Ceramic Tile
World Class Ceramic Tiles- a New Millennium Trend to Make
History of ceramic tiles
The word ‘ceramic’ comes from the Greek word ‘keramos’ meaning pottery. Ceramic is related to an old Sanskrit root meaning ‘to burn’ but was basically used to mean ‘burnt stuff’. Ceramic tiles have been made by human being four thousand years earlier. The Latin meaning of ceramic tile is a roof tile of baked clay. Ceramic tiles are found first in the pyramids, the ruins of Babylon, and ancient ruins of Greek cities. Ceramic tiles are the oldest flooring material known to human being.
About Tiles
Ceramic tiles come in various range of sizes, shapes, design, shades and patterns. These tiles are an elegant and stylish substance whose true origins remain unknown. Ceramic tiles comes in numerous colors and is so tough and durable, it could actually last as long as your home. Ceramic tiles can be installed anywhere in your home such as in bathrooms, floors, walls, kitchens etc. But ceramics are commonly used for flooring and walling of kitchens and bathrooms. The best quality of ceramic tiles has been found on the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. Ceramic tiles are basically a combination of different kinds of clays that have been mixed with water, designed, shaped and then fired in special kilns. Ceramic tiles are basically a flame broiled mud.
Sophisticated, stylish and so easy to maintain, ceramic tiles is now becoming a famous design choice. From the elegance of realistically textured stone and marble-looks, these tiles are increasingly chosen as an economic and attractive flooring option. Nowadays, Italian style ceramic tiles are becoming famous all over the world. Ceramic tiles available online also. You can easily get ceramic tiles of your need. When choosing ceramic tiles for your own home from online flooring websites opt the most appropriate material which suits your home. These tiles are perfect selection to fulfill your creative visions. Ceramic tiles are almost very attractive to endure the grease and steam a kitchen can floor out. Your home is a very special place for you.To decorates your home with ceramic tiles so that it can look attractive, and comfortable is a good idea. Ceramic tiles are available online with the materials you require to make your home or business place the best it can be. Ceramic tiles offers timeless beauty and the benefit of being easy to clean.
About the Author
Icon Tiles leading supplier of bathroom wall tiles, kitchen wall tiles, floor tiles, wall tiles, ceramic tiles, bathroom tiles, kitchen tiles. Order the latest rang of Ceramic tiles, kitchen wall tiles, floor tiles, wall tiles, ceramic tiles, bathroom tiles, kitchen tiles direct to your door. for more detail visit: www.iconbathroomtiles.co.uk and seo services
How to install ceramic wall tile?
New handyman project involves putting ceramic tile on bathroom walls. Never tried this before. Any tips or suggestions? What about a web site with do it yourself directions?
Are you looking for the easy way or the hard way? The hard way would be to follow AEN's instructions. That definitely will produce a tile wall that will last forever and a day. Do you really need that though? Most bathrooms become obsolete in design within 25-30 years. If I install a tile wall and it lasts that long I, and my customers, are more than satisfied. Durock is a fabulous substrate, but very difficult to work with. I would recommend either 1/2 in hardibacker or vinyl covered drywall made for tile underlayment. Both are easier to work with and less flexible when laying on 16 in supports. The Hardibacker is available from any Home Depot or similar outlet. The vinyl covered drywall which is the easiest to work with, is more difficult to find. You have to go to a professional tile outlet to find it. Both products offer installation guarantees that will pay for replacement should they fail, if you follow the installation instructions. Although cement based mortar makes a fabulous cement, it also is difficult to use. I simply use a mastic that comes in a can. They make 2 types, a long setting and a fast setting. The long setting is my favorite as you can spread it on the wall and tile 25-30 sq/ft before it starts to dry. You need to let the tile set and grout the next day. The quick setting type will allow you to do a complete tile job in a day as you can grout it within an hour of setting the tile. You can only spread enough mastic that you can cover in 15-20 minutes as it starts to skin over very quickly. Both mastics will allow you to set tile without anchoring a straight-edge to the wall. Now the important part,,,, the layout. I prefer to run the tile edging pieces down the side of the tub to the floor. This makes the side walls relatively straight forward. You stick a level on the side of the tub, move it over a tiny bit, and draw a dark pencil line vertically up the wall to the rough height of the finished tile. You go to the other side and repeat. The only exception would be if when dryfitting the tiles you discover that the cuts on the corners are less than 1 1/2 inches. I will usually then shift the line over 1 1/2 inches to make it easier. The 5' long wall is a little trickier. First you find the center and draw a short line. Then you hand fit the tiles(no glue) across the wall to see how big the corner cuts will be. You have 2 choices here either set the tile with the edge on the line or the center of a tile on the line. Both ways will give you an even cut on the edges. Usually one works easier than the other. Dryfit the tiles across the wall and make a choice. I do not like little cuts(less than 1 1/2 inches) as they are difficult to make and need a saw. Once the choice is made draw a dark line up the wall with a sharp pencil. That will give you all of your verticle reference lines. Next is your horizontal line. Run a level around your tub to see if it is level. If it is, I simply dryfit the tiles about 4-5 high(I hate bending over to see it as I go) make a mark, raise it about 1/8-3/16 and draw a pencil line with the level around the tub. If it isn't level, I'll find the high spot and do my layout from there without adding the 1/8-3/16 so the tile will be tight to the tub at the high point. I prefer not cutting the bottom row unless your tub is more than 1/4 out of level. I'll then dry stack tiles up from the level line to find out where the top row will end and make another line. You are