Friday 18 May 2018

Crack Suppression/Isolation Methods for Tiles

 

125 Sound & Crack Adhesive 

There are currently no industry standards defining or measuring crack suppression membranes or adhesives in Australia. However ANSI A118.12 5.4 does provide a method of determining the crack suppression abilities of membranes and adhesives for tiling systems. In this test, products with the ability to resist up to 3mm cracks are rated as a high performance.

Cracks in concrete surfaces or other backgrounds can, and often do, cause telegraphing of the crack or reflective cracking into the tile finish. Crack reflection into tiled surface is a defect and is seen as the responsibility of the system designer or tiler to eliminate its occurrence. It also does not reflect very well on the tiling industry as a whole.

With the fast-pace and competitive environment of today’s concrete industry, crack free concrete is difficult to achieve. The same can be said about tiler’s standard mortar beds. Shrinkage crack control of these surfaces are often lacking, resulting in uncontrolled cracking that may be obvious, may not occur immediately, or persists for many years as the concrete or mortar continues to shrink and crack during its life under the tile finish. Modern adhesives can accommodate a certain amount deformation, horizontal to the plane the tiles are laid on, but there is a limit to their abilities. There is even LATICRETE anti-fracture adhesives that deliver crack isolation in some service duty cycles. However, employing a loadbearing crack suppression membrane offers a unique buffering layer, which allows further deformation, increasing the amount of allowable movement in a tile installation. After recognising this you could be excused for thinking that there is a good case for always using crack suppression membranes over masonry and other surfaces that are susceptible to shrinkage cracking.

For more information read Technical Data Sheet TDS1019.

For more information on LATICRETE permanent trouble free installation products, training, or technical advice, contact your local LATICRETE representative on 1800 331 012 - or email: sales@laticrete.com.au

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