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How to Lay Asian Vitrified Tiles |
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Introduction : |
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The floors at homes or at offices or any other places survive “Rough” times. You want them to look good, but at the same time expect them to withstand furniture being dumped on them (and moved around) and to act as a general purpose surface on which to live, work, dance, play and generally move around. Use and Abuse floors and yet they must look new after years. |
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Precautions : |
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Always pave (Lay) the floor tiles with gaps by using spacer this will ensure a durable and stable floor. |
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While working out the number of tiles required for covering a particular floor, always remember to add 5% for breakage and wastage. |
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If the area to be tiles is subject to excessive wet conditions, it is advisable to waterproof and treat the surface before commenting fixing of tiles. |
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After the tiling is completed, leave the floor untouched for 24 hours at least for the mortar bed to dry completely. The proceed to fill the joints between the tiles. |
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Prepare for Tiling : |
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Tools and Equipments |
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Tile Snapper or Tile Cutting Machine- Special tile cutting equipment |
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Tile Saw : for cutting awkward shapes out of tiles |
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Abrasive Paper or Tile File : For smoothing the cut edge of tiles |
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Spirit Level : For checking the slope on the floors. |
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Chalk Line : to mark the center lines on the floors. |
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Straight Edge : For guiding the cutters and trimming knives when cutting tiles |
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Steel Tapes measures : For measuring up do not use a cloth tape measure. |
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Gauge Stick : A wooden stick sawn and leveled, use for setting out tiles. |
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Estimate And Setting Out : |
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In order to workout how many tiles you need to cover a particular floor, you need to know the area (Sq. Ft./ Sq. Mtr) that you want to cover. This can be calculated simply by multiplying the width by length Divide this area by the area of one tile to give you the number of tiles needed. To this you add 5% to allow for breakage and wastage.
Always plan the layout of tiles. Floor tiles can be laid out “DRY”- that is without adhesive to check to layout. |
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Preparing the surfaces :
The two critical factors that determine tiling are : |
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The surface to be tiles should be flat or levelled/ slope as desired. |
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The surface should be sound, dry and clean of dirt an/ or oil. |
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Depending on whether the area is subject to excessive we conditions and/ or frequent water sponge, it will be advisable to waterproof and treat the surface before commencing fixing of tiles.
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Application of Tiles |
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Preparing Floor for Tiling :
Floor tile need a dry flat surface and ideally concrete or existing mosaic tile floor when chemical adhesive is used. The surface on which tiles are to be fixed should be fine, smooth and free form dirt and dust particles to avoid contamination.
Setting Out :
Whatever pattern you have chosen, the first thing to do will be to find the centre of the room, which is where floor tiling always starts. To fine the centre of the room, first find the centre points of the two longest walls. Fix a chalk line between these at the floor level and snap it down on the floor. Now measure the centre point of the line and fix chalk line between the two shorter wall passes through.
Laying Vitrified tiles with Adhesive
Vitrified tiles can be laid on bed of adhesive.
Take the measurement of tiles and cut accordingly, then fix them.
The main body of the whole Tiles- known as the “ Field”- is fixed starting from the centre of the room and the adhesive is allowed to dry. Then the border or edge tiles are fitted.
ASIAN logo has been provided on the back of the tiles which needs to be followed in same direction while laying, for overall uniformity of the floor.
Start spreading tiling adhesive on the floor. Lay around 2 Sq. Mtr. Of adhesive at a time and press the tiles into place.
Check that the line of the tiles are straight. Allow 24 hours for the adhesive to set before cutting and fitting the edge tiles. Please note that you should not walk on the tiles during this time.
Wipe off the extra adhesive ( Before it sets hard) with a damp sponge and polish with a dry cloth.
Note :
In case cement is used instead of chemical adhesive , the following instruction have to be followed.
For the new floors the mortar bed should be 4:1 (Sand: Cement) proportion by volume.
Recommended thickness of mortar bed for a new floor is 25 mm. To 40 mm and on old mosaic floors or existing cement floors, half inch (12mm) is sufficient.
Whenever required, slope for water drainage should be given at the time of preparing the mortar bed, before laying the tiles.
Before fixing the tiles, the screed to be spread with thin layer of cement slurry or chemical adhesive, sufficient to cover grooves to have better grip and strength and also to avoid air pockets.
Tiles so placed on the mortar bed should be gently tapped to ensure total mortar contact.
Bedding material between the joints should be cleaned with a brush before drying. Thereafter allow few hours for mortar compound to set.
Before fixing, the tile should be mixed from separate boxes to have random blending and to avoid obvious patches, shade. Size variation which is an inherent character of tiles.
While purchasing the tiles, make sure all the boxes of tile taken are of the same batch. lot number to ensure minimum shade/size variation. |
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Advantage of Paving Tiles with Gaps |
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Many people pave the tiles without gaps for good appearance. However, figures indicate that the expansion and shrinkage parameter between bas layer, paving layer and tile body are quite different. The tile paved without gaps, when exposed to climatic changes from very hot to very cold of vice-versa, for 1-2 years develop cracks and plump. In this case, the cost of repaving is 4 times of the first paving.
To ensure the long life of tiles, we suggest all clients to use spacers and maintain uniform gaps between tiles. These gaps can be filled with a material called grout which is available in different colours.
Saving Tiles
When the gap (size of spacers) is 1-3 mm, it can save 3% material.
Avoid Cutting
It is convenient to adjust the distance between tiles according to the floor area so that the whole tile can be used in the corner.
Asthetic Look
When the paving tile different colours and patterns for a mosaic effect, the gaps can make the joints between tiles look more natural.
Avoids Distrotion, Plump and Cracking
The tiles due to different parameters of expansion and shrinkage of tiles and the floor.
Grouting of Asian Vitrified Tiles
Before proceeding to fill the spaces between the tiles, the mortar bed must be completely dry. This means that after the tiling is completed for the entire floor, it should be left untouched at least for 24 hours. Grouting can be easily done by following these steps.
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Use only good quality ready made grout available in the market. Add water (solution, if provided with the grout) to the grout little by little until a thick pasty consistency is obtained. |
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Extend the paste over the floor tile with the help of a rubber spreader, pressing down firmly over the joints to ensure that they are properly filled. |
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After filling the gaps over a surface area of 30 to 40 Sq. Mtr, remove all excess grouting using a rubber spatula and sprinkling quartz sand. Wait for 5 minutes until the sand has begun to dry. |
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When the sand starts to to “pull”, use a dry cloth to rub over the floor tiles with a circular motion so as not to damage the joints. |
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Once the whole surface is grouted and dry, clean the floor tiles with a descaling agent. |
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Following this simple process, we will leave the floor tile grouted and practically cleaned. |
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