Important things to consider while laying of tiles

You prefer durable and good looking vitrified tile flooring for your home; therefore you always select quality tiles for the flooring. There are thousands of color and design options available to choose in vitrified tile, which is considered to be good water and abrasion resistant. Despite of selecting right type of tiles for your flooring, you often face various problems after installation. It is mainly because of improper laying of tiles. Following general problems may occur if laying of vitrified tiles not done properly.

• Providing improper slope and level will allow water to accumulate on the floor.
Improper filling of tile joints not only weaken the flooring surface but may lead to injury due to sharp tile edges.


Fixing tile on an uneven surface or tiles not properly glued with adhesive tend to break due to movement on the floor.


It will give shabby look as well as allow dust to settle down if joints are not sealed firmly.

 

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Vitrified tiles Installation check list         

Workout the total area and procure at least 7% additional tiles considering wastage.


Tile base concrete surface should be well cleaned, free from dust and other foreign particles.


Vitrified tiles sub-base should be well compacted and firm to take the load as supple flooring may damage tile early due to traffic movement.


Ideally slope should be maintained in sub-base if vitrified tiles are installed directly on the hard concrete floor using adhesives.

Complete painting and plastering work to be done before laying the floor tiles.

Use spirit level to fix the tile and make sure that all tiles are properly levelled.

Level the flooring before laying vitrified tiles and ensure proper slope towards drain points and keep sufficient space below door and flooring to swing it freely.

Before you allow traffic movement on floor, at least give 24 hours time to get it cured properly. If you start movement earlier, it will damage tile flooring resulting in an uneven surface.

Pieces of tiles wherever required should be placed towards wall side to avoid sharp edges in the middle of the flooring.

Use rubber or plastic spacer to maintain the tiles evenness and grouping.

Material/grout should be mixed properly and poured well within the setting time recommended by the manufacturer.

Excess grout in joints should be removed using trowel and grout material on tile surface should be cleaned with sponge.

After laying of vitrified tiles it must be tapped with metal rod if you hear hollow sound then replace the tile with new one.

Tile should be cut properly in single score; many score may lead tile to crack and uneven finish

You must adhere to above mentioned check list to achieve great looking flooring. It is also recommended to hire skilled and trained manpower to carry out installation for tile flooring job.

You can also read my previous post on

how to prevent surface cracks in concrete floor