Large Format porcelain

[DavieA]

Hi I have a floor job , my first large format floor using 600x600 tiles coming up and am in need of a bit of advice. Firstly am going to use 3mm spacers throughout. The floor is 9mm ply screwed like nothing on earth every 10cm, floor is level and sound too ready to be primed prioir to the opf being used to fix. Now the tiles are polished so i beleive they will need sealed which i intend to do after laying but before grouting, is this correct?? also whats the deal with this wax people keep talikng about?:huh2:

Cheers in advance for everyones input.

 

[grumpygrouter]

Sealing before or after would depend on the tile. Pilkington recommend sealing their polished porcelain before laying.

What adhesive do you intend to use? if it is BAL then you do not prime the board, and also they won't guarantee the floor with 9mm ply unless you use Fastflex

 

[cjbombero]

I seal the floor once it's been laid, you need to be nice and clean when laying the tiles this way though. Use a decorators roller and tray, roller on the impregnator (something like Lithofin) And use a grout float to pull the excess off straight away, complete an area of about 10 metres and then go back and buff the tiles using a lint free cloth/paper towel (no cheap blue rubbish)

Personnaly I would go for a rapid set SFP as this makes you life a lot easier laying ans sealing the same day. Also don't forget to use a flexi grout as well.

The grout lines will also need to be sealed to do a proper job and prevent staining.

cjbombero

 

[Gazzatile]

Will theseal alter the grout colour?

Gazza

 

[Akhter]

Gazza not sure how your tiling is but when i was first doing large format porcelain I had a bit of a problem with lippage,
dont know why but found them aukward to get perfectly level/matched to the previously laid tiles compared to laying other tiles. So you might want to watch for that.
Not saying youll do it but its an observation I came accross.

 

[cjbombero]

The sealer will make the grout look darker whilst wet but should dry back to its normal colour as its translucent, I always seal an off cut first to make sure there isn't any problems with the tile. These large format porcaline tiles don't come cheap so any major errors can cost you a fortune.

In regards to Akhter's post the biggest problem with vitrified tiles is lippage, if the floor isn't totally flat your lining yourself up for all kinds of problems. This is because the tiles are squared off leaving a sharp, noticable edge to the tile if badly laid (those 1-2mm steps that you might get away with ceramic tiles now feel huge).

Always find any high point in the room to work from and take your time. I normally set the floor out and take a good 15-20 minutes to lay the first few tiles, making sure they are perfectly level. You can then build up your speed by working off those tiles. If one tile corner is a little low or high you end up trying to compensate with the other tiles to reduce that sharp corner. This tends to throw everything else out of hight.

One tip is to lay the tile and close the grout joint up completely, the tiles should be running as one smooth surface. if the tile is low then lift the tile and add more adhesive, if its too low you may be able to bed it in a little more or you may have to lift the tile and use a smaller trowel to remove some. Once you have got it right gentley pull the tile away and stand your spacers in.

cjbombero

 

[doug boardley]

I always tend to seal or impregnate prior to laying, just a personal preference, I think it may stop addy staining tiles. Then seal again after grouting.Just the way I do it. 3mm spacers on tiles that size, watch out for your joints creeping imo

 

[Highlander]

I seal the floor once it's been laid, you need to be nice and clean when laying the tiles this way though. Use a decorators roller and tray, roller on the impregnator (something like Lithofin) And use a grout float to pull the excess off straight away, complete an area of about 10 metres and then go back and buff the tiles using a lint free cloth/paper towel (no cheap blue rubbish)


I take it you mean 10m in a straight line or do you mean 10m2. The problem with rollers are they can leave an impression on certain tiles also you are prone to far more sealer on the surface than is required which then causes sealer residue and opens a whole can of worms. If you are doing 10m2 you then are walking over treated areas and there should be no foot traffic on sealed areas for normally 12 hrs.

I normally use a small square of sponge and hands and knees do a couple m2 then wipe excess of using lint free terry toweling cloths and then give a buff with paper toweling. By working smaller areas you are controling the finished area and I have not had to go back with excess problems or any sealer problems doing this method.

Gary

 

[cjbombero]

Thanks for the info Gary, I,ve never really had a problem with residue as I do clear it off immediately using a grout float and do a test tile on the first morning. The roller does tend to use more sealer but I feel like I know its going down, when i'm using a sponge I think its very eay to keep applying when there isn't enough sealer in the sponge.

I normally do a row of tiles and then work back towards the door, I try and seal the tiles the same day as tiling so it can dry overnight but if that isn't possible then I normally stay off it for a couple of hours before grouting.

cjbombero