Laying Instructions

Before Installation of Tiles

The surfaces were the tiles are to be laid must be properly finished and curing done at least for one week. Care should be taken that iron rods used in concrete are not exposed at any place. If the tiles are laid with exposed iron rods subsequently there may be rust formation and air bubbles that may lift up the tiles. The total area to be covered should be worked out and additional 5% should be included towards wastage / breakage for order, so it doesnt lead to shade variation on re -ordering. In case of multistory building it is advisable to order entire quantity of each floor from the same batch in one lot to avoid shade variation, so you can achieve desired combination on each floor. Before fixing the vitrified tiles lay them in the desired pattern and make sure that they give proper shade and design. The Company Will Bear No Liability After The Tiles Are Fixed. So please ensure uniform level, shade and design before fixing the tiles with concrete.

Installation of Tiles

The Process of Laying Tiles is in 3 ways where floor tiles may be used.

A. Laying the tiles over concrete in new building using sand and cement mortar. B. Laying the tiles with chemical adhesive in new building. C. Laying the tiles over the existing floor of old tiles. (Marble, Granite, Mosaic, Kota etc.) A. Laying the tiles over concrete in new building using sand and cement mortar

The bed surface should be perfectly clean and free from dust, paint, scraps, grease, oil etc. If the bed surface has been left dry for a long time it should be washed and made sufficiently cured. Make suitable bedding using cement and sand mortar with the ratio of 1:4 along with water to make a consistence paste, use this paste to make a bedding of 20 to 30 mm thickness after checking the levels through 4 corners of the area. Kindly look for the arrow on the back of the tile and always follow any one laying pattern as shown here.

Never follow following pattern:

If the arrows are not followed the proper design may not be achieved and also it may affect the alignment of the tile. The work size will be as per ISO specifications. As part of internationally accepted laying practices, use of 2 to 5 mm spacers recommended Apply fine cement slurry to the back of the tile to ensure proper and full bonding on the surface. For proper bonding Press the tiles gently with a wooden mallet to make proper adherence. (Dont use iron hammer or any heavy material to press the tile). After fixing the tiles, extra mortar etc. should be cleaned with wet cloth or sponge and allow setting for two days, please avoid walking on the tiles for these two days. After proper setting, the tile should be suitably cleaned and there after grouting should be done with matching grout. Since most of the carpentry, electrical or interior works are done after the installation of tiles, it is important to provide a protective cover on surface of the tiles, it is recommended to use POP of 12 to 15 mm thickness and this shouldnt be opened until area becomes ready for occupation Use of newspaper below the POP should be avoided since the printing ink and other black spots of the newspaper are likely to leave permanent stains on the tiles, it is recommended to use thin plastic layer on the surface. The tiles can also be cleaned by mild acid; however Hydrofluoric acid and its derivatives should not be used without knowing its actions and reactions. You may concern the chemical properties and reactions for the clearance of the stains to our technical experts as and when required oninfo@oreva.com. Our technical experts will assist you as soon as possible for further proceeding of your problems

B. Laying the tiles with chemical adhesive in new building AND C. Laying of tiles over the existing floor of old tiles (on Marble, Granite, Mosaic, Kota etc.) The same guidelines given above holds good for almost all the points except that instead of using fine slurry of cement at the back of the tiles appropriate chemical fixing adhesives available in the market can be used.

It should be ensured there is 100 % coverage of the adhesive behind the tiles. The adhesives layer should be approximately 10 to 15 mm thickness. While using adhesive it is very important to maintain level and flatness. Setting / curing time should be allowed at least 2 days to avoid air bubbles or warpages on the tiles.

Please note that the company does not accept any liability in case problems arising out of nonadherence to these fixing instructions.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO CONSIDER WHILE LAYING OF TILES

Posted by Rajaditya Singh ,

You prefer durable and good looking vitrified tile flooring for your home; therefore you always select quality tiles for the flooring. There are thousands of color and design options available to choose in vitrified tile, which is considered to be good water and abrasion resistant. Despite of selecting right type of tiles for your flooring, you often face various problems after installation. It is mainly because of improper laying of tiles. Following general problems may occur if laying of vitrified tiles not done properly.

Providing improper slope and level will allow water to accumulate on the floor. Improper filling of tile joints not only weaken the flooring surface but may lead to injury due to sharp tile edges.

Fixing tile on an uneven surface or tiles not properly glued with adhesive tend to break due to movement on the floor.

It will give shabby look as well as allow dust to settle down if joints are not sealed firmly.

(Image courtesy of sixninepixels/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

VITRIFIED TILES INSTALLATION CHECK LIST

Workout the total area and procure at least 7% additional tiles considering wastage.

Tile base concrete surface should be well cleaned, free from dust and other foreign particles.

