After the decision to update the appearance of your bathroomand making an estimate, many begin to look for ways to save money. High-quality ceramic tiles for floors and walls are always expensive, and after all, the repair of bathrooms does not end there. Often replacements require pipes and plumbing. And the cost of work is equivalent to the cost of the material. It becomes more and more difficult to meet your estimate without loss of quality of materials, and you don’t want to save on the appearance of your home! In addition, the tile is very practical and decorative. Sometimes, to update a design in any room or to add decor, it is enough to tile a very small area. In this case, you can do without the help of experts and independently perform the laying work. Next, consider in detail how to lay tiles on the floor, and deal with all the nuances of obtaining high-quality coverage.
Marking tiles
New ceramic floor starts with the right onetile selection. Today there are a lot of suggestions for choosing tiles on the floor in the bathroom, hallway, kitchen, dining room and even in the bedroom. The design of the floor tile is so diverse and unique that it is capable of surprisingly harmoniously fitting into the interior for every taste. But there are moments that are worth paying special attention to when choosing a floor tile.
The correct choice depends primarily on the purpose of the room in which the tile floor will be laid. Its main characteristics are contained in the marking of the tile located on the package.
For example, if the floor tile is needed in the officeroom, you should pay attention to its durability. On the package it is marked with the foot on the shaded background. If the tile is planned to be laid out on the street at the entrance to the building, then in addition to the wear resistance, it is necessary to provide for the frost resistance of the tile marked with a snowflake on the package. The thickness of the tile on the floor is also important for the strength of the material. But if the packaging depicts hands, then this tile is suitable only for walls.
Tiles also vary in grades and are labeled.on the package in the appropriate colors. So, red color corresponds to the first grade, blue - to the second, green - to the third. The quality of the tile can be judged on the basis of these indicators.
Of course, you should not forget to check the tile for an elementary defect of production or damage during transportation, from which no one is insured.
Choice of tile design
In terms of design, the buyer is difficultadvise, because everyone has their own interior and idea of the beautiful, and consultants at points of sale will always be prompted based on the specific wishes of the client. But still there are some criteria that are at the heart of any interior. So, if the room is small in size, then you should use light colors that visually enlarge the space. For tiles, imitation of marble or natural stone will be successful. In the corridor dark shades with parquet modeling will look better. And the kitchen looks great floor, supporting the style of furniture and its color shades.
Tools for work
The first thing you need to decide on the tool that you need to perform styling:
- building level;
- Master OK;
- crosses;
- notched trowel;
- tile trimming tool;
- rubber spatula.
Tile trimming
Usually when laying tile tile trimming is required.For this, it is recommended to use a special tool - tile cutter. It is enough to hold a soft pencil on the glossy side of the tile, place the tile cutter on the drawn line and hold it once, as the tile will be cut. But when laying tiles on the floor with their own hands, not everyone has at their disposal a similar tool. You can replace it with a grinder. If it is not at hand, you can use a glass cutter or even an ordinary drill from a perforator with a pointy tip, which with the help of a ruler is held several times on the marked mark for cutting. Then, tapping a little on this place, break off the tile. But for a thick tile, this method is hardly acceptable.
Preparation for laying tiles on the floor
Before starting the installation, thorough surface preparation should be carried out
It is necessary to achieve a smooth base floor.Only minor irregularities can be leveled using a layer of glue on the floor. All protrusions should be eliminated, and damaged areas should be fixed. If cracks or cracks are found on the surface, they are filled with mortar. There are also special mixtures for cracks that have worked well.
It is worth paying attention to the height of the floor afterstyling. After all, if the tile is laid on that part of the floor where it did not exist before, the base will rise to the height of the tile along with the adhesive layer. Such changes in the level of the floor are often accompanied by the emergence of uncomfortable thresholds or become a barrier to opening doors. Solving such a problem is not easy, as it will either require raising the level of the doors, or cutting off the screed and bringing the tiles to the level of the floor. But here, too, there may be nuances, since it is not always known what the base of the floor will be. In many such cases, the best solution would be to abandon the laying of the tile on the floor and replace it with another floor covering.
It happens that the old screed becomes completelyunsuitable for further use. It may have deep cracks that have spread over a large area. The floor becomes unstable and is subject to complete dismantling, since any coating will not serve on such a basis.
Laying is made only on a clean basis. Even particles of dust and sand can degrade the adhesion of the tile to the surface. Any stains must also be removed.
Laying tiles on the finished coating
There are times when tiles are laid on finisheda coating that was impossible to remove. This could be linoleum, tile or another base. Of course, the best basis for the tile will be cleared concrete pavement, but in difficult situations it is possible to apply notches on the old floor, and you can proceed with the installation. The only unequivocal requirement is a clean, durable and immovable surface.
