Mapei  Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

We bought 5 of the 5 gallon Mapei 980 adhesive containers. The first 2 we opened were apparently old (we didn't realize it at the time) because they had a thick layer of adhesive on top that had to be removed before we began. So we ended up wasting a lot of the adhesive. The last 3 containers were not like that and there was no waste.

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

I can only go with how much the professional installers loved how it spread, how well it stood up to walking on it within a few hours - and how little odor there was. I just watched them put down our lovely new flooring!

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

We just installed 350 sq-ft of 5" engineered flooring over concrete with excellent results. Mapei 980 spreads very easily and has long open/working times. We got about 45 sq-ft/gal using the recommended v-notch trowel. Yes, there was some waste due to cured adhesive when we opened the cans, but it wasn't more than 1/2-3/4 inch each time. Sealing the can with an inverted plastic trash bag, pressed onto the remaining adhesive, worked very well. It limited curing and made it easy to remove the "skim" cover the next day with our hands. Latex/nitrile gloves are a must, as are paint thinner/mineral spirits and plenty of paper towels, but clean-up was pretty easy as long as it was done quickly. Dried adhesive CAN be removed with elbow grease and mineral spirits, but it's much better to inspect carefully every few rows and remove glue before it dries. We found it best to use use a chalk line to lay out a 20" wide area to spread glue, equating to 4 rows of flooring in our case. We pre-installed/cut 4 rows of flooring and numbered the pieces, then stacked them nearby in order of installation. We poured directly from the can and used the trowel to "cut" the drip, then placed the cover lightly back on the can. This is when smaller containers would be great, as the 5-gallon can is heavy and awkward to control. If you pour too much it's hard to put some back in the can so pour small amounts and add as needed. After spreading/troweling the adhesive, place the trowel on a piece of cardboard or other STIFF, disposable surface. We quickly found that paper towels and plastic bags stick tenaciously to the trowel. Then remove the gloves, dispose of them if needed, and install the boards. There was enough time to adjust the boards for a perfect fit, but it's also easy to move the boards unintentionally for 15-30 minutes after installation, so be careful and/or use blue tape to hold the boards in place. For us it was pleasantly and surprisingly easy - except on the knees.

Time will tell if the adhesive holds, but it seems very solid now. I've used several other adhesives, both urethane and water-based. This was far easier than the other urethanes, but (naturally) messier than the water-based - though certainly stronger. The ONLY downside was the size of the container. If it were available in 1 and 3.5 gallon sizes and it would be a perfect product.

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

great stuff

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

Make sure you use the recommended trowl size to get the most sq ft out of each bucket. Its not cheap and u dont wanna go back to get another 5 gallon bucket just to finish a small area.

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

Look at flooring installation tutorials before using this adhesive. You'll save yourself grief, time and materials by knowing how to properly flow the adhesive from the can to the work surface and how to run the trowel. Have plenty of mineral spirits on hand to deal with the residues. This stuff is a good product but is thin and sticky and you have to understand the tricks to working with it.

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

We had to use a thicker coat since it was going down on a sub floor. I had to buy 3 more gallons of this glue

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

I love my new floors!!!!!!

Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

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Comments about Mapei 980 5 Gallon Adhesive:

Very messy and leaves marks all over floor if not wiped immediately with a lot of mineral spirits! If any is left to dry it is very hard to get off! Of several products including those made by Mapei, Goo-b-gone and a lot of elbow grease worked best on dried glue!!!