The process of tile installation often encounters numerous issues. If these problems are left unattended, they may lead to later problems such as hollow sounds, cracks, and tile detachment. To prevent these issues from arising in the first place, various measures are taken, such as applying wall consolidator and roughening the waterproof surface. However, after applying the wall consolidator, is it still necessary to perform the roughening treatment?

There are many reasons that can lead to cracking, hollowing, and detachment of tiles in the later stages, such as voids and cracks in the original wall, uneven wall surfaces, and insufficient strength of the wall substrate. Before tiling, walls with voids or cracks need to be reworked entirely; uneven wall surfaces require screeding and leveling; and if the wall substrate lacks sufficient strength, it’s necessary to enhance the bond between the wall and the tiles.
The function of wall primer.

1. Wall primer solidifies cement, preventing it from peeling off and thereby addressing common minor issues such as loose walls and sanding on the surface. Moreover, wall primer has strong penetrating power and can enhance the adhesion of wall surfaces under certain conditions.

2. Wall primer serves a bridging role, not only protecting the original wall surface but also ensuring that the adhesion between the wall decoration materials and the original wall remains unaffected.
Therefore, for ordinary wall surfaces, simply applying a wall primer is sufficient to solve the problem—there’s no need to go through the extra step of roughening the surface again when laying tiles in order to enhance the adhesion between the tiles and the wall.

The function of roughening treatment

In areas with high humidity, such as bathrooms and kitchens, it’s necessary to apply a waterproof layer. Since the waterproof layer has a certain degree of water resistance, directly laying tiles on it could result in tile detachment due to insufficient adhesion. The roughening treatment enhances the surface roughness of the waterproof layer, thereby improving the bond strength between the cement mortar and the tiles.