Ready Mixed BAL for large tiles?

[zanwan]

Hi all

Can anyone advise if its possible to use BAL ready mixed adhesives on large wall tiles, approx 30x30 tiles?

I've been asked to tile an entire bathroom, and have only 2 days to do it so was hoping to use a ready mixed adhesive to save time and energy on mixing the powdered stuff.

 

[Richard C]

What thickness are the tiles? What is the tile base? I know BAL say tub mix is OK up to 300mm but I never use it on tiles larger than around 200mm; you’ll be waiting an age for it to set – 24 hours or more before you can grout. With that size tile, you will also run a big risk the tiles will be on the move if they are of any weight; I wouldn’t chance it. Mixing powder addy takes very little more time; I generally use Rapidset but you need to be quick & mix up only what you can use in 30 minutes as it only has a pot life of 40 minutes. The advantage of the stuff is that you can tile away & grout after just 2 hours. BAL also make powder adhesives that have a pot life up to 5 hours but, unlike Rapidset, you have to wait 16 hours before you can grout. I assume this is just walls your talking about?

Are you doing this as paid work? No offense but it might be advisable to do a little more research before starting work or you could end up making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes.

 

[zanwan]

Yep this is paid work, i've started tiling, done a couple of jobs over the past few months which have turned out ok. Not too sure of the tile thickness, guessing around 6 or 7 mil.

I've mixed powdered adhesives before and man they are tiring, left me sweating loads and tired before i'd even got any tiles up!

I'd rather use the ready mixed stuff, especially BAL is its suitable for this tile size. My mate who is a DIY'er and property developer says he used BnQ's ready mixed adhesives and he's never had any issues with it.

 

[iwaters]

Yep this is paid work, i've started tiling, done a couple of jobs over the past few months which have turned out ok. Not too sure of the tile thickness, guessing around 6 or 7 mil.

I've mixed powdered adhesives before and man they are tiring, left me sweating loads and tired before i'd even got any tiles up!

I'd rather use the ready mixed stuff, especially BAL is its suitable for this tile size. My mate who is a DIY'er and property developer says he used BnQ's ready mixed adhesives and he's never had any issues with it.

Buy yourself a mixer attachment for an electric drill. They cost about a fiver from B & Q, Topps etc. Best to use them with a varibale speed drill as you are supposed to mix the addy slowly. Not tiring at all then

 

[tictic]

Hi all

Can anyone advise if its possible to use BAL ready mixed adhesives on large wall tiles, approx 30x30 tiles?

I've been asked to tile an entire bathroom, and have only 2 days to do it so was hoping to use a ready mixed adhesive to save time and energy on mixing the powdered stuff.

bal white star.