The best bathroom tile adhesive - Ceresit, Knauf, Litokol or Eunice?

Tile adhesive is not a cheap pleasure, especially if we talk about top brands, which we also consider in our comparison. Accordingly, the less ready-mix is ​​required to cover one square meter, the better.

The most economical glue among our members is Bergauf. One square will need approximately 0.83 kilograms. This is the best indicator that practically catches up with glue from the Knauf brand. He has 0.87 kg. We consider it right to send both participants to the first place. The second line is shared by other nominees. They have approximately the same consumption, ranging from 1.3 kg (Ceresit) to 1.45 kg (Eunice). The difference is small, so putting someone on the third step does not make sense.

Depending on which ceramic tile is used, the required thickness of the mixture layer will also fluctuate.Thick, heavy tiles require better adhesion and, as a result, more adhesive consumption. The same goes for the minimum thickness. With thin tiles, it makes no sense to apply a thick layer, so you can save on glue. That is why manufacturers indicate two values ​​\u200b\u200bof the thickness of the applied layer:

So, Litokol tile adhesive can be applied with the thinnest layer. Only 1 millimeter. But it has only 5 mm maximum thickness, which means it will not be suitable for some types of tiles. We cannot give such a product the first place, unlike Eunice and Ceresit. With a minimum thickness of 2 mm, their maximum layer is 15 and 10 mm, respectively. This is an excellent result, making the adhesive versatile.

It makes sense for the rest of the participants to give second place. Although their parameters are different, they are in both categories, so it is impossible to say which option is the best. You just need to choose based on what kind of tile you plan to glue. This is not required for winners. They fit all types.

Tile adhesive dries in stages, so manufacturers indicate two main values. The first stage indicates after how many hours the material will begin to withstand foot pressure without deformation. In theory, this is only relevant for floor coverings, but in the case of wall decoration, this stage can be considered as the initial setting time, when some manipulations can be carried out with the tiles. The second stage is complete drying. There is nothing to add here. Our member values ​​look like this:

If your bathroom is tiled not only on the walls, but also on the floor, then it will be possible to walk on it in a day or two after application. This parameter is almost equal for all participants and does not differ much. But with complete drying, we can already identify the leaders. The first place is clearly with Knauf and Eunice. They have the lowest scores in both categories. Ceresit will be sent to the second line. He completely dries out in the same way as the leaders - in a week, but walking load becomes available only after 48 hours, which is twice as much. Well, Bergauf and Litokol become outsiders. For their complete solidification, you will have to wait, and a lot.

The viability parameter is relevant for all mixtures. It shows how long the finished solution will be suitable for use. That is, after a given time, the mixture will simply harden or lose its plasticity, which will make it unusable. The indicator is important, because the higher the viability, the more mixture you can cook at a time. This significantly speeds up the workflow and allows you to take breaks in work.

Among the participants included in our comparison, the best indicator of the viability of Litokol glue is 6 hours. All other mixtures "live" for 3 hours, that is, half as much. The distribution of places in the nomination is unambiguous: Litokol - the first, other brands - the second.

The bathroom is a room with an unstable climate. Humidity and temperature fluctuate here constantly. Ceramic tile and tile adhesive work great with drops, but there are also values ​​that indicate at what maximum and minimum temperature the mixture will retain its adhesive qualities.

It also makes sense to consider the frost resistance class here. For an ordinary apartment, it is not so relevant, but if you have a private house or cottage that can be left without heating in winter, it is important to look at this parameter, as it indicates how many freezing cycles the composition will withstand.

So, the most stable material is Litokol. He is not afraid of elevated temperatures at all, and an indicator of 90 degrees with a plus sign is unlikely to ever be reached. This is the best option for underfloor heating. Definitely first place.

The second line is shared by Eunice and Ceresit. They can also be laid on a warm floor, but their minimum and maximum values ​​are lower than those of the winner of the nomination. But Knauf and Bergauf do not tolerate cold at all. They do not want to freeze. Therefore, if you have a summer house or a private house, where interruptions in heating are possible, it is better to refuse them.And the maximum values ​​leave much to be desired, so only the third place.

