Porcelain tile help

[David-M.]

Hi,

I've just bough some black polished porcelain tiles for my kitchen floor and I'm a little unsure about a few things, so here goes...

When I was buying the tiles today I visited a few different shops, looking at what appeared to be the same tiles, Topps insisted that I needed some sealer at £30 to stop the grout staining the tiles "and nothing more". Another shop claimed the sealer was a one off treatment to prevent stains from liquids and one place (Pilkingtons) said the tiles didn't need any sealer.

So, I'm guessing that I will need the sealer, but is it OK to apply the sealer to the tiles before laying them? That seems like an easier option? Also, I read on here that I may need to remove some kind of coating/wax before applying the sealer? Can anyone recommend a cleaner for this please?

Thanks

Dave.

 

[DHTiling]

Hello Dave.. welcome..


Polished porcelain does need sealing but this is to close the pores to prevent grout as you say grabbing these pores and giving that stained look..

Check to make sure there is no Transit wax on them and then seal with a suitable penetrating sealer.

LTP MPG is one..

 

[peckers]

Polished porcelain does need sealing most companys supply a sealer for polished porcelain. if you work cleanly ie. washing out the joints and cleaning the tile surface as you go then you can apply the sealer after they have been layed but before you grout them. if you want to you can apply the sealer before you tile.
if the tiles have transit wax on them, there might be something on the box telling you if they have or not or the tile supplier should be able to confirm this. if they have then this needs to be removed before you grout them you can use either lithofin abra clean or aquamix nano scrub(thanks dave) once this has been removed then apply sealer and then grout.

 

[David-M.]

Thanks Dave & Peckers.

So it's OK to seal them before they are layed?, that's my main concern. Assuming the transit wax has been removed of course.

Thanks

 

[DHTiling]

Ye! no probs.. or lay them cleanly and seal before grouting..

 

[David-M.]

Cheers Dave

 

[DHTiling]

Make sure you buff any sealer before it dries on the surface..

 

[tfs]

Some manufacturers are using new technoligies to pre seal tiles such as nano polishing, such tiles will not need to be sealed prior to fixing. The tile retailer will tell you when this is the case.

 

[tfs]

as mentioned by by someone else there are also transit seals on some tiles which should be removed prior to sealing. You can use strong cleaning product such as ltp Grimex to remove and prepare the tile prior to sealing with a suitable sealer.

 

[David-M.]

Wow, thanks for all the replies, very helpful indeed

I was wondering though, let's say I get this sealer LTG MPG, will I ever need to reapply it to the tiles, if so, is it a yearly thing or just when it wears off? Also, are there a lot of fumes from it?

Finally, for the buffing, will kitchen roll be OK? or would microfibre cloths be a better bet?

 

[DHTiling]

The sealer is just to aid maintenance and should last around 5 yrs depending on cleaning regime.

Micro fibre cloths are good for cleaning off excess residue.

 

[David-M.]

Cheers Dave.

 

[David-M.]

Just need to pick someone's brain a second if possible?

I'm just clearing the floor in the kitchen, it is on two levels, the lower level used to be a coal shed and a utility room and that has been knocked through so it's one large room with a step the height of a brick in the middle.

In the lower part, there was laminate down, then the foam underlay and under that were some really old floor tiles glued onto the concrete floor. So, off I go with the scraper and one or two of them came away much easier than the others, and I noticed a smell what I can only describe as that of an old cellar, sort of damp but dusty. There was a bit of white power dotted around under this tile.

Straight away, I thought it might be damp because unlike the other half of the kitchen, there doesn't appear to be any DPC in the floor, the rest of the downstairs has a black rubber (ish) coating on all the floors. But, there is a DPC in the walls.

Would it be advisable to get some DPC and put it down before the tiles, or is the damage already done? There didn't appear to be any physical dampness that I could see, in fact it was very dry and dusty.

Hopefully I'm worrying over nothing again

Thanks.

 

[tfs]

If there is no DPM you may be able to use a chemical DPM normally a two part expoxy and hardener.

If there is too much moisture there may be more work involved though.

 

[David-M.]

Thanks ttf

By the way, my local tile place doesn't have any of the sealers recommended here, but they do have this, is this any good, or should I order a different one online?

Tile Sealer - Aerosol Tile Impregnator - Seal Guard United Kingdom

Edit: Actually, sod it, I'll order the recommended one online and have done with it

Cheers.