-adhesive. The result won't be as good as it would be if you used task-specific materials.

[TopTrainer]

Thanks for the replies guys I will stick with SLC.......