It cannot be said that this parameter is very important, since it is unlikely that anyone saves water so much as to choose a mixture according to this indicator. However, it makes sense to pay attention to it, since it indicates what consistency the finished mass will be and how convenient it will be to work with it. The less water is required per kilogram of the mixture, the more viscous and plastic the solution will turn out and the more convenient it will interact with it, especially when applied not to the floor, but to the walls.

We have two winners in this nomination: Knauf and Bergauf. Both will need 0.2 liters per kilogram of the mixture. The rest of the participants have almost twice the values, which means they will be more liquid and you will need a certain skill to work with them.

We have already talked about the fact that tile adhesive has its own viability. That is, the master during work is limited in time, and it is not always enough to eliminate defects. In addition, some shortcomings become visible only after covering a certain area. Based on this, another important parameter arises: the adjustment time. This value indicates how many minutes the tile will still be available for a small offset. Of course, the higher this value, the better.

And in this nomination we have two winners: Ceresit and Litokol. The first leaves the master 30 minutes, the second - as much as 40 minutes. This is quite enough to eliminate all errors and shortcomings. Younis and Bergauf are less democratic on this issue. They will only give you 15 minutes. Also not bad, but only second place. But when working with the Knauf mixture, you will have to speed up. It has an adjustment time of only 10 minutes. Third place in the nomination.

The strength of adhesives is measured in pascals, or rather in megapascals. This parameter shows how reliable adhesion the mixture provides, and manufacturers measure several directions at once: bending, compression and adhesion. All of them are important to varying degrees. For example, if the tile is laid on the floor, it is more important to look at compression and bending, and on the walls, adhesion is more important. And since our comparison does not take into account where you put the material, we will identify the winner by the combination of these numbers:

According to the totality of data, the most durable is Ceresit brand glue. It is equally reliable for compression, that for fracture or stretching. The best option in this regard. We will also send Eunice to the first line. It is slightly weaker in compression, but in other respects it is an excellent option. It can also be laid on the floor, but if it is warm, be sure to consider other parameters of the mixture.

The rest of the participants are different from the winners. The main feature is the basic grip. The main parameter for the glue, so they all go to the second line.

At first glance, this criterion may seem unimportant, but only if your bathroom is completely renovated. But what if the bathroom is already finished and you just need to fill a small space? In this case, it makes no sense to buy a bag of 50 kilograms, since you will use up a maximum of 5 kg from it, and the rest will either have to be thrown away or stored somewhere.

It is much more convenient if the manufacturer offers small bags of 10-15 kilograms, and even better - 5 kg. It is to these participants, who are included in our comparison, that we will give the first place. And those we have are Bergauf, Yunis and Litokol. All of them are sold in containers of 5 kilograms, and this is the most convenient packaging both in terms of economy and delivery.

Knauf goes to second place. His bag is twice as big, 10 kilos. But Ceresit can only be bought in a 25-kilogram package. A great option if you need to fill in a warm floor or the bathtub needs to be completely finished, but for small jobs it is completely inconvenient and impractical.

Considering that all our participants are supplied to the market in different containers, we consider it right to consider two prices: for a whole bag and in terms of 1 kilogram:

So, we have two participants with price tags below 100 rubles per kilogram - Knauf and Ceresit.And we will give them the first line in the nomination. Litokol, Bergauf and Eunice occupy the second step. Their prices are slightly different, but they are in the same range. In addition, the actual cost may differ depending on the season or the seller.

As you can see, the difference in the total scores is small, and this tells us that all participants are worthy of attention. All have their advantages and disadvantages, and it is more correct to talk not about which of them is the best, but simply to look at the criteria that are important in your case.

So, if your bathroom has a warm floor, it is more correct to take tile adhesive from Litokol, Eunice or Ceresit. The latter, by the way, will also help save a lot on the purchase, but it comes exclusively in large bags of 25 kilograms, which is not very convenient.For wall decoration, you can take any glue, and even Bergauf, who scored the least points, is a very good solution, unless, of course, you are ready to wait so long for its primary and complete drying.