Small tiles or large tiles - which one to choose? Bathroom Ideas

Laying mosaic tiles is not as difficult as it seems, if you do not look at it without knowing the technology. A large number of small squares make you think about long and tedious styling.

In reality, small squares are sold glued to a paper base, so the question “how to lay mosaic tiles with your own hands? " it is no longer worth it, because you can put a mosaic tile by simply gluing large squares with a mosaic.

Laying technology

Before laying, prepare the surface: clean and level it. After that, apply a special adhesive solution notched trowel. When choosing tile glue in a store, it is better to consult with specialists, since depending on the type of tile, its surface and the conditions for further use, the glue will differ. It is highly discouraged to use mastic as a glue, since relative to ceramic tiles the most the best option considered a latex adhesive.

Do not apply glue to the entire surface at once - only treat the area where you will have time to glue the tiles in the next 15 minutes, otherwise the glue will simply dry out. The adhesive should also be applied to reverse side tiles, especially in the case of transparent tiles, through which the stains from the trowel will be visible. In addition, in this way you will increase the adhesion of the tile to the surface.

The tile must be attached to the wall with the paper facing out. Please note that the glue should not dry out at the same time, otherwise the tile will not stick in all, but in parts. Lay the sheets neatly on the surface and align them. With help wooden block tap the tiles, driving them into the wall, but not too hard, so as not to damage it and not move individual squares of the mosaic. These manipulations will allow the tiles to reliably adhere to the wall surface without air bubbles... When laying single sheets, keep equal distances between them.

When the glue dries up after 20 minutes, it is necessary to moisten the surface of the paper with a damp sponge so that it is completely saturated without moving the mosaic elements. Pull the soaked paper very gently down at the top corner of the paper. If it doesn't come off well, moisten it again with water. After removing all the paper, check and align the seams.

Remember that the paper is removed 15-20 minutes after laying the tiles, and not when you have completely tiled the wall, otherwise the glue will completely dry out and it will be impossible to correct the errors.

See how to install mosaic tiles in the video below.

Grout

The masonry is rubbed after about two days, when the mortar is completely dry. The tiles are cleaned with a brush and warm water, and if glue drips remain at the joints, it must be removed with a sharp blade or knife.

The grout mixture is prepared according to the instructions and applied to the seams with a rubber floor trowel at a 45-degree angle. After 20 minutes, as the grout dries, clean the tiles from excess composition first with a dry cloth, then moistened. Then the entire surface is washed with water.

When the mosaic surface is completely dry, polish it with a soft cloth to a mirror finish. The tiles should be cleaned of grout immediately, otherwise the mosaic will become covered with a white coating, which is very difficult to remove.

Additional Information:

Ceramic floor tiles are a practical and durable finishing material designed for a wide range of applications: installation in residential areas (living rooms, bedrooms), auxiliary (kitchen, bathroom), commercial (office, store), entrance areas (hallway, corridor) and etc. The TESSER online store, specializing in particular in the sale of floor tiles, offers a wide selection of building ceramics from the world's leading manufacturers. The catalog contains floor tiles from Spain, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine. The products meet the requirements of the industry-specific standards.

Basic performance characteristics

Floor tiles have a greater thickness than wall tiles, therefore they are characterized by an increased degree of strength. The coating is resistant to static and dynamic loads, waterproof, inert to the aggressive effects of chemicals contained in detergents (cleaning agents). The composition lacks any harmful impurities, which allows positioning tile for the floor as an environmentally friendly and safe product. Also among the advantages of tiles are fire resistance, low electrical conductivity, resistance to temperature extremes and compatibility with heating systems.

Varieties of design

Ceramic floor tiles can be bought in the form of monocolors, ornamented modules or models that imitate wood, stone, textiles. Digital printing technologies are used to apply a picture or give a visual resemblance to one or another natural analogue. A layer of protective glaze helps to fix the decorative effect. According to the type of surface, floor tiles are divided into glossy, polished, matte, lapped. In order for the cladding to turn out to be monolithic, with neat inter-tile joints, some samples are subjected to rectification - careful processing of the edges. Having picked up material from the TESSER assortment that matches your individual preferences in design, quality, price, you can immediately place an order and delivery on the website.

Until you start decorating the walls, there are always options for which material to prefer. If you have already decided that it will be ceramic tile, you still have a choice of what standard size to buy, what color, you can also decide on the texture. However, if you bought small floor tiles, there will be no way back, except to buy something else at a loss. And now you are already laying out the walls with the available material, managing to finish a very small area in a day. Why? And this is the main inconvenience of small cladding - you spend a lot of time covering the walls with it.

Whether the tile is large - cover it with an adhesive, run it over it with a notched trowel, apply it to the surface, and now the eighth part square meter covered with a ceramic coating. Eight identical actions and the wall decoration has advanced to the next square, in a day, if desired, you can easily revet an entire wall. Conveniently? Undoubtedly. However, the larger the tile area, the higher its fragility. It is much more difficult to damage a small ceramic plate than one that has a solid size.... So, we have to decide what to choose.

Large format tiles - what you need to know?

It would seem that with a rich choice, there should be no difficulties in buying facing material... However, this is not the case, especially if you would like the floor and walls to be decorated large tiles... Unfortunately, today the ideal finishing material does not exist. Which means various seemingly insignificant defects. But only for the first time.

In fact, all the disadvantages of finishing elements can turn into significant flaws in the cladding. For example, when deviating from correct shape(angles correspond to 90 degrees) the error can reach 2 millimeters, although this is already a violation of the old GOST. And this will lead to the curvature of the entire row, as well as the neighboring ones. The same will happen if the dimensions are violated, be it small ceramic tiles for the floor or large ones for the walls.

Ideally, errors in length or width should not exceed 1.5 millimeters, while the difference between the smallest tile length in a batch and the largest should not be more than 2 millimeters. The thickness of the veneering ceramics should not have a difference of more than 0.2 millimeters, and the oblique angle, which we cited earlier as an example, is permissible within 1.5 millimeters.

Do large tiles have an advantage?

One dignity large tiles we already mentioned - high speed finishing in a relatively short period of time. However, there are other, implicit benefits as well. In particular, it is known that the smaller the seam, the more consistent the veneer will look. However, if you have large tiles, rather wide gaps are quite acceptable, they will be less noticeable against the background of solid ceramic formats. For small cladding, this will not work, wide seams will be more noticeable than the trim elements themselves.

In order to emphasize the beauty of the cladding, special rubber spatulas should be used when grouting the gaps.

How to be? Try to use tile crosses first to achieve High Quality seams. This rule should be especially followed in cases where standard sizes tiles have significant deviations. With the help of a wide seam, it is possible, even if not completely smooth, then at least make less noticeable the error of individual tiles in the oblique angle. When covering walls with small tiles, try to make the gaps narrower, choosing elements like a mosaic.