Material guide
Gluing Concrete
Floors, paths, steps, lintels and cast concrete items.
Also called cement, concrete floor, screed.
How Concrete behaves when you bond it
Porous and strongly alkaline, and both matter: the surface is usually dusty and weak until it is brushed or ground back to sound material. New concrete also holds moisture for months, which several adhesive chemistries object to.
Concrete is a porous alkaline cementitious composite. Laitance, curing compound, release oil, moisture and weak surface paste can prevent a durable bond even when the bulk concrete is strong.
Material properties
- Surface energy
- High, which helps adhesion
- Porosity
- Porous
- Rigidity
- Rigid
- Maximum service temperature
- 200C
- Normally needs abrading
- Yes
- Normally needs a primer
- No
- Requires surface treatment
- (3M structural-adhesive guidance requires removal of laitance, grime and weak concrete and recommends mechanical pretreatment wherever practicable.) Manufacturer verified
Surface preparation
Expose sound concrete by removing laitance, coatings, curing compound, grime and weak material. The 3M structural-adhesive bulletin ranks mechanical scarification or blasting above acid etching for its process and requires dust removal and thorough drying. Check moisture limits before selecting the adhesive.
Which adhesives work on Concrete
Excellent
Two-part epoxy
Two-part epoxy is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Abrade the surface first.
Good
Grab adhesive, no-nails
Grab adhesive, no-nails is rated good for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Abrade the surface first.
Good
MS polymer
MS polymer is rated good for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Abrade the surface first.
Bonding Concrete to something else
Aluminium to Concrete
Concrete to Concrete
Mild steel to Concrete
Concrete to Natural stone
Pine to Concrete
uPVC to Concrete
Last reviewed 8 October 2026.