Tile adhesive not setting!!

Hello all,

Long time reader, first time poster. My Dad and I put down some new tiles in the kitchen yesterday, (30hrs ago). We used Davco tradeflex two part mix on yellow tounge flooring. The first lot we mixed was a bit runny but seemed to be drying okay. The second lot we mixed was more like cement when just mixed and is now rock hard. No pros with the second lot.

My problem is that the first lot of adhesive is still spongy and appears to be a bit crumbly when i broke a bit off in the joins and rubbed it between my fingers. Have I mixed the first lot up wrong, I think I may have not put enough powder in the mix???

Will I need to pull them up and redo that part, or will it eventually set???

Tell me it will set. Please. Tiling sucks!

Thanks,
Nath

G'day Nath

If the floor was wet when you layed the tiles this can have a effect on the bonding of the tile. My tiler prefers to fix a 4.5mm fibro sheet down first to help with the bonding of the tile as the timber floor is not good enough in his words.

Hope this helps:U

Thanks BuilderWally,

The yellow tongue panels are fixed to the existing timber floor boards into the joists below as the old floor had a bit too much movement. The yellow tongue was bone dry, straight from Bunnings. I used it instead of cement sheeting as I thought it would lock it all in better, and on advice from the bloke at the tile shop.

Not that I'm an expert, but did you use an adhesive that's suitable for fixing to timber flooring?

Yep, as recommended by the tiling shop. The bag says it is for timber floors.

I used Amberflex adhesive, which i believe is made by Davco anyway so probably the same stuff. I think it just is naturally a bit crumbly because it is a flexible adhesive... Used it on my hall tiles and no problems so far.
First lot will probably dry in time... might just take a lot longer ;)

Davco have a good website and a helpline - worth a go to contact them if you haven't already - they might tell you it is all OK and just to wait.

Given your description of the two mixes it sounds as though you did not have the proportions correct for one of them - and sounds like the first one that has failed to set.

It is critical to get exact proportions in each batch or the properties of the adhesive cannot be guranteed.

I would suggest that you find suitable tile to test by seeing how easily it lifts - after 30 hours they should be quite difficult to remove and offer quite strong resistance. My guess is that the tiles placed with the un-set/ slow-setting batch will still be lifted easily.

If that is so you will need to lift all those glued with the badly mixed batch, clean off the adhesive from the floor and tiles as best you can and re-fix.

If they seem firm then you might be lucky and the batch might be out just enough to slow the curing time, but not enough to give poor adhesion.

Such variability in the curing time would lead me to be concerned about the longer term stability of the adhesive and therefore the tiles.

As I said - talk to Davco 1st.

if you are getting different consistencies and cure times it sound as though you are not measuring your water/ powder ratio correctly. You must follow the mixing instructions exactly with that stuff. IE measure your powder and your water accurately then mix mechanically as described on the packet.