Ceramic coverings are becoming increasingly large in size and their design appeal has been discovered by building owners and architects. Formats of up to 100×300 or even 160×320 cm are now used for ceramic coverings. These ceramic materials are preferred for the design of wet rooms, terraces, facades or swimming pools. What is desired is a durable structure that will function reliably for 30-40 years, even under daily conditions and weather influences.
However, larger formats pose a challenge for the adhesives, as they have to absorb all the stresses that occur and at the same time achieve a strong bond with the sometimes very smooth, impermeable backs of the tiles.
The presentation will provide details on good construction site practice for large-format coverings as well as information on the performance of adhesives and construction chemical solutions.
Surfaces with large-format tiles (100×300 cm, 160×320 cm) have only a very small proportion of joints compared to surfaces with small formats (30×30 or 60×60 cm). This means that the relaxation points (joints) in the tile surfaces are missing, which means that the bonding must work particularly well.
On the one hand, the adhesive must be very elastic in order to compensate for stresses and, on the other hand, it must also be pressure-resistant in order to absorb high traffic loads. In addition, the adhesive must cure and dry quickly under the large, dense slab despite the small number of joints under construction site conditions.
Installation techniques and the differences in installation results are shown.