Sand And Cement As Adhesive? - Tile Advice

[assegayer]

Hi guys just a quick question, are you able to use sand and cement as a tile adhesive instead of the modern day 'tile adhesive'..because basically i have been to many countries where they use sand and cement in installing tiles and they seem to last donkeys years with no cracking or any problems i think they use the sand a a decoupling membrane which is certainly cheaper then ditra, but anyway i was just wondering how they do it exactly?

 

[Old Mod]

Here we go, run for cover!

 

[assegayer]

lool clearly im missing something

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

Hi guys just a quick question, are you able to use sand and cement as a tile adhesive instead of the modern day 'tile adhesive'..because basically i have been to many countries where they use sand and cement in installing tiles and they seem to last donkeys years with no cracking or any problems i think they use the sand a a decoupling membrane which is certainly cheaper then ditra, but anyway i was just wondering how they do it exactly?

you cant use sand and cement as adhesive just a bonding layer you use neat cement mixed with water to make the adhesive add sbr if fixing porcalain

 

[assegayer]

neat cement?

 

[Italy]

c'mon, c'mon, marc close doors lol

 

[assegayer]

how come they seem to put a layer of sand down then mortar on top then they fix the tiles to that?

 

[One Day]

The quick answer to your initial question is "yes".
The next thing is to say - unless you have a lot of experience and know how to do this - just don't.

Modern tile adhesives are there for 2 main reasons:
1 - Modern tiles are different - especially porcelain won't bond with virgin cement.
2 - The old skills are almost forgotten (thanks in big part to modern adhesives) so new adhesives make it easier.

 

[assegayer]

thats a real shame to be honest because it seems them sort of installations are the most solid from a non professional tilers view that is. just wondered thats all as its interesting that they seemed to know that the sand will prevent cracking where as now they try to convince you that you must use matting in almost most installations

 

[Old Mod]

I have to agree with @impish
It's a highly skilled job, to get absolutely correct.
It's not for a diy'er or the feint hearted!

 

[assegayer]

in now way at all will i be splurting sand and cement around my house just a purely interesting question as the materials are cheaper aswell and the people doing it in other countries arnt as clever or skilled as you would think

 

[Old Mod]

in now way at all will i be splurting sand and cement around my house just a purely interesting question as the materials are cheaper aswell and the people doing it in other countries arnt as clever or skilled as you would think

Haha u have that the wrong way round my friend.
They're far more skilled than they may appear.
Just because they may not be on a similar academic level, their manual skills are highly developed over many generations.

 

[assegayer]

thats true....like i was having a look at this vid here if your free take a look he seems an excellent tiler View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtqLTn2gdkQ

 

[Italy]

high technology.
I go to bed

 

[White Room]

That looked so painfully slow and the mix seemed so dry, I would have used a plastering tub and mix with an old slow speed belly drill to a semi dry mix.