What does the marking C0, C1 and C2 mean on tile adhesives

The days when tiles were laid using homemade cement mortar are long gone. The modern market of building materials offers a wide variety of adhesives for various types of cladding, as well as applications. Today we will understand in detail what the various markings on packages with tile adhesives mean. This information will be useful for both novice craftsmen and experienced ones, because the construction materials market is constantly updated with effective novelties. 

Tile Adhesive StandardsAll tile adhesives can be divided into three standards, which have their own markings:

Category C0 — simple tile adhesives designed for laying small-sized lightweight ceramic tiles on a flat mineral surface.

• They have low adhesion, therefore they are intended for carrying out facing works in dry rooms. For example, with the help of such glue, an apron is laid in the kitchen. This is the most budget category.
• Category C1 is a standard tile adhesive suitable for indoor and outdoor cladding work. Glue with a similar marking is used for laying ceramics and other materials in bathrooms, on building facades, for cladding work in rooms with high humidity, as well as external steps. Glue C1 is applicable for laying medium-sized tiles with a side of 40 cm.
• Category C2, improved adhesive mixtures, are designed for laying large-sized materials with a size of 60x60 or more. They have increased adhesion, and are also designed for rooms with large pedestrian traffic. They have high tear—off strength - at least 1 MPa, and are also resistant to moisture, low temperatures and temperature shock.

Additional markingIf the tile adhesive has special properties, manufacturers mark these characteristics using letters of the Latin alphabet.

• S — means that the glue has increased elasticity. These adhesive compositions are used on surfaces prone to thermal expansion or other deformations.
• E — is applied to the packaging of tile adhesive, which is endowed with an extended open layer time.
• F is a derivative of the English word fast, which in this case means a quick—drying compound. In ordinary mixtures for gluing tiles, the drying time is one day, at the same time in mixtures marked F — less. Depending on the manufacturer, this time can be from 3 to 12 hours.
• T is the so—called thixotropic adhesives, which are endowed with increased viscosity. This ensures high resistance to vertical sliding of the adhesive, which is necessary for facing work on vertical planes with large-sized facing materials.

Use this simple guide when choosing tile glue, and you will surely be sure that you are buying exactly what you need.