any reason why I can't preseal porcelan tiles before laying?

[2db]

I'm realistic enough to know I'm no good at tiling and happy to leave it to the experts.
With the kitchen coming out and replaced in a few weeks time, the kitchen fitters are on a tight timescale.

SWMBO has found some ivory white porcelain tiles @ topps for the flooring (the colours elsewhere are not quite right apparently). We originally planned for conventional ceramic tiles ... hence the timescales were planning to exclude an extra day delay for allowing sealant to dry (I'm presuming an extra day is needed here?)

I'm keen to preseal the tiles in advance to avoid an additional day delaying the fitters between tiling the floor and then grouting. They didn't plan for this, so I'm happy to do any prep work I can to minimise the extra work. (I can then do a final seal after the work has all been done)

Ignoring the practical issues of finding space for the tiles, is there are reason why I can't seal the tiles in advance of them being laid? (presumably with a dedicated porcelain sealer?)

(to top things off, SHWBO has now purchased some crackled glazed wall tiles for the rest of the kitchen, so I'll again be aiming to preseal unless anyone here says it's a bad idea!)

thanks

 

[nybor62]

are they polished porcelain , i all ways seal after fixing

 

[2db]

Hi nybor62,

yes, they're polished porcelain. I was hoping to preseal, leave the tiler to fit and grout, then apply a second seal over the lot afterwards. Doable?

 

[Ian]

Its doable yes, you will need alot of room! Double check with the tile supplier that the tiles require sealing first.

 

[SandyFloor]

It is a big chore sealing before fixing. A lot of room needed and a lot of handling. It's quite quick and easy when they are down.

 

[Rich]

To be honest I think that you will not end up saving much time by pre-sealing them. No reason why you cany but I would prob seal after they were down.

 

[Andy Allen]

no reason why you can't pre-seal b4 fixing, infact B and Q recommend you do that with there polished pocelain (mind you they are rubbish)

 

[doug boardley]

if you haven't used a sealer before I'd leave it to the tiler, badly sealed tiles can make a right mess if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[2db]

thanks doug,

got to be honest, I'm vv nervous about choosing these tiles anyway. Having been distracted all afternoon looking at the forums and threads, seems like Topps tiles porcelain are pretty well much the same as B&Q polished porcelain (happy to be told otherwise). I know the samples we have have a wax coating on them too which needs removing.

It's the other half that needs convincing

 

[2db]

S'pose while it's on my mind ... anyone anything positive or negative to say about Topps Tiles polished porcelain (the one that comes with a wax coating on)? It's 2-3x the price of B&Q polished porcelain, but doesn't necessarily mean it's better quality of course!

 

[Andy Allen]

never used the topps one, but the b and q one ain't that good, stains very easy, thats why they recommend sealing b4 fixing (or they did last time i used them).

 

[2db]

Hi Andy,

Yes, I'd read that quick a bit about the B&Q ones ... a large volume of tescos clubcard vouchers means SHMBO preferably gets to choose from topps tiles (last I was told ... if we can't have the ivory porcelain ones, we've got to have exactly the same colour in a different type of tile), so experimentation with polished porcelain ...

I currently have a few experiments going on with the Topps tiles polished porcelain

1. (Using B&Q's wax remover) ... wax removed,

2. ... "UN"sealed, I have added samples of tumeric powder, chilli powder, soy sauce, curry paste, shoe polish and red and black food dyes as an experiment ... results in 1/2hr ... same experiment on the sealed side too tomorrow once the sealant has had time to dry.

3. also tried a porosity test - after 1hr water droplet not changed, so presumption is that they're quite a low porosity. (which I presume means that a) that that's good, or b) I haven't removed the wax sealant well enough)

 

[Andy Allen]

sounds like youv'e turn your kitchen into a laboratory :lol:, are you wareing a white coat to.

all i would be worried about is the adhesive staining the tile b4 laying.

 

[2db]

dammit ... that's the one thing I didn't think of ... goes to show my background is in science, not tiling

 

[Time's Ran Out]

We read about the problems of BQ 600x600mm ivory porcelain tiles prior to fixing 60sq metres last year, and I provided the information to the customer.
At under £11 per metre he felt it was worth the risk of buying them.
We had 1 chipped corner from the box (well packaged) and the surface and edges were true and unwaxed (they had a film between each tile) - an exceptional product for the price.
The instructions on the packaging stressed the limitations of use and 6 months later we believe the customer is still delighted with the result.
Use a white flexible fast set adhesive and non stain light coloured grout and test for ingress on the tile sides.
On completion make sure the surface is clean, and absolutely dry, before sealing.
Good Luck.