Do you sell tile adhesive?

No — we ship tiles direct from Italy, so adhesive is best bought locally from a UK builders' merchant to avoid pallet weight and cost. This guide tells you exactly what to ask for.

What adhesive should I use for porcelain floor tiles?

A cement-based C2 adhesive, upgraded to C2S1 flexible over underfloor heating, timber substrates or for any tile with a side over 600mm.

How much adhesive do I need per m²?

Around 4–5kg per m² at a 6mm notch and 6–8kg per m² at a 10mm notch. Large-format slabs that are back-buttered can reach 10kg per m².

How long before I can walk on newly tiled floors?

24 hours for foot traffic with a standard cement-based adhesive, and 24 hours minimum before grouting. Rapid-set adhesives cut this to around 3–4 hours.

Tile Adhesive Guide: Choosing the Right Adhesive for Porcelain & Ceramic

We ship tiles, not adhesive — but the wrong adhesive is the single most common reason a good tile fails. This guide covers what to specify for every tile we sell, how much you need, and the mistakes that crack a floor within a season.

Porcelain needs a cement-based adhesive, not ready-mixed

Every porcelain tile we stock has water absorption below 0.5%, which means a ready-mixed tub adhesive can never dry — it cures by losing water into the tile and the tile will not take it. Use a cement-based powder adhesive mixed on site, classified C2 to BS EN 12004.

Ready-mixed adhesive is only sensible for small ceramic wall tiles up to 300x600mm in a dry room — our metro and ceramic wall ranges qualify, our porcelain floor ranges do not.

When you need a flexible (S1 or S2) adhesive

Specify a flexible C2S1 adhesive over underfloor heating, timber or plywood substrates, anywhere with movement, and for any tile with a side longer than 600mm. Our 600x1200mm, 800x800mm and 1200x1200mm formats should always be fixed in S1 as a minimum.

Outdoor 20mm paving on a bedded or pedestal system needs a C2S1 or S2 adhesive plus a slurry primer on the tile back — frost cycling will find any hollow spot.

Bed depth, coverage and how much to buy

As a working figure, a 20kg bag of cement-based adhesive covers roughly 4–5m² at a 6mm notch, 3–4m² at 10mm, and 2–2.5m² when back-buttering large-format slabs.

Solid bed coverage matters more than depth: aim for 95% contact on floors and wet areas, 80% on dry walls. Back-butter every tile over 600mm and comb the adhesive in one direction so air can escape.

Priming, drying and when to grout

Prime absorbent substrates (screed, plaster, backer board) before fixing; skipping the primer pulls water out of the adhesive and drops its final strength.

Leave adhesive to set for at least 24 hours before grouting, and longer over underfloor heating — heating should stay off for 7 days after fixing, then be raised gradually.

Common questions

Do you sell tile adhesive?: No — we ship tiles direct from Italy, so adhesive is best bought locally from a UK builders' merchant to avoid pallet weight and cost. This guide tells you exactly what to ask for.
What adhesive should I use for porcelain floor tiles?: A cement-based C2 adhesive, upgraded to C2S1 flexible over underfloor heating, timber substrates or for any tile with a side over 600mm.
How much adhesive do I need per m²?: Around 4–5kg per m² at a 6mm notch and 6–8kg per m² at a 10mm notch. Large-format slabs that are back-buttered can reach 10kg per m².
How long before I can walk on newly tiled floors?: 24 hours for foot traffic with a standard cement-based adhesive, and 24 hours minimum before grouting. Rapid-set adhesives cut this to around 3–4 hours.