now ready to set the tile. I do one wall at a time spreading the glue making sure to pull the trowel across your reference lines(so you can still see them) and start laying tile from the reference lines up. You as a rookie may want to do 1/2 the wall or less at a time as you'll probably be a little slower. Just make sure the glue doesn't skim over. If it does simply scrape it off, toss it, and spread some more. The key here is to firmly push the tile on the wall and wiggle it a little as you do. You want to make sure you get them set well in the glue. A glue transfer of at least 75% to the back of the tile is recommended. Continue until all of the field tile is set. Any cuts necessary can be made with a simple tile cutter and tile nippers, except the faucet and shower spout holes. For stem faucets and shower outlets I use a hole saw designed for drilling tile. They cost about $20 and usually drill about 100 holes before wearing out so you'll have it(If you can find it) when you do your next tile job. For the large single lever faucets I use tile nippers or a saw. Nippers also cost about $20 and last forever and are my preference. They take a litle practice but work just fine once you figure them out. The key is to use a sharpie to mark your cut-line, score a cut on the tile cutter from point to point, remove the major section, then carefully nibble out little amounts until you get to your finished line. Be careful with the nibbled pieces as they can easily scratch the tub. Clean them up from inside the tub as you go being extremely careful not to step on them. Figure on a few extra tiles to practice on. You can buy both of these tools for less than you'll pay for a saw rental. I've done 100's of tubs and seldom had to use a saw. I then set the border tiles starting from the top outside corners and working all the way around the tub. I prefer to hand butter these rather than spread the glue on the wall because it is less messy and allows you to tile a wall without getting glue where you don't want it. That was simple wasn't it? You let them set until the next day. Now your ready to grout. 1st I check to make sure that the tile faces and joints are clean. If not, use a razor knife to scrape out any excess glue from the joints and a tile sponge to clean the faces. Use unsanded grout and spread the grout as recommended earlier, across the joints at a 45, rather than in the the same direction. The idea here, is to make sure you push the grout into the joints, completely filling them. and scraping off as much as possible from the face. Stay away from both the inside corners and the bottom tub joint with the grout. You'll want to fill these areas with caulking rather than grout. Keep them clean as you grout rather than later as it's easier. I do one wall at a time starting from the bottom and working up. By the time you reach the top it is usually ready to wipe down with a sponge. The grout needs to set up for at least 15-20 minutes. I prefer a slight recess to my grout rather than flush as it usually looks better. Most tiles have a slight rounded edge. Where the rounded edge starts is where I like my grout depth to wind up. Be careful to not wipe out below that point as you'll get below the glazed area of the tile and cause water problems later. The previous warnings about cement definitely apply here. Use rubber gloves! Your wife/girlfriend/mistresses and your hands will definitely thank you for this. I will fill a 5 gallon bucket with clean water and start wiping. For my first wiping I will allow the sponge to do the work simply going across the joints at a 45 until all of the excess grout is removed from face of the tile rarely rinsing the sponge. This will allow the grout picked up in the sponge to fill any small holes. Let the grout set for a few minutes and then wipe it again this time going with the joints to get the grout to the final depth, rinsing out your sponge often. Move on to the next wall and repeat. When done toss out your grout water and starting with clean water. You then go back to your 1st grouted wall. Wipe down the wall with a clean sponge fliping it over with each pull, rinsing each time. This will get the wall as clean as you can get it removing almost all of the grout residue. Go to the next wall you grouted and repeat until done. Let that set for a half hour or so and you will notice a slight haze on the tile. Take a towel or soft rag and buff the haze off. You are now ready to caulk. Make sure the corners and bottom edge are clean without any grout remaining in them. You should have done this as you go but it doesn't hurt to check. The corners and bottom edge are the areas where most people have moisture problems. The simple reason is they move. Grout in those areas rather than caulk is a recipe for future problems. The wall or tub moves, the grout cracks and the problems begin. You've got a couple of choices here as far a caulking goes. Best and longest lasting is silicone but that is very difficult to work with as it does not wipe out at all. It's impossible to remove if you get it where you don't want it. If silicone is your choice, I recommend using masking tape on both sides of your joint. Set the tape about 3/16 on both edges, tape up the whole tub and you're ready to go. Caulk it, wipe it out with your finger or a tool, and remove the tape before it sets up. Far easier and much easier to work with is a caulking product called PolySeamSeal. It's water soluble so it can be put on and formed with a wet sponge. Once set it's a long lasting (20+years) waterproof caulking. It only comes in white, almond, and clear. If you need to caulk colored tile clear works or you can use a colored caulk made by the tile companies that matches. I've found that Poly works better and lasts longer than the tile caulk though and will usually use clear Poly when I'm dealing with colored tile. After caulking up the corners I will caulk a tiny bead along the sides and top edges and Voila! You're done with the hard part! The tile is ready to use. No need to spray down the grout if you do use it. If you don't use the tub spray a few times over the next couple of days to help the grout cure. Let the grout dry for a couple days and use a wipe-on silicone grout sealer and I'd put the job up against anything done by anybody. Pardon the wordiness, but I was trying to give you all the info you need and save you a class.
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