Cutting Ceramic Tile.

The very first tile cutter invented by the Boada brothers in 1951 in the town of Rubi near Barcelona, Spain.

We've been assembling tile samplers for our newly appointed agent for the U.S. market recently. Of course this has required a lot of careful tile cutting. This got me to thinking about methods and tools.

Thin wall tiles can be cut using a simple glass cutter and a straightedge then snapping the tile along the scoreline against another tile. Mass-produced ceramic tiles of medium to soft grades are cut easily with hand tools. Heavier tiles require the use of a specialised tile cutter or a watercooled rotary tile saw. For extreme accuracy industrial high pressure waterjet machines are used

The ceramic tile cutter, or beam score cutter, is a tool invented in 1951 by the Boada brothers, in the town of Rubi near Barcelona, Spain. The first tile cutter was designed to facilitate the work and solve the problems that masons experienced when cutting hydraulic mosaic, a type of Spanish decorative tile made with pigmented cement.

Hydraulic mosaic was very popular in the 1950's but was particularly thick making it difficult to cut. The invention allowed for a deep scratch to be made in a straight line. Then pressure was applied on both sides of the scratch with a lever thus cracking the tile. The machine was popularly known in the industry as the 'Rubi'. Over time the tool evolved, incorporating elements that made it more accurate and productive. The first cutters had an iron pen to make the scratch. This was later replaced by the current tungsten carbide scoring wheel. Snapping pressures on modern machines vary widely, some mass-produced models exerting over 750 kg.

Contact us with any enquiries about tiles.

Challenges with Large Format & Plank Tile.

Flooring installation challenges

Large-format tile and wood-look long plank tile presents several challenges when used in floor installations. Some of the common concerns are described below. As a supplier you should advise your customers and installers of the possible difficulties.

Lippage 
Lippage is the degree to which one tile rises above an adjoining tile. One of the implications of larger format tiles, even simply longer tiles is the likelihood of more lippage. You might think that if the substrate is flat you shouldn’t have to worry about lippage but the fact is that the tiles themselves are not perfectly flat either. You won't notice this so much with square 60 x 60cm tiles but when a tile is much larger or is cut to a plank format like a 15 x 90cm the curvature in the tile can make a noticable difference, especially if planks are offset to each other. Along with smaller grout joints, typically requested for wood look tile, you end up with lippage.
Sometimes customers request a 50% offset however you should know that the industry recommends an offset of 33% or less on larger tile.

The ANSI A108.02 recommendations regarding grout joint size, particularly in relation to the tile size, dimensional precision and offset pattern are that where the running brick joint offset is 45cm (nominal dimension), the running bond offset will be a maximum of 33% unless otherwise specified by the tile manufacturer. If an offset greater than 33% is specified, specifier and owner must approve mock-up and lippage.

The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone tile installation states that the factors that influence lippage are: 

• Allowable thickness variation in accordance with manufacturing standards.
• Allowable warpage of tile modules.
• Spacing or separation of each tile module, which would influence a gradual or abrupt change in elevation.
• Angle of natural or manufactured light accentuating otherwise acceptable variance in modules.
• Highly reflective surfaces of tile modules accentuating otherwise acceptable variance in modules.

How much lippage is considered acceptable?
The TCNA Handbook states: For pressed floor and porcelain tiles with a joint width of 1.6mm to less than 6mm, the allowable lippage is 0,8mm. For 6mm or greater, allowable lippage is 1.6mm.

Now we know the acceptable lippage, but what about floor flatness? The TCNA Handbook states:
Subsurface Tolerances for Thin-Bed Methods. For thin-bed ceramic tile installations with tiles at least one edge 45cm in length or longer, maximum allowable variation is 3,2mm in 3m from the required plane, with no more that a 1,6mm variation in 60cm when measured from the high points in the surface.
For Mortar Bed Methods. For subsurface tolerances with the thick-bed mortar, or self-leveling methods, maximum allowable variation in the installation substrate is 6 mm in 3 m.

Fortunately, there are several systems available to help the tile setter to minimize  lippage. These systems work on floors, walls and ceilings. Two examples of typical systems are shown below.


Other risks.
Tile weight is also a major challenge. Heavy floor tile that settles into the mortar bed can cause lippage. The result is a finished surface that has an uneven appearance. In a worst case, it is an uneven floor that causes a tripping hazard.

