Matter to note in Tile Setting

1. Tiles are classified as rectified (when after firing to size, it is again cut at all 4 corners to give it a uniform size) and non-rectified (size is as it is after firing, ie sizes can vary by 0.5 to 1.0mm in size, either length or breadth wise).

2. It is recommended that rectified ceramic, porcelain and homogenous wall tiles be given minimum 1mm gap for contraction and expansion. For Polished Porcelain or Homogenous tile that are made in China, due to their sharp chamfering, a 1.5mm – 2mm gap is recommended as anything lesser will pronounce the feeling of unevenness (Standard BCA guideline is 3mm). Butt gap is not recommended for Polished Porcelain or Homogenous tiles.

3. All tiles have a certain degree of warpage. The European standard for straightness of sides is around +/- 0.5% of the size of the tile. In general, the bigger the tile, the higher the degree of warpage and unevenness at the sides.

4. Laying 60x60 cm Polished Porcelain / Homogenous Tiles: Dry / Wet laying method.

Dry Lay Method:

Screeding and leveling of mortar cement already done. Tiles are pasted directly on the flooring using bonding agents or cement paste. This method laying has the advantage of better bonding of tiles (ie tiles won’t pop out so easily in time) but higher chance of leapage/ leveling problem (ie unevenness).

Wet Lay Method:

Tiles are directly set in when the cement mortar mix is still wet. This method has the advantage of better evenness in that tiles are evenly spreaded out and cured together at the same time. However if the tiles are not properly pasted or set in, tiles may pop out in the near future. Generally speaking, this is the preferred method of laying Polished tiles at the moment.

5. In general, most people would prefer the same sizing for wall and floor in width so that it creates a pleasing and even grout line throughout. If tile size selected for wall and floor is different, the flooring tiles can be laid diagonally.