Ceramic tile installation (European style)

The bathroom ceramic tile , a ceramic shower tile or a kitchen ceramic tile are not just a decorative ceramic tile. They have a very useful role in your house because cleaning ceramic tiles is very easy. Take you time and don’t rush in buying the first ceramic tile design you like. Keep in mind that painting ceramic tiles and ceramic tile mural are also alternatives available on the market.Also if you pick the right time to shop some discount ceramic tiles might be available.Ceramic mosaic tile can also offer you a very artistic design. No matter where we want to install some ceramic wall tile we need to prepare the place first in the following way: if the wall is rough-cast it will be clean with a wet brush; if everything looks ok the wall is ready for ceramic tile installation. A rough-cast wall means is a vertical and even on the entire surface. The verticality can be tested using a level or a laser beam. This is how you should do it; you choose a level with the same height as the wall and at the end of the level you can check if the distance is lower then 0.2 inches. If it is the wall has to be done again and the installing should take place only the second day. On concrete walls or wood walls you should check the verticality and if every inch is clean. You should remove the dust and start the ceramic installation.

      For gluing the ceramic tiles we need to use adherent usually delivered in a bag. From experience for 1 square meter we need to use around 6-7 kilograms of adherent. The instruction for the mixing can be found on the back of the bag and must be respected. Practically in a bucket you fill up water ¼ of it’s capacity. Then you can add the adherent until it’s over the water. You can now start the mixing with a special blender that you can attach to a drilling tool. You have to mix until you obtain a thick paste. After 10 minutes you should start the mixing again. The quantity of adherent that is prepared must be used in one-two hours because there is the risk that the adherent will loose some of its properties.

      No matter how you want to put the ceramic tiles the last row must be uncut so you have to do the math first then start the work. To do so you have to start measuring the height of the wall and the height of a tile. You will then count the number of tills needed for that wall but keep in mind you have to take into consideration the length of the separation items you will use. You will cut the last row of the tills if need to assure a nice overall aspect. The spacers ( separation items ) you can use have 0.04 up to 0.25 inches. They are very necessary because the joints created this way will be filled with special additive with elastic properties that will allow the dilatation and contraction.

      In order to have a clear and horizontal surface to build on, the first row of tills (the one next to the floor) will be placed after the floor ceramic tills have been put in place. After the start points have been put in place for the ceramic tills , with the help of a water level the elevation will be drawn to the entire circumference of the room. The line resulted after the drawing must close perfectly.An angle bracket is made of plastic material and it’s used to cover the small imperfection resulted from the cutting of ceramic tills. In order to use interior angle brackets you should install the ceramic on an entire wall perfectly vertical.

      The next step into setting ceramic tile is to install the interior angle bracket and the start the adjacent wall. If you don’t want to use them then it’s better to start from the second row , and go up around the entire room perimeter at the same time because the angles will be easier to observe and correct this way. The next step is to fix a level with nails ( dowels is the wall coating doesn’t allow the nails to go in ). This is the fix surface that will allow the instalment of the tiles. On a ragged spatula you put the adhesive. With a trowel you apply it on the wall. The ceramic tiles are also covered ( very thin layer ) then they are applied to the wall.

      Three or four tiles are set then the spacers are put in place. If they are put in front of the ties then the next day they will be removed. Depending on the adhesive type you used the joints between the tiles with be cleaned with a palette knife in the same day or the next day. If the adhesive is not cleaned in time between the joints then the risk of breaking the ceramic at the next cleaning is greatly increased. For the external edges you could use external angle brackets or the tiles could be cut on 45 angle degrees using polishing.

      You can also use the angle brackets for the upper and lower rows of tiles. After the installation is done the ceramic will be clean and wiped until you can see any more debris on it. The lute will be used to fill the spaces between the tiles. Using a rubber trowel the lute will be inserted into the empty spaces. After 20 minutes with a sponge rubber you can wash the tiles. The wetting process of the lute is necessary because of the wide space the lute can crack in time. After the water has been absorbed you can clean with a dry towel the rest of the ceramic. We hope that this how to install ceramic tile guide has help you understand the basics of laying ceramic tile.