Decorating and tiling is a necessary task for every homeowner before renovation. However, due to the fact that most homeowners have little knowledge about ceramic tiles and are unable to supervise the workers who put them on, violations of regulations often occur, posing a hidden danger to decoration and causing inconvenience to future life. Therefore, today we will bring you an explanation of the tile laying process. With this knowledge, tiling is not as difficult as imagined. Even tiling masters have to obediently listen to you and never dare to fight you again.

Q1: Why is it necessary to leave gaps when tiling tiles? Can we leave no seams?

When laying tiles, it is necessary to leave gaps, regardless of whether the tiles belong to "seamless tiles" or "round edge tiles"! The main reasons are as follows:

1) Ceramic tiles have thermal expansion and contraction problems: Both ceramic tiles and the cement mortar used to paste them will have thermal expansion and contraction problems. During temperature or moderate changes, ceramic tiles and cement mortar will have certain expansion and contraction. If no joints are left, it will cause ceramic tiles to bulge or crack during later use

2) Ceramic tiles have errors: Although ceramic tiles are now produced mechanically, there may be certain dimensional errors during the product production process (if the error is too large, it belongs to the quality problem of the product). If no joints are left, it is easy to have uneven joints during tile laying, which affects the appearance of the tiles.

3) There are errors in the construction process of the workers: The laying of tiles is a highly skilled construction project, and workers cannot completely ensure that every tile is laid without errors during the entire laying process. The effect of tiles laid in different situations, such as when workers are in a bad mood, day and night, will vary. If no joints are left, it is also difficult to ensure the flatness of the tile joints, which affects the laying of tiles without concern!

Q2: When is the best time for tile laying and jointing?

It is generally advisable to perform jointing treatment on ceramic tiles after they have dried and solidified. If the tiles are not completely dried before jointing, the main problems that may occur are: first, uneven height of the tiles; second, looseness of the tiles, which can easily cause them to fall off during later use; Generally speaking, it is better to compare the time for jointing after 24 hours of tile laying.

When jointing tiles, the first step is to clean the dust and impurities in the tile joints, and then squeeze and fill the jointing agent into the tile joints. When filling, be sure to squeeze and fill it fully. After jointing, clean the jointing material on the tile surface in a timely manner!

Q3: Do I need to soak the vitrified tiles in water before laying them?

Due to the water absorption rate of vitrified tiles being less than 0.5%, it is basically equivalent to not absorbing water, so there is no difference between soaking in water and not soaking in water! When laying vitrified tiles, there is no need to soak them in water, they can be laid directly!

Q4: What issues should be noted when using wet laying method for floor tiles?

Simply put, wet laying of floor tiles refers to applying cement mortar directly onto the leveling layer of the ground after covering the back of the tiles. In this case, there are two issues that need special attention: first, the flatness of the ground needs to be noted. If the flatness error is large, the ground needs to be leveled. Second, in order to increase the bonding strength, it is best to chisel the ground (in this case, attention should be paid to the thickness of the floor slab and underground pipelines to prevent damage to the underground pipelines and floor slab) or roughen the ground to increase the contact area between the tiles and the ground, and to increase the firmness of tile laying. It is recommended to use roughening treatment.

Q5: How to deal with the tiles on the original floor?

Generally speaking, the treatment method is to smash the original floor tiles. After smashing, the base layer of the original floor tiles (cement mortar and dry ash layer) needs to be cleaned, and then the tiles can be re laid.

Q6: How to design the layout plan for living room floor tiles?

1. Entrance door: When designing the tile arrangement plan, the tiles are arranged from both sides starting from the center of the entrance door as the reference line.

2. Corridor: Starting from the centerline of the corridor, lay it on both sides.

3. The length and width of the living room: For the long or wide edges of the living room, it is best to arrange the tiles as a whole. If there is a situation where non whole tiles form a row, the width of the non whole row of tiles should be greater than half of the width of the tiles.

Q7: Should we lay floor tiles or wall tiles first for the kitchen and bathroom?

It is possible to lay wall tiles first or both tiles first. The key is to pay attention to two issues: first, whether it is conducive to protecting the projects that were constructed earlier; The second is whether it is conducive to a reasonable installation and construction schedule. The practice of decoration companies or construction parties is generally to first lay wall tiles, then lay floor tiles, and after laying wall tiles, lay floor tiles, which will not affect the wall tiles and will not delay the construction period.

Q8: Can the kitchen and bathroom directly lay tiles on the existing tiles?

If it is wall tiles, it is generally not recommended to do so. The original wall surface, due to the tiling of tiles, has a relatively smooth surface. Directly tiling the tiles will result in insufficient bonding force, which can easily cause the tiles to loosen and fall off. The installed cabinets, hardware, mirrors, and other items are prone to falling off, causing accidents in the case.

If it is floor tiles, this method is possible. There are two methods of operation, one is to lay with cement mortar, and the other is to directly use specialized tile adhesive for laying. The former has a relatively greater impact on the height of space, while the latter has a relatively smaller impact. The main issues to consider when directly laying tiles on kitchen and bathroom floor tiles are: the newly laid tiles will increase the height of the tiles, and how to coordinate with the non integral shape of the door when the height increases.

Q9: Can the wardrobe area near the balcony wall not be tiled?

This approach is feasible. During construction, the main focus is on treating the base layer of the wall and leveling the wall surface.

Q10: How does the transition between tiles and flooring occur?

Choosing floor tiles for the living room and wooden flooring for the bedroom is a common practice, and the connection between them is usually achieved by adding metal buckle strips and using different colored stones or tiles!

Q11: How to handle the external corners of ceramic tile paving well?

In space, the protruding corners are the positive corners, and the concave corners are the negative corners.