Preparation of wooden base
It is believed that the wooden base is nota good solution for laying tiles on the floor. After all, as you know, the base should be strong and motionless, and wooden boards tend to sag. In addition, the laid tile will have considerable weight. Considering also the weight of furniture and occupants, wooden floor must be very durable to withstand such a load. If the strength of the floor there is no doubt, then you can proceed to the preparation of its surface.
First you need to fill all the gaps between the boards.assembly foam. After the base must be primed. Due to the nature of the natural material, it is better to treat wood with special mastic, which will save it from moisture and prevent the material from expanding and contracting when the temperature changes. After all, what kind of tile on the floor will hold, if the base will change in size?
The next step will be a screed on a woodensurface. The foundation should be covered with reinforced mesh and pour self-leveling mixture for wooden substrates. You can make the mixture yourself in the following proportions: add 1 parts of sand and the same amount of liquid glass to 1 part of water. After curing, you can proceed to laying tiles.
Surface primer
Перед началом укладки основание следует progrunt The primer penetrates deep into the pores of the surface and strengthens it. After priming, the base has a crystal lattice into which any material penetrates well: plaster, putty, and glue for tiles. It also helps to reduce the amount of glue used when laying tiles on the floor. Therefore, its use is absolutely advisable from any side. Also, the adhesion of the tile with glue will be better if you pre-wet the tile in water.
How to lay tiles on the floor: laying technology
Before laying it is recommended to put onthe floor is the first few tiles to see the laying area and provide for possible nuances. This is especially important if the floor provides a pattern of tiles. Next begins laying with a corner of the room. It should be noted that if the angle from which the laying of the tile begins is lower than the other corners, then by its level it will not be possible to lay a flat surface in the future, and protruding places will have to be combed. Such significant drops in the base should be removed at the stage of preparation for laying. But even after its completion, it is possible to achieve a perfectly flat surface only with the help of self-leveling mixtures. With a slight difference in the level of the base, you should start laying from the angle that is higher than the others in the room.
In this corner are several tiles laid out.cleaned, and in their place is applied glue trowel. A large area should not be covered, but limited to about 3 floor tiles. Next, with the help of a notched trowel, the excess glue is removed and the first tile is placed in the corner of the room. The tile should be slightly flattened, slightly scrolling for shrinking and filling the entire area with glue, and level it. It is very important to expose the first tile extremely accurately, as it will serve as a guideline for setting the level throughout the floor. Further the next tile is laid in a similar way, but its level is set based on the level of the first tile. Check the construction level should be in length, width and diagonal of both tiles. The level should lie smoothly and without gaps on both tiles in all directions. Below is a photo of the tile on the floor at the beginning of installation.
To form the same distance betweentiles use special construction crosses that help to monitor the smooth laying of tiles. After reaching the desired level, crosses are inserted between the tiles and remain there until the glue dries.
Further, glue is also applied to the surface nearlaid tiles Excess glue is also removed with a notched trowel, and the tile is exposed to the building level, taking into account the adjacent laid tiles. In the case of glue on the surface of the tile, it should be immediately wiped with a rag, preventing it from drying out. Otherwise, it will be much more difficult to remove. And on rough surfaces it often becomes impossible, and the tile initially loses in appearance.
After 8-10 hours it is recommended to pull out the crosses and clean the joints between the tiles, otherwise it will be impossible to do this afterwards. Clean seams should go through a quality grout.
Tile Grout
Затирка продается в сухом порошкообразном виде.It is carefully diluted with water to obtain a plastic pasty state. The best tool for mashing joints is a rubber spatula, rubbing the finished grout in them 2-3 times until the seam is completely clogged. It is desirable that after rubbing there are no voids left between the tiles. Further reliability and durability of the grout depends on it during operation, especially with tiles on the floor. It is very important to remove excess grout shortly before hardening. Otherwise, wiping it will be very difficult, and sometimes impossible because of the texture of the tile.
Styling tips
For better adhesion between the tile and the surface, experts advise making a cut, which will help keep the tile.
At the glue preparation stage it is recommendedfirst pour water, and then add the mixture to it. It is possible to use cement mortar instead of glue in order to save, but the quality will definitely suffer. Not worth the risk with flooring.
Crosses of 2 mm thickness are considered optimal.
When trimming a tile with a grinder, it is recommended to use diamond chips to get the lightest and best-quality cuts.
Плитка действительно относится к одним из самых practical, reliable and unpretentious coatings, but only subject to the rules of installation. Consider the above tips and instructions, and the floor tile will be able to demonstrate all its advantages for a very long time even when self-laying.
