Laying Tuscan Path Percelain Pavers - Bonding Agent

[bsdll]

Hi,

I have done a bit of research on laying porcelain pavers and it says it's best to use a bonding agent because they are not porous so need help to grip the mortar. Does anyone have any experience with the best bonding agent to use? There are a few on the Bunnings site but they don't really seem to be a 'general' one, they want to use their own other products. I emailed Tuscan Path but they just said contact a professional, which is lousy support for their own products.

Thanks.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @bsdll. It's amazing that you've joined us, and I'd be delighted to assist you with your project.

Can I please clarify if you are bedding these tiles down onto soil/sand with mortar, or are you glueing them down to a concrete slab?

If you are tamping down the soil, applying sand and then your mortar bedding layer, then no bonding agent is required in this installation. The porcelain tiles will adhere correctly, and Tuscan Path has advised that no bonding agent is needed. They do advise that you tap the pavers with a mallet to ensure they bed down into the mortar layer sufficiently.

If you want to glue the tiles down to a solid substrate like a concrete slab, you would first prime the surface with Dunlop 1L Multipurpose Water Based Primer and then apply your Dunlop 20kg Universal Tile Adhesive.

Please let me know if you have further questions or need assistance.

Mitchell

[bsdll]

Thanks for the quick reply.

They will be going down on 10cm of road base and then 3cm mortar. That seems to be the general guide from my research.

I am in Perth, so was just going to use the Westbuild General Purpose mortar. Will that provide the correct bond?

They are 1200x600 tiles so I want to avoid any potential failures beforehand. So many search results said to use a bonding agent, even on mortar.

Thanks.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @bsdll,

As per the Tuscan Path guidelines, the tiles are to be laid into a standard mortar mix. Mortar mixes are fairly similar across the board, so what you have selected should be suitable.

You won't be using the mortar to glue the tiles down like with an adhesive. It is used to bed the tiles into, and tapping them down with a mallet sets them in place. If you had a solid substrate, like a concrete slab, and tried to glue the tiles to it with mortar, it would need a bonding agent. This could be the scenario with bonding agents you're running into.

Mitchell

[bsdll]

Hi

Just thinking this through then, is it worth the extra hassle to put them into a mortar bed or should I just lay them on the roadbase and sand? Still going with the 10cm of roadbase and 3cm of sand.

It's only for a patio base.

Thanks.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @bsdll,

I'd recommend following the manufacturer's instructions as the mortar base is there to stop the pavers from moving around.

Mitchell