Specialist manufacturer of tile adhesives, grouts, finishing and ancillary products, Dunlop Adhesives, is helping merchants move products off their shelves and out of the door in time for a busy summer for their customers. Endorsing its Non-Slip Wall Tile Adhesive as a stock must-have, Dunlop is anticipating that homeowners will be looking to improve their [...]
Letting water damage slip down the drain
As homeowners are opting to invest in their homes to add value, a new bathroom suite is top of the agenda and for the savvy homeowners out there, only the most stylish of tiles will do! Coupled with the increase in wet rooms and power showers, builders’ merchants have the upper hand to ensure tradesmen are knowledgeable in selecting the correct preparation products to make sure their customers don’t have to worry about water damage and unsightly mould. Debi Bailey, Brand Manager of Dunlop Adhesives, discusses how educating tradesmen about using the correct preparation products from start to finish is the key to success to ensure tiled surfaces are equipped to last the distance.
- Installing a new bathroom suite can cost thousands of pounds, however if the surface beneath isn’t protected efficiently, water damage can add to this cost by causing unnecessary damage to the finished work
- Acrylic based primers will provide a watertight barrier between the adhesive and substrate beneath
- Tradesmen are often under the assumption that they should use a PVA primer as a cheap alternative, however this can be a huge false economy, as they don’t protect as well against water absorption
- Each homeowner is different when it comes to ‘his’ or ‘her’ tile preferences, however using the right adhesive is essential in ensuring 100% coverage
- British Standards recommends solid bed fixing, particularly for floor and wet duty wall areas so that the adhesive covering the whole of the tile dries out and safely supports the tile
- Another factor to remember is keeping bacteria and black mould at bay
- The micro-organisms that cause staining on tile joints thrive in humid, damp and warm conditions like bathrooms, and on an unprotected surface bacteria can double every 20 minutes
- Using a grout and sealant that has built-in technology that protects the tile joints against the growth of harmful bacteria such as E.coli, Salmonella and microbes, which cause mould and mildew, you can guarantee that the customer will be left with a professional finish