Supplier of Ardex

[Andy Hall]

Does anybody know of a supplier of Ardex adhesives (preferably on line)

Google, for some reason, doesn't seem forthcoming.

thanks

.andy

[calums]

If you have a Burdens close by then you can purchase Ardex through them. If you dont have a Burdens then let me know where you are based, as I have a list of Ardex reps for the UK. Calum Sabey (NewArk Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544)

[john.sabine]

Tried their own website?

gives you a postcode search for local stockists. Online is anyone's guess ...

John

[Andy Hall]

Thanks John

I hadn't spotted that. Thinking about it, because of the weight it's probably better to order and source from a local supplier than to pay for the shipment from an on line trader.

[Andy Hall]

Yes, With the other reply as well I just saw that there is a Burdens - I had never heard of this company.

I guess you use their products? If so, perhaps I could pick your brains on product suitability.

For my cloakroom project, some of the surfaces to be tiled are plasterboard while others are ply.

Materials to be used are

- a row of slate (12mm thick flooring) about 75mm wide - to form a skirting at floor level

- stone mosaic (50 or 60mm format) or ceramic tiles (10mm thickness,

200mm size) for the walls.

So the first question is whether there is an adhesive that will cover all of these requirements (I presume flexible)? I imagine that I will need to buy 20kg, so it would be helpful not to have to buy two different products.

The second is choice of grouts. For the skirting, I need to go for a darkish grey to match the floor and joints will be 6-8mm, for the walls probably a light grey or white if it's ceramics 4 or 5mm I would think.

Any suggestions appreciated.

many thanks

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say standard shed bought wall tile adhesive suitable for showers will be fine for all this. But prime the ply with oil paint first.

I made the grey grout for my kitchen by mixing in a *little* black emulsion to the water for normal powdered grout. Get one of those match pots to save buying a tin. Use an eye dropper or similar so you can match each batch. Dunno about epoxy grouts, though.

[calums]

I agree with Dave reference using a premix adhesive suitable for shower situations (any tile merchant will advise). As to oil based paint on the Ply...hmmmmmm! Assuming the ply is suitable for external use and of reasonable thickness then a simple seal with watered down PVA will suffice (water it down to the consistency of milk- maybe ever so slightly thicker, but not much).

I will get back to you with reference to grout since 6-7mm is relatively large, I think you can use a standard grout up to 10mm, but will check.

Ardex is a fantastic brand and their adhesive is suitable for swimming pools, but a ready made tub will do you just as well. As to mixing in a colour, no reason why you shouldnt do it- but I never have. Also for the slate make sure you are meticulour about cleaning up the suface after grouting as the porousity of it will soak up the grout stain. Some people seal the slate before grouting, I dont and I have grouted

150m2 in one property, but I was very carefull as I went, and it was also a brazilian slate which is not as porous as some others. The reason I dont seal before is that I like to seal a few times after grouting so that the grout gets plenty sealant which prevents it staining.

Burdens is a fantastic company, specialising in underground products. But they have a huge list of companies they can buy from, and I have always found the staff to be very helpful.

Calum Sabey (NewArk Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544)

[Andy Hall]

OK. Do you have a recommendation? It looks like most Ardex adhesives are in dry form, although they do appear to have some premix products - D20 and D30

I am not too bothered about buying say a 10 or 20kg bag of dry adhesive provided that I can use it for the ceramic and stone tiles on the plasterboard as well. I suppose that strictly for that application, it's more than needed to have a flexible adhesive, but I don't want to buy a large bag and then only be able to use a tenth of it.

OK. I've done that previously in other projects. The ply is WBP and very substantially fixed 30mm.

That would be a great help, thanks. I am using the same type of slate as is used for the floor, so in effect, the skirting becomes associated with the floor. Hence I think that going with floor tile grout widths which are around 7mm is more appropriate than dropping down to wall tile widths of 3-5mm.

The floor was laid by a contractor - dealing with 600 x 300 slates at arms length is more than my back will tolerate. He followed the same approach as you and sealed several times after grouting.

Ah right. Probably why I hadn't heard of them. I don't buy sewer pipe all that often :-)

[calums]

I have just checked what the last stuff I used on slate floor was. I used BAL single part flexible adhesive and granufix wide joint grout. This is on a floor with underfloor heating and there has been no problems. The last wall tiles I did I used 2 different adhesives, one was made by sovereign and I forget the make of the other... both as good as the other. Hopefully this is helpful. Calum Sabey (NewArk Traditional Kitchen 01556 690544)

[Andy Hall]

Yes, thanks, much appreciated