Vitrified tiles sub-base should be well compacted and firm to take the load as supple flooring may damage tile early due to traffic movement.

Ideally slope should be maintained in sub-base if vitrified tiles are installed directly on thehard concrete floor using adhesives.

Complete painting and plastering work to be done before laying the floor tiles. Use spirit level to fix the tile and make sure that all tiles are properly levelled. Level the flooring before laying vitrified tiles and ensure proper slope towards drain points and keep sufficient space below door and flooring to swing it freely.

 Before you allow traffic movement on floor, at least give 24 hours time to get it cured properly. If you start movement earlier, it will damage tile flooring resulting in an uneven surface. Pieces of tiles wherever required should be placed towards wall side to avoid sharp edges in the middle of the flooring. Use rubber or plastic spacer to maintain the tiles evenness and grouping. Material/grout should be mixed properly and poured well within the setting time recommended by the manufacturer. Excess grout in joints should be removed using trowel and grout material on tile surface should be cleaned with sponge. After laying of vitrified tiles it must be tapped with metal rod if you hear hollow sound then replace the tile with new one. Tile should be cut properly in single score; many score may lead tile to crack and uneven finish You must adhere to above mentioned check list to achieve great looking flooring. It is also recommended to hire skilled and trained manpower to carry out installation for tile flooring job.

You can also read my previous post on how to prevent surface cracks in concrete floor

Before Installation of Tiles

The surfaces were the tiles are to be laid must be properly finished and curing done at least for one week. Care should be taken that iron rods used in concrete are not exposed at any place. If the tiles are laid with exposed iron rods subsequently there may be rust formation and air bubbles that may lift up the tiles. The total area to be covered should be worked out and additional 5% should be included towards wastage/ breakage, it should be ensured that the total quantity required are available from the same batch at site other wise shade variation may occur with different supplies. In case of multistory building it is advisable to order entire quantity of each floor from the same batch in one lot to avoid shade variation. Before fixing the euro vitrified tiles lay them in the desired pattern and make sure that they give proper shade and design. Please ensure uniform level, shade and design before fixing the tiles with concrete.

The Process of Laying Tiles There are 3 ways in which floor tiles may be used A. Laying the tiles over concrete in new building using sand and cement mortar. B. Laying the tiles with chemical adhesive in new building. C. Laying the tiles over the existing floor of old tiles. (Marble, Granite, Mosaic, Kota etc.)

A. Laying the tiles over concrete in new building using sand and cement mortar.
The bed surface should be perfectly clean and free from dust, paint, scraps, grease, oil etc. If the bed surface has been left dry for a long time it should be washed and made sufficiently cured. Make suitable bedding using cement and sand mortar with the ratio of 1:4 along with water to make a consistence paste. Once mixing is completed use this to make a bedding of 20 to 30 mm thickness after checking the levels through 4 corners of the area. Kindly look for the arrow on the back of the tile and follow the laying pattern as shown here.

If the arrows are not followed the proper design may not be achieved and also it may affect the alignment. Apply fine cement slurry to the back of the tile to ensure proper and full bonding on the surface. Press gently with a wooden mallet to make proper adherence. (Do not use iron hammer or any heavy material to press the tile). After fixing the tiles, extra mortar etc. should be cleaned with wet cloth or sponge and allow setting for two days. After proper setting, the tile should be suitably cleaned and there after grouting should be done with matching grout. Since most of the carpentry, electrical or interior works are done after the installation of tiles, it is important to provide a protective cover on surface of the tiles. It is recommended to use POP of 12 to 15 mm thickness and this should be opened only when the area is ready for occupation. Use of newspaper below the POP should be avoided since the printing ink and other black spots of the newspaper are likely to leave permanent stains on the tiles.

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B. Laying the tiles with chemical adhesive in new building.

The same guidelines given above holds good for almost all the points except that instead of using fine slurry of cement at the back of the tiles appropriate chemical fixing adhesives available in the market can be used. It should be ensured there is 100 % coverage of the adhesive behind the tiles. The adhesives layer should be approximately 10 to 15 mm thickness. While using adhesive it is very important to maintain level and flatness.

Setting / curing time should be allowed at least 2 days to avoid air bubbles or warpages on the tiles

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C. Laying the tiles over the existing floor of old tiles. (Marble, Granite, Mosaic, Kota etc.)
The same guidelines given above holds good for almost all the points except that instead of using fine slurry of cement at the back of the tiles appropriate chemical fixing adhesives available in the market can be used. It should be ensured there is 100 % coverage of the adhesive behind the tiles. The adhesives layer should be approximately 10 to 15 mm thickness. While using adhesive it is very important to maintain level and flatness. Setting / curing time should be allowed at least 2 days to avoid air bubbles or warpages on the tiles