b'TECHNICAL orsolvents,sincethesewillthenThey are also bonding agents and becomebondbreakers.Ifyourwill help setting materials bond to substrateisplywood,youcantcertainnon-poroussurfacesthey remove adhesive residue and thenwould otherwise struggle to bond install on that plywood. You mustto on their own. Primers will usual-remove the plywood with the resi- ly be single-component acrylic or dueandorapplyanewlayerofepoxy.Checkwithmanufacturers plywood over it before installation.for proper primer for your material, Sweepingcompoundsyoumayand the installation procedures. encounteratconstructionsites commonlyusewaxorarepetro- Self-leveling underlaymentsleum based. They can leave a bond- Dont make the mistake of think-breakingresidueontheconcreteing that self leveling products are surface, and must be removed.structural repair productstheyre Tilt up wall construction utilizesnot. They are surface repair prod-parting/releaseagentstopreventucts that prepare the substrate for concrete wall from sticking to con- theinstallationoffinishflooring. crete slab, and act as bond break- Butthesubstrateitselfmustbe ers.Theymustbemechanicallystructurallysound.Ifstructural removed before proceeding.repairs are needed, be sure to con-If there is material on the concretesult a engineer. thatwillaffectthebondandyouFLATANDSMOOTH:Inmost cantidentifyit,erronthesideofcases,flatandsmoothiswhatis caution and mechanically remove it.required,butlevelisnotalways needed. If level IS required, be sure Primers floorisplottedandlevelingpins Priming is a critical step beforeareinstalled,thenpoursufficient selflevelingsinceprimerspre- material to achieve level.vent porous substrates from draw- Selflevelingisidealforflatten-ingmoistureoutoftheproduct,ingandsmoothinglargeareas. enhance bonding and extend work- Some floors may require only 1/8 ing times of self leveling products. 1/4 Others may require 1/2 up to1-1/2.Alwaysusetheproper product for the application. SLUs for tile and stone installations canhelpsavetimeandmoneyby speeding up installation and minimiz-ing effort and repairs due to undulat-ing and uneven surfaces. Most SLUs can be walked on as soon as three to four hours, allowing installers to start 96TileLetter | May 2020'