www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Ive never tiled before but i have a fair idea of what im doing. My question is what kind of adhesive would i need for ceramic tiles on a bitumen floor? Everything i read is telling me about tiling on to wood or concrete. Im also unsure of how much adhesive to use and how thick i should spred it but im assuming it will tell me on the packet when i buy it?
Any help would be great
Thanks

you could use a bitumen friendly screed, or put some very thin ply down first.

Ive asked many people what adhesive i should use since posting this and had conflicting answers.
Half said your normal standard adhesive will be fine and the other half said use a flexible adhesive.
Im starting to wonder if it even matters but think i'm going to go with the flexi one.
I'll post a pic when i'm done so you pro's can let me know what you think

Do you mean a mastic asphalt floor (hard, black and shiney) or is the bitumen the adhesive residue from tiles such as marley that was used to stick them down? If the former, you are likely to need a polymer modified, cement based adhesive but check with the manufacturers tech help line as some manufacturers say you should apply a slurry bonding coat first. If the latter then you should scrape all the loose stuff off and cover the floor with a layer of slc before you tile.

Yes its hard, black, shiney and smooth. There were no tiles previously on it, i guess i was assuming it was bitumen because it looks like tar. Thanks for your comment its very useful

Its a mastic asphalt floor then. They combine the function of a dpm and floor substrate in one. I would recommend Mapei Keraquick. Its a polymer modified cement based adhesive with a decent pot life and mixes really well. You can grout after about 3 hours. Being a rapid setting adhesive, you will probably find it best to mix up small quantities as it goes off fairly quick, especially for an inexperienced tiler. Up to about 300mm x 300mm, use a thick bed solid bed trowel, anything larger use a large format trowel. This is to ensure 100% coverage beneath the tile. Once you've fixed a few, lift one or two to check the coverage you are getting. It should be 100%. If you're not getting that, move up to a bigger notch or back skim the tiles.

Thanks for your help Rookery your tips were very useful
I used Mapei Keraflex rather than keraquick because its got a 8 hour pot life and im an absolute amatuer and in no big rush.
It was easy to work with, they already seem stuck solid only an hour after but didnt pull at them to much.
Ive done most of the full tiles just need to finish the outsides tomorrow and grout