The two common methods for handling the corners of tiles during the laying process are:

1. When using corner wires to treat corners, the construction is relatively simple and convenient. However, it should be noted that PVC material is the most commonly used corner wire on the market. After a long time, this material is prone to yellowing, which affects its appearance. This should be the main reason why people often use it. In addition, there is also a new type of aluminum alloy corner wire in the market that is not easily discolored;

2. The tiles on both sides of the sunny corner are treated with a 45 degree inverted angle on one side and the back. The advantage of this treatment is that it can effectively make the overall wall more coordinated and unified. However, during the construction process, when cutting the back of the tiles at a 45 degree angle, do not pour them too thin, as this can easily damage the glaze layer on the surface of the tiles and lead to tile cracking at the external corner joints in the later stage.

Q12: Can floor tiles be used as door stones?

It is completely possible, this practice is very common. Generally speaking, the entrance stones are mainly dark in color, mainly to distinguish different functional areas.

Q13: Is it good to lay floor tiles in winter? Are ceramic tiles laid in winter prone to arching in summer?

If the temperature is too low in winter, the solidification cycle of cement mortar is long, which can easily cause tile hollowing and loosening. Generally, if the indoor temperature is below 5 degrees Celsius, it is not suitable to lay tiles. If there is heating indoors, it has little effect on laying tiles.

Generally speaking, the main causes of tile arching are the lack of gaps or narrow gaps during tile installation, as well as hollowing during tile installation, and are not directly related to whether it is winter installation. In addition, for laying ceramic tiles in winter, it is recommended to:

1. Place ceramic tiles indoors for two to three days to fully adapt to the indoor temperature;

2. The room temperature is preferably above 5 degrees Celsius to avoid affecting the firmness of tile adhesion;

3. Ceramic tiles are laid with gaps;

4. Do not walk or step on the tile surface before it has dried and solidified;

5. After tiling, conduct acceptance inspection to check for any hollowing issues.

Q14: What type of sand is more suitable for laying ceramic tiles?

The laying of wall tiles and floor tiles generally uses river sand, and medium sand can be selected. The sand selected for wall tiles and floor tiles is the same, using medium sand from river sand. When laying wall tiles and floor tiles, there may be some differences in the cement ratio. Generally, for laying floor tiles, it is recommended that the cement sand ratio be 1:2.5, which is more suitable. When laying wall tiles, the cement sand ratio should be 1:3. When laying wall tiles, it is recommended that the cement content is not too high, otherwise it will cause the tiles to crack during later use!

Q15: Can laying charcoal under floor tiles purify the air?

Charcoal is an adsorbent that can indeed effectively adsorb some pollutants in the air. However, after laying tiles, the tiles and the sofa mortar layer under them will seal and isolate the charcoal from the indoor air, greatly reducing the adsorption effect! At the same time, after laying charcoal on the surface, the firmness of the bonding between the charcoal layer and the ground, as well as the precision of the bonding between the cement mortar and the charcoal layer, are all difficulties in construction!

We suggest that you do not need to use this construction method. If you want to purify the air, you can purchase some air purification equipment or treat air pollution in the later stage.

Q16: Can the bathroom be directly tiled without waterproofing?

Waterproofing of bathroom walls is a standard requirement and must be carried out as a construction project. Without waterproofing, it will not only cause damage to the outer walls, floors, wooden doors, and other items of one's own bathroom, but also affect the downstairs area.

Q17: Can the ceramic tiles be firmly attached to the bathroom wall after being coated with waterproof paint?

The basic construction process for laying wall tiles is: leveling the wall base layer - waterproofing the wall (brushing waterproof coating) - wall roughening - laying tiles. If tiles are directly laid after applying waterproof coating, it is easy to cause tiles to fall off in the later stage. Various materials installed on tiles in kitchens and bathrooms (including cabinets, range hoods, showerheads, water heaters, mirrors, etc.) can easily cause safety accidents such as falling of installation objects. Therefore, it is necessary to first roughen the wall before laying tiles

The method of treating wall roughening is to use cement mortar or cement mortar (with a sand content not too high) to treat the wall into a high and low undulating sawtooth shaped bonding layer. After the wall is roughened, the surface area of the wall is increased, which can effectively increase the contact area between the tiles and the wall, thereby effectively increasing the bonding strength between the tiles and the wall.

Q18: How can we ensure that the vitrified tiles do not crack when drilling holes on the wall?

1. Check for hollowing. During the process of drilling holes in ceramic tiles, if the hollowing happens to occur, it is easy to crack the tiles;

2. Find skilled workers to operate. If not operated by skilled workers, uneven drilling force and poor control of impact drills can easily crack tiles, so it is best to seek skilled workers for operation;

3. During the punching process, spray water at the punching location for treatment. During the drilling process, the local temperature at the drilling site of the impact drill will increase sharply, leading to the cracking of the ceramic tiles. So during the punching process, it is best to spray water on the punching area and cool it down.

Q19: What is the reasonable normal loss of ceramic tiles?

There is no unified standard for the loss of tiles, and the amount of tile loss is mainly related to the following aspects:

1. The tiling scheme is related, depending on whether the tiles are laid straight or diamond shaped. Relatively speaking, diamond shaped tiling will be more brick intensive than direct tiling.

2. The shape of the wall is related. The more regular the wall, the smaller the loss of tiles. The more corners there are on the wall, and the larger the size of windows and doors and the proportion of tiles, the greater the loss of tiles;

3. The level of proficiency of workers is related. The higher the level of workers, the smaller the loss, and conversely, the greater the loss! Generally speaking, the normal loss of ceramic tiles is around 5%, which needs to be considered comprehensively based on the first and second points mentioned above. It is generally recommended to have a loss of around 5% when purchasing ceramic tiles.