Tilefixo - Manual

Dinesh Chandran K.P, Head –Technical Services and R&D

UltraTech Cement Limited, Building Products Division, Mumbai

Fixing of tiles in buildings is an upcoming skilled/ specialization area in the construction industry due to
the importance of architectural aesthetic prominence while designing a building and its interiors. Wet
fixing and Dry fixing techniques are available. Fixing of different types of types, different substrates to
which it need to be fixed, challenging shapes and areas where tiles are to be fixed, conditions of the area
like external under heat and rain, always under water immersion like in swimming pools and water
tanks, canal linings , cladding all of these necessitate a thorough understanding of Tiles, Tile adhesives
and its applications and methods.

Tiles are fixed over floor and walls using an adhesive or through anchorings. If one say Tiles it can be big,
small, thin/thick tile or granite/marble of various sizes decorative stones and even the new generation
system of tiles.

Cement, either it is grey or white in colour is generally used for fixing tiles. With the
evolution of new types of tiles and with the challenging appreciation patterns in the rise, the need of an
adhesive stronger than cement as well as physical properties of having time for adjusting the tiles
already fixed, to have adhesion for tiles having almost nil porosity, to fix tiles over different substrates
like wood, glass, drywalls, AAC walls. Concrete, steel all has made the tile adhesives (which are factory
made through addition of polymers and addition to suit the various types of application) has evolved.

The factory made Tile adhesives as well as tile joint fillers are all manufactured and tested as
per IS, EN, ANSI Standards which has been clearly developed for the Technical demands of each
parameter to which tile adhesive has to perform air, water heat conditions are included in the testing
methods. Tensile & shear adhesion strengths are evaluated for there type of tile adhesive which help to
produce quality adhesives for tilefixing.

UltraTech Tilefixo range of Tile adhesives and tile joint fillers are also produces adhering to the Indian as
well as global standards and each tile adhesive batch is tested before it is send out of the factories for
usages.

In this Manual we have given emphasis to provide relevant data for tile fixing applications which will
help the user to understand the technical needs in each type of application whether it is normal 0r
challenging/special.

The Tilefixo – Manual flows in the direction like

1. Understanding the application areas.

2. Right choice of tile adhesives(standards & Trackers).

3. Surface check & preparations.

4. Applictaion guild lines.

5. Tests at Site.

6. Do’s and Don’ts.

7. Checklist during product supplies/usages.

8. Tools & accessories.

9. On Site training programmes.

10. Authrisation of applicators from UTCL.

1.Understanding the application areas:

Choice of a tile and tile adhesive is very important for the Durability of the applied surfaces.

a.Tiles for Residential usages where normal foot/furniture movement is predominant.

In such cases normal ceramic/intrified/granites/marble are used.

Usage of tiles are common in floors and in bathrooms as well as kitchen walls as well as in window/lift
areas.but, in certain floors/ apartments it can also be noticed that tiles/stones are used for external
cladding to improve the asthetics.

External areas and bath rooms the choice of tiles should be in such away that they are less
porous and has adequate strength to resist thermal stocks.

Tile adhesives of Type 1 and Type 2 are generally used in such cases whereas for external cladding and
swimming fool, water sump & lift/window areas Type 3 and Type 4 are recommended as per the
size/weight of tiles. Even a tile adhesive admix liquid can be used for enhancing the adhesion strength
for external and underwater applications along with tile adhesive powders.

b. Tiles for Commercial buildings and institutions, shopping malls, schools/colleges, hospitals, theaters
etc. are large size tiles/stones /slabs as per the foot traffic and designated line loads.

Mostly Vitrified tiles and granites are seen for which Type 2 and Type 3 adhesives are
recommended.

