Outdoor & Exterior Tile Adhesives

Preparing your tiles before laying when outdoors will depend entirely on your chosen material. For all outdoor tiles, however, we recommend inspecting and cleaning the tiles to remove any chipped, damaged or warped sections and washing them with clean water.

If using porous tiles, like terracotta or some forms of natural stone, soak these briefly in water before laying – this will prevent them from drawing moisture away from your outdoor tile adhesive too quickly, enabling a strong bond.

Wherever possible, we also recommend a ‘dry run’ before applying adhesive, ensuring consistent pattern alignment, joint spacing and allowing you to double-check for any defects.

Thanks to their versatile formulation, many of our outdoor tile adhesives are suitable for both exterior walls and floors – though some are more suited to one application than the other.

For wall tiling applications, weight, workability and vertical bond strength are likely to be key considerations. With this in mind, we recommend ProFlex SPES.

For outdoor floors, your adhesive priorities are likely to be durability, flexibility and impact resistance. Outdoor floors are also more likely to be tiled with large format tiling and heavier materials, so consider this when choosing your exterior tile adhesive.

ProFlex S2 could be the perfect option for you – its ability to set rapidly, provides high flexibility and means it can accommodate foot traffic in just three-and-a-half hours.

While laying a screed may not always be necessary before applying your tile adhesive, it can be beneficial in many cases, depending on the condition of your substrate.

Laying a screed ensures your substrate is level, preventing uneven installation and offering a stable, solid base for the adhesive to properly bond to.

No – even after compaction, hardcore can be loose and uneven, providing poor adhesion and increasing the risk of tile movement and cracking. Hardcore is one of the substrates that must have a screed laid over it to ensure proper adhesion.

We also have a range of grouts that are compatible with our exterior tile adhesives, providing the perfect finish for your project. For walls, we recommend ProGrout Flexible.

ProGrout Flexible is easily workable, well-suited to vertical jointing and available in a range of colours. It’s also frost-resistant!

For outdoor floor tile applications, we recommend the easy-to-apply ProGrout Flowable. Thanks to the polymer added to the formulation, this outdoor tile grout offers increased flexibility and is virtually impermeable.

For natural stone pavers like granite or porcelain, ProPave Grout is another excellent choice, formulated for outdoor use and available in four colours to suit your preferred look and feel.

Please note that ProGrout Flowable is suitable for floor tiling applications only.

Sealing your grout is always recommended for outdoor use.

Although many of our grouts are resistant to frost and heavy rain, sealing your grout will protect against long-term water ingress and ensure your install retains its fresh look, preventing UV fading and dirt build-up.

ProRapid RS is one of our best-selling indoor and outdoor tile adhesives, specifically formulated for use in wet areas or where underfloor heating might be used.

ProRapid RS also provides brilliant adhesion with commonly used pool tiling materials, such as ceramic, porcelain and natural stone.

The length of time your outdoor tile adhesive will take to set depends entirely on the UltraTile product you choose. Our range features adhesives with a number of different properties – so some are faster than others.

ProRapid RS, for example, our fastest-working tile adhesive, can accommodate light foot traffic in just two-and-a-half hours, though a longer-term cure is recommended for a lasting performance.

Yes – our outdoor tile adhesives are formulated to handle the toughest weather conditions. Provided your installation gives enough time for your tile adhesive to cure, you can expect the same quality performance in all weather conditions.

If your tile installation is taking place in an area that will be subject to extremely high or low temperatures, it’s vital to use an exterior tile adhesive that is specified to S1 or S2, providing high levels of flexibility.

S2-classified outdoor tile adhesives, like our ProFlex S2 adhesive, can handle contraction and expansion from thermal stress, providing the perfect result for applications that are likely to be subject to sub-zero or 30–35°C+ temperatures.