Tile adhesive way too thin?

[Jarveye]

Hi, im no expert but ive tiled a few times before without problems. the tiles i have are natural slate of varying thickness, but sharp cut edges, and i bought a large tub of 'sealocrete fix & grout tile adhesive and grout'

I set about starting today, and when i opened the tub it was kinda seperated, liquid on top, i wasnt worried, just gave it a good mix, but even when mixed i noticed it VERY thin, running off the trowel, probably the consistency or double cream or extra thick cream at best, as you can imagine when i tried to start tiling it was very messy and very difficult, so i have just stopped till i get advice....

Has this tub gone off, or expired or something? or is it supposed to be like this? secondly i am stuck in a rural location without a car, so problems like this can totally destory my day of work. any quick fixes to thicken it up? i have about half a bag of powedered regular grout which i thought i might be able to thicken it with, i even have plenty of kitchen stock like flower cornflour etc if thats not rediculous?

While im here i have one other small problem:

I have to tile around and slightly behind an old rayburn fixed in place, theres a big enough gap to slide the tile in a bit so it looks like its tiles behind completely, however (especially with the thin grout) the tile wants to slide down behidn the rayburn completely when i do this, and theres no way to get behind to put a pin or something to support it, any tips on holding this in place?

 

[kbdiy]

My preference is always to use separate adhesive and grout. I have tried the 'combined' types before and always found them lacking in grip. Like a lot of multi-use products they tend to be a compromise.

 

[Jarveye]

thanks, but not much help haha.

i could actually blame my wife, as i sent her to get a tub of tile adhesive and she came home with that, but doesnt help me much just now, was hoping to get most of the tiling done today, and so far i have 2 tiles up which im waiting to see how they stick...

like i said if theres a way to thicken the contents of the tub that would be helpful

 

[geraldthehamster]

running off the trowel, probably the consistency or double cream or extra thick cream at best

Sounds like rubbish. You'd be better off buying something in a bag, that you can mix yourself to the consistency you want.

Cheers
Richard