Type 4 for external claddings with and without adhesive admix liquid as per the application area
requirements for partition walls inside these buildings which are generally seen with dry wall systems
Type 4 tile adhesive is suitable, bearing in mind the type of substrates like calcium silicate/gypsm/bison
panel/ cement boards etc. Type 5 tile adhesive also be looked into cladding applications.
 For walk ways/path ways/Trolley movement areas in commercial/institutional buildings Type 2
tile adhesive will be adequate. When cement/concrete tiles are used in the car parks Type 2 is better
taking into consideration the wheel movement loads/shear forces.

c. Industrial flooring areas where tiles/granites/special and resistant/impact resistant tiles are the choice
Type 3 and Type 4 of tile adhesives are to be used to avoid bond failures during usage time. If the floor
slab is having larger span then the changes of creep in concrete and thus the pop up of tiles after laying
is common. The use of Type 4 adhesive will help to reduce these type of failures due to high adhesive
strength to counter the creep forces.

In the areas where acid/heat/hot water usages are high Type 4 with admix liquid will serve the
purpose.

Type 5 tile adhesive which are generally a resin based formulations with very high adhesion strength
are to be used for fixing tiles over metal plate floors or for special fixings.

For Furnace areas/high heat conditions a high strength flexible tile adhesive of Type 5 cement based
need to be used.

Whereas for cold storages / food processing units where heat and cold conditions are common due
to cleaning/freezing systems in place Type 5 tile adhesive are recommended.

d. For Racing trucks/pavement kerbs/ Railway stations/airports and other buildings of military /air force
usages.

Type 4 and Type 5 tile adhesives are to be used as vibrations/abrasion loads/breaks/heavy dynamic load
patterns are expected.

The below tracker and tile adhesive standards will help to correlate the above explained
conditions.

e. Tile on tile application.

3. Surface check and preparations:

Before laying tiles and applying /using tile adhesives a through understanding
of the type of substrate and its conditions is very critical. Following are the points to be looked into

1. What kind of substrate – brick/block/plastered/concrete AAC blocks/glass/wood/drymix steel/other

material. .

2. If the type of the tile to be fixed is heavier than the substrate strength then corrective measures need
to be adopted.

3. If the substrate is un even then also it is not good as tile adhesives are to be applied only upto limited
bed thickness as per the tile sizes/thickness and as per the type of tile adhesive.

If the undulation are more the tile adhesive thickness will be more/vary and will lead to slip of tiles
and then failures. The proper level also can’t be maintained if the adhesive thickness is high.
 A suitable mortar has to be used to prepare/level the substrate before application of tile adhesives.

If the substrate is formed to be fully saturated with water, proper care should be taken to take it
with SSD conditions before tile adhesive application.

Any leakages/water ingress is found in the substrate adequate water proofing techniques has to be
adopted before tile adhesive/tile application to prevent debonding of tiles.

4. If the substrates are very smooth like in concrete/glass drywall systems, should be taken to remove all
oil/grease/top sealer coatings/sheets to maintain good adhesion between tile adhesives and substrates.

5. For external claddings adequate care has to be taken to maintain substrate in good vertical level to
avoid uneven tile adhesive thickness and thus a bond failure due to non uniform setting/harding of tile
adhesives.

4.Application Guide lines:

Tile fixing has to be done from bottom to top after proper grid line markings to avoid any unforced
errors in tile alignment. For flooring Application the required slope of the floor surface has to be
maintained perfectly before using tile adhesives to avoid unevenness and high usage of material.

Always use notch trowels of respective sizes to apply tile adhesives.

It is recommended to apply tile adhesive on both surfaces that is over substrate as well as tiles/stones
foe external/window/lift side areas and in all vertical applications to ensure 100% contact area between
tiles and adhesive. This is to avoid any de-bonding of tiles due to unevenness in substrates.

Use only required quantity of tile adhesive which can be applied with in the open time specified by the
manufacturer. Application of tile adhesive/fixing tiles over adhesives more than open time will resulting
less adhesion and thus failures.

Use of liquid adhesion admix is highly required in cases of high strength/adhesion cases and water
addition has to be avoided in such cases.

No pre-witting of tiles is required before application as more water can cause adhesion related issues.

Application techniques for Type 5 tile adhesives which are resin based need special mention as they are
used different from cement based tile adhesives w.r.t open time/coverage of adhesive etc.

