Whether you are doing tiling work (installation of tiles) for the first time or have done it before, installing tiles in your house is a job that needs to be done properly. Tile installation mistakes are hard to cover up and fixing them usually means starting the work again. One slightly misplaced tile can give bad look to your house. So, here we have given some tips on what you need to do and what not to do while tiling work.
Following do’s and don’ts might be helpful for you to ensure proper tile installation:
Do’s:
- Check the quality of the tiles you received when tile box arrives at the site. Check the brand, colour, pattern, design and quantity.
- Before beginning the tile installation work, ensure that proper compaction of the soil layer has been carried out.
- Make sure that the subfloor of PCC, RCC, or brickbats have been done with proper levelling with slope if required.
- Brick and plasterwork of all the rooms of the house should be completed before starting the tiling work.
- When the installation of tiles is carried out in a confined and dark place, make sure proper ventilation and electric lights are there.
- Waterproofing should be completed first.
- Mark the position of taps, bottle traps, soap holder, etc. in toilet before starting the dado tiles
- The tiles should be soaked in water alteast for 2 hours before the tile installation.
- It is very important that from where do you start work in a room or in an open area. If room dimension is not regular, then provide the cut pieces of tiles where there is a furniture planned over it or that area remains hidden.
- Always ask for a drawing showing layout of tiles from your architect or interior designer.
- The joint pattern of tiles should be executed as per drawing or if not specified in the drawing, consult to architect or engineer-in-charge. Even a good mason does it reasonably well.
- Use diamond cutter for cutting the tiles.
- Set the right angles before starting the tiling work.
- The corners of tiles should not be bent otherwise it will not stick properly to the tiling surface.
- The thickness of the floor tiles should be more as compared to wall tiles.
- First, lay the wall tiles before starting the floor tiling work.
- If you have to cut tiles due to wall sizes, not being in the proportion of tiles sizes, decide where to fix the irregular size.
- Always match the lines of tiles vertically and horizontally.
- The joints between two tiles should be minimum. Remove the excess cement joints and refill the joints with white cement.
- At the joints of two surface, chamfer the tiles diagonally otherwise the thickness appearing at the meeting point of two tiles will not give a good look.
- Install the wall tiles according to the level of the wall.
- Provide dado height upto 3 to 7 ft (0.9 to 2.1m) on the wall or you may fix full height, too.
- When the room size is large always provide a joint, which will be filled with chemicals or similar filler. So that later on tiles do not pop up due to expansion and temperature change.
- Avoid batch mixing of material during installation of tiles.
- Skirting should flush with wall plaster with the provision of groove and it should be of same shade and pattern.
- Skirting should be done at height upto 75mm to 200mm.
- If you are using chemicals/adhesive for tile installation then strictly follow manufacturer’s instructions and its pot life. (Time within which the chemicals should be used once the cover is opened.)
- Use tile spacers to keep tiles at equal distances.
- If tiles have a pattern in design, lay them properly before fixing so that the design is achieved.
- Clean the area properly after the completion of tiles installation work.
- The slope must be checked by dropping some water on the floor. Water should move in the direction of the slope or towards the drain.
Don’ts:
- Do not use too large size tiles for dado tiles work as they have thicker and heavy in weight.
- Do not accept any material on site without checking it.
- Do not allow the labour to do the machan work without surface preparation.
- Do not allow machan and tiling work without marking of level line on all the wall.
- Don’t walk on the newly installed floors atleast for 1 day.
- Don’t allow skirting fixing without wooden farma.
- Do not allow any cut pieces with hand dressing. Insist on cutting tiles with cutting machine, since it considerably reduces wastage.
- However, don’t ignore damage from water or other issues on your floor. Tiling over them will just worsen and lead to another job in the future.
- Don’t allow the bed (sand +cement) for longer times as it may result in the lack of bonding between bed and tiles.
- Don’t install the tiles too close as this causes popping-up of tiles.
- Do not use the tiles of more thickness as it may get popped up or fall due to weight.
- Don’t leave extra grouting material on the surface of the tiles. It must be wiped off with a wet sponge.
Knowing what to do and what not to do during a tiling work will be helpful to you. If you are not following the above do’s and don’ts, the several tiling defects like buckled tiles, cracks in tiles, shade variation in tiles, etc. might appear. With these tips, you are sure to have a quality tile installation that will last for years to come! Enjoy your room and enjoy your house!
Also Read:
Floor or Wall Tiles: Defects & Solutions
Why do Tiles Fade Over the Period of Time?