A substrate that isn't perfectly flat to begin with will exacerbate an uneven floor problem as the tile is installed. 

In addition, it is crucial to achieve secure bonding of the substrate and the tile flooring. Applying an insufficient amount of material may result in hollow sounding spots. The hollow spot is susceptible to damage from concentrated weight because of a lack of support from the mortar in that area of the tile.

Cracking is a possibility if the tile is bonded directly to concrete. This is because cracks naturally occur as water in the concrete substrate evaporates. These shrinkage cracks can transfer from the substrate and into the bonded tile. Cracking can also occur from improperly installed wooden subfloors.

Contact us with any enquiries about tiles.

12 pieces of advice to give a DIY tiling customer.

Here are a dozen pieces of advice to give a DIY customer when they're buying tiles for their project. If your customer is a DIY home improvement enthusiast and can't wait to embark on their home renovation tiling project, you should definitely give them a copy of these tips. keep a copy of this email in a folder or make some printouts to hand out to customers. 12 DIY Tiling Rules. Follow these golden rules for better and faster DIY tiling. 1. The first and most important rule is that the tiles should be clean and dry when you start placing them. There should be no grease, curing compounds, wax or other substances on the surface of the tiles and all forms of contamination should be avoided. 2. Small cracks of up to 2mm in walls or subfloor should be filled in before laying tiles. Grind the surface and leave it to dry. 3. Tiles must never be stored in direct sunlight prior to fixing 4. Use a notched trowel especially made for applying the adhesive. The adhesive should be applied horizontally with a notched trowel. Using swirling motions is not recommended. Make sure there is enough of it to make good contact with the surface of the tile. 5. Make sure no voids occur beneath the tiles by pressing tiles firmly into the adhesive. 6. Check whether the tile has made a complete contact with the adhesive by trying to lift each tile gently from the adhesive. 7. Do not place the tiles on dry or too thin layer of the adhesive. Touch the adhesive just before laying each tile, your finger should come away tacky. If your finger comes away clean and dry the adhesive is too dry to use.  8. Wait 24 hours for the adhesive to set and dry completely before grouting the tiles. Make sure the tiles are protected from grime and moisture which could lead to them not setting properly. Follow the guidelines on the adhesive packaging strictly. 9. For better adhesion with cement-based adhesives, moisten the floor or wall lightly before applying the adhesive. 10. Dust each tile and clean the back before placing them on the adhesive. 11. Construction joints (expansion joints in the subfloor) should not be tiled, install a matching expansion joint in the tiles. 12. When thin bed-fixing tiles, the minimum thickness of the adhesive should be 3mm. Always follow these 12 rules of tiling to successfully complete your home tiling project. Contact us with any enquiries about tiles.

Tiling Expansion Joints Essentials.

"The tiles in my floor have loosened and tented." Close inspection often shows that when tenting occurs more than one area of tiles has separated from the subfloor or "delaminated". The tiles may not have lifted or cracked but are now loose. The floor will sound “hollow” instead of solid.   There are several reasons why a tile floor might delaminate: the floor might not have been cleaned prior to tile installation; the setting mortar might have partially dried before the tiles were placed in it; the tiles themselves might have had dust or other contaminants on their backs. The most common reason that tiled floors delaminate and tent, is a lack of movement accommodation. Ceramic tile has a different rate of expansion and contraction (coefficient of expansion) than does concrete, for example, a material that ceramic tiles are often installed directly upon. Other common tiling substrates will also expand and contract differently than ceramic tiles. It's important to realize that everything expands and contracts constantly.. All subfloors move but concrete expands and contracts to a greater degree than most. The difference between concrete’s rate of expansion (and contraction) and that of ceramic tile is about 10 to 1. A concrete slab thirty metres across can expand and contract by well over a centimetre. It only takes a fraction of that movement to cause a tile floor to delaminate. Knowing this, tile setters create breaks in tiled floors to accommodate that movement. Soft “movement joints” at specified intervals will effectively divide large tiled surfaces into smaller expanses and thus lessen the effect of subfloor movement. The joints are then filled with flexible material or a commercial expansion strip instead of grout.      In addition to movement joints in the tiled field, perimeter movement joints are used where tile floors are against impediments to movement like walls, columns and cabinets. Whereas smaller tiled floors may not need movement joints in the field of tile, all tile floors need perimeter movement joints, and it is the lack of perimeter joints that most often contributes the greatest force although other factors like contaminants, skinned over setting mortar and other installer errors may also be a factor. Perimeter joints should be at least 6mm wide. In small rooms, a gap at the perimeter of the room (often hidden by the skirting) is sufficient. For larger areas, the movement joints will be visible. The spacing of joints should be calculated for each situation but as a rule of thumb there should be an expansion joint at least every 5m indoors and 3m outside. Areas that get warm (or wet) may experience greater amounts of differential expansion. If the areas exposed to sunlight are warmer than surrounding areas, movement joints should be used more frequently. This will be the case in very sunny rooms. For the key requirements common to all tiling situations, refer to the SABS 0107:1996, Code of Practice for the Design and Installation of Ceramic Tiling. Properly installed tile floors will last virtually forever. Movement and expansion joints help assure that they do. Contact us with any enquiries about tiles.