No extra water/liquid or any external addition has to be added into tile adhesives, which will hamper the
performance parameters of factory made products.

Tile adhesives should not be used at construction joints/floor joints as it will fail due to designed loads.

For tile on tile application proper acid wash has to be undertaken/ pitting of smooth areas is
recommended for enhanced performance.
5. Tests at Sites:

Various tests can be conducted at sites before and after application of tile adhesives/tiles. They are

1.checking of coverage – i.e how much area of tile is covered with tile adhesive in a defined thickness.
This can be done by removing the tile immediately after fixing to check how much Percentage of area of
tile is covered with adhesive, if it is greater than 95% very good for longer life and adhesion.

2.consumption of tile adhesive can be checked using notch trowels over plain substrates to find out the
material consumption per bag/kg at the respective thickness.by doing this a site engineer can
understand whether correct thickness has been employed or no during application.

3.Bond strength of tile adhesives over different substrates can be checked using pull out apparatus in
1,3,7 days upto 28 days can be checked at sites by fixing tile prices and Dollies and respective bed
thickness. This will help the site engineers range the tile adhesive performance as per standard
codes/norms.

6. Do’s and Dont’s :

Do’s
a. Always use notch trowels to maintain right
bed uniform thickness
b. Prepare the substrate to perfect level to
avoid high thickness of tile adhesive than
recommended.
c. Always pre align the grid lines/markings to fix
the tiles.
d. Start tile fixing from bottom to top pattern.
e. Use mechanical stirrer for proper uniform
mixing.
f. Always choose the right tile adhesive for right
tile type and application area as per trackers.
g. Consult technical cell of tile adhesive
managers for any clarifications.
h. Always read the details about tiles before
usage of it along with tile adhesive like porosity,
type of tile etc.
i. Apply rubber mallet tamping over tiles after
passing the tiles into tile adhesive to ensure
adequate bonding.
j. Always check the quality standards of tile
adhesive before and after purchase.
k. Stick on to the manager guidelines for
improved product performance.
Don’ts
a. Do not pre-wet or soak tiles.
b. Do not add more water or another addition to
tile adhesive than prescribed.
c. Do not apply tiles from top to bottom.
d. Do not fix tiles after the open time given by
manager.
e. Do not use the applied surfaces before the
hardening of tile adhesives.
f. Do not turn blind eyes to oversee few critical
aspects while applying like water leakages
seepages etc.
g. Do not apply tile adhesive at higher thickness
than recommended.
h. Avoid usage of water if a tile adhesive liquid
admix is recommended in specific application.
i. Do not keep the tile adhesive bags in open
condition or directly over floors to avoid lump
formation.
j. Do not apply tile adhesives under extreme
weather conditions.
k. Do not allow the usage of mixed tile adhesives
after the recommended life periods.
l. Avoid zig-zag or random pattern of notches which
will lead to air pockets and may face issues.
7.Check list during product supplies/usages:
A Customer can demand for the following Data.

a. MTC – Material test certificate from manufacturer lab for each supply.

b. A Customer can check the quality through a third party lab.

c. Site tests and demonstration of application from manufacturer.

d. Factory visit/lab must to understand the lab/quality check of manufacturer.

8.Tools & Accessories:

1.Notch Towels.

2.Mixing Buckets

3.Mechanical Stirrers.

4.Weighing balance

5.Measuring Cylinders/Jens.

6. Tile Holders

7.Tile Joint Spacers.

8.Quantity Calculator Sheets

9.TDS

10.MSDS.

9.On Site Training Programmes:

UTCL-BPD Provide free on-site training program on Tilefixo usages, its mixing, application etc. at every
site as per the request of the customer.

Pull out adhesion strength tests also conducted by UTCL-Technical team to show the superiority of
adhesion values.

10.Authrisation of applicators from UTCL.

UTCL-BPD also provides authorized applicator certificates to Tile applications after they undergo
training sessions and learning programmes at UTCL- Factories/Labs.