Tried a new glue for a tricky herringbone job in a humid basement and the tiles held like concrete overnight.

Used Mapei Ultrabond Eco 985 on the recommendation of a guy at the supply house, and now I'm wondering if anyone else has a go-to adhesive for high-moisture subfloors.

3 comments

3 Comments

elliotm701mo ago

Tiles held like concrete" sounds like a good thing, but is a humid basement really that big of a deal for a modern adhesive?

daniel4741mo ago

Yeah "modern adhesive" makes me think of the waterproof stuff they sell now. My buddy used some on his shower floor and it still failed after two years because the subfloor underneath was always damp. The tiles didn't pop up but you could feel them squish when you stepped in the corner. He had to tear the whole thing out and fix the leak first.

jesse_green5522d ago

elliotm70, "tiles held like concrete" is a good thing for sure, but humidity is definitely still a big deal for adhesives. The water vapor coming up from the slab can weaken the bond over time, even if the glue sets up hard at first. That's why those moisture tests before tiling matter more than people think.