8 Ways to Advise Customers to Protect & Clean Tiles.

What follows are eight brief pieces of advice for tile customers that every sales person should have on the tip of their tongue.

1. Protect Tiles from Furniture.

Tile is hard but it will crack, chip or scratch if enough force is exerted on it. Protect your tile surfaces by using furniture protectors on the bottom of chair and table legs. When moving furniture be especially careful. Be sure to use protectors on the bottom of any potted plants as well.

2. Seal Your Tiles.

Tile surfaces that are exposed to water need to be sealed. Sealing will also protect your grout from damage and wear and tear and also offers more stain protection.Check your manufacturer's instructions for a recommended schedule for sealing, and the type of sealer you need for your tile.

3. Use Door Mats.

Most of the dirt that comes into homes comes in with human feet. Be sure to position a door mat outside and inside each entrance. You'll catch most of the dirt before it even has a chance to get near your tile.

4. Sweep and Mop Often.

Dirt is the worst enemy to a tile floor. Tile floors need to be swept/vacuumed and mopped regularly to prevent damage to the grout and finish. A quick daily sweep, and a light weekly mopping are usually all that is required to keep your floors looking great.

5. Do Not Use Too Much Water.

Using an overly wet mop, or not drying up spills can damage and stain your tile. Minerals in tap water can leave behind discoloration. Wetness can lead to mildew and dingy grout lines. Floors that are left to dry slowly can have a dull or dingy look. Try hand drying floors to buff and polish them.

6. Clean Up Quickly.

Don't let spills sit for any length of time. The same stains that will discolor your clothes, will seep in and discolor your tile and grout. Oily stains, tomato stains, and drink stains in particular can all sink into your tile and your grout, so wipe them up quickly.

7. Do Not Use Bleach or Ammonia Based Cleaners:

Just don't. There are plenty of other products that are milder and will give excellent results. Bleach and ammonia based cleaners will discolor your grout lines over time. It may happen very gradually, but it will happen. 

8. Do Not Scrub Tiles.

Never use steel wool, abrasive scrubbing powders, or any other scrubbing material on your tile. Your tile has a finish on it that will be damaged with any of these products. Soft cleaning cloths and mops are all that is required.

Contact us with any enquiries about tiles.

What is Terrazzo?

We recently had an order for terrazzo tiles, but do you know what terrazzo is really?

Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for wall and floor coverings. Traditionally it consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable chips poured with a binding agent. Terrazzo is cured, then ground and polished to produce a smooth, uniformly textured surface. Terrazzo is thought to have been invented by Renaissance Venetian construction workers as a low cost flooring material using marble chips left over from cutting expensive solid marble. The workers would set them in clay to surface the patios around their living quarters. Consisting originally of marble chips, clay, and goat milk (as the sealer), production of terrazzo became much easier after the 1920s and the introduction of electric industrial grinders and other power equipment. Similar aggregate floors have been found in Turkey however and date back as far as 8000 BCE. Terrazzo artisans create walls, floors, patios, and panels by exposing marble chips and other fine aggregates on the surface of finished concrete or epoxy-resin. Much of the preliminary work of terrazzo workers is similar to that of cement masons. Marble-chip, cementitious terrazzo requires three layers of materials. First, cement masons or terrazzo workers build a solid, level concrete foundation 10cm deep. After the forms are removed from the foundation, workers add a layer of sandy concrete. Before this layer sets, terrazzo workers partially embed metal divider strips in the concrete wherever there is to be a joint or change of color in the terrazzo. For the final layer, terrazzo workers blend and place into each of the panels a fine marble chip mixture that may be color-pigmented. While the mixture is still wet, workers toss additional marble chips of various colors into each panel and roll a weighted roller over the entire surface. In the 1970s, polymer-based terrazzo was introduced and is called thin-set terrazzo. Initially polyester and vinyl ester resins were used as the binder resin. Today, most of the terrazzo installed is epoxy terrazzo. The advantages of this material over cementitious terrazzo include a wider selection of colors, a thinner installation layer, lighter weight, faster installation, impermeable finish, higher strength, and less susceptibility to cracking. The disadvantage of epoxy resin–based terrazzo is that it can only be used for interior, not exterior, applications. Epoxy-based terrazzo will lose its color and slightly peel when used outdoors, whereas cement-based terrazzo will not. In addition to marble aggregate blends, other aggregates have been used, such as mother of pearl and abalone shell. Recycled aggregates include: glass, porcelain, concrete, and metal. Shapes and medallions can be fabricated on site by bending divider strips, or off site by water-jet cutting. When the terrazzo is thoroughly dry (or cured in the case of thin-set terrazzo), helpers grind it with a terrazzo grinder, which is somewhat like a floor polisher, only much heavier. Slight depressions left by the grinding are filled with a matching grout material and hand-troweled for a smooth, uniform surface; it is then cleaned, polished, and sealed. Engineered stone as it is known in the US, is also commonly referred to as agglomerate or agglomerated stone, the last term being that recognised by European Standards (EN 14618). The Quartz version (which end consumers are much more likely to directly deal with) are commonly known as 'quartz surface' or just 'quartz'. As you can see in the photo above the agglomerate particles occur throughout the material. Terrazzo tiles on the other hand are porcelain or ceramic tiles that are printed with a design resembling terrazzo. With modern ink jet techniques these designs are absolutely indistinguishable from real terrazzo. Contact us with any enquiries about tiles.

8 Ways to Encourage Tile Customers.

1. OFFER ADVICE & SUPPORT

Make sure your sales assistants offer their business cards to prospective customers. If sales staff are properly trained and project an attitude of helpfulness, every call or enquiry will bring the sale and subsequent 'loyalty' sales closer.

2. GET THE BASICS RIGHT

Of course the first thing to establish from your customer is where the tiles are going to be laid. This will determine whether porcelain or ceramic is appropriate and what ranges are suitable. Get 'fitness for purpose' right first! 

3. OFFER LIGHT COLOURS

Suggest light colour tiles to make a small or dark room feel bigger and brighter as a starting point then lead on to accent pieces in other colours and textures..

4. THEN ENCOURAGE CUSTOMERS TO BE A BIT WILD.

Point out bright colours in accent tiles, mosaics, rivens and other pieces that can be used for strips and details. Encourage customers to loo at complementary colours which can create unique effects and environments. Accents immediately frame and enhance tiled surfaces and add richness. These effects add far more in aesthetic appeal than their actual value in a home. 

5. ENCOURAGE THE VIEW OF TILES AS AN INVESTMENT

Encourage customers to see their tile purchase as an investment, not a cost; never compromise on quality, which can still be picked up at great prices. Good tiles increase the value of a home in a permanent way and enhance the look of a home immeasurably.

6. ADVISE YOUR CUSTOMER TO PLAN AHEAD

Always ensure the purchase of an additional 10% more tiles than are actually needed. This allows the tiler to compensate for cuts and breakages and ensures the same batch and shade should the customer need additional tiles later on. Of course this also increases the value of the sale. 

7. GROUT IS PART OF THE STYLING

Recommend a tile grout colour that complements the tiles chosen to help blend in grout lines. Never compromise on cheap grout or adhesive for that matter, it will just have to be cleaned or replaced later.

8. TRY SMALLER FORMATS

If your customers room seems like it will require a lot of tile cuts around fixtures or fittings or if there are curved surfaces to deal with recommend smaller tiles or mosaics to give a better flow. Smaller formats also provide a better non-slip surface.
 

Contact us with any enquiries about tiles.