The tile windowsill is most often made in the kitchen, because here this extra space is also used to place dishes, household appliances, and arrange indoor plants in pots. The window sill lining in this room should be moisture resistant, durable, resistant to stress and easy to clean.
Material Features
Due to its operational characteristics, the tile is ideal for decorating the kitchen windowsill, because moisture and various impurities accumulate here. This cladding may even increase its strength.
In comparison with a plastic surface, the tile does not turn yellow, does not lose its aesthetic properties for a long time of operation. This material also benefits from an aesthetic point of view. A wide variety of shades and textures allows you to use it with any interior style. The material can be of different sizes, but 10 × 10 tile is better for a windowsill. Large enough, it looks aesthetically pleasing, and even when laying there are few seams between the elements.
Scope of application
Most often, the windowsill is made of tiles in houses made of brick, ceramic concrete, foam concrete or cinder blocks. In these houses, the windowsill, as a rule, has already been filled in or made a kind of blank, which will serve as its basis. It must be thoroughly cleaned of dust and primed to increase the adhesion of the material to the base. If this is not done, the tile may fly off after a few months.
If there is already a window sill, but you need to make a new lining, you must first remove the old one. Further, the surface of the window sill is carefully leveled, all dents and chips are puttied. To keep the tile for many years, it is necessary to purchase putty, primer and glue from the same manufacturer in stores.
Facing with ceramic tiles
Ceramics are used in rooms with high humidity: in the kitchen, in the bathroom, shower. In order to correctly calculate how much material is needed to cover the window sill, it is necessary to measure its surface, compare it with the dimensions of the tile and add 20% for a possible defect.
Tiling the window sill with tiles can be done with your own hands, if you follow some nuances. The material must be laid under a slight slope so that the water that enters the window sill does not drain into the corner, but goes to the floor.
For window sills protruding beyond the wall, it is first necessary to make a concrete substrate and reinforce it with steel mesh or rods with a diameter of at least 4 mm. Before laying the tiles, check the tightness of the joint, where the window sill is adjacent to the window. Existing cracks must be treated with silicone putty, designed for wet rooms. Ordinary mastic is not suitable here, because due to high humidity it will begin to crumble quickly.
For cladding, you can use not only white tiles. It is necessary to take into account the design of the room, in some cases the color will look more advantageous. Some homeowners turn a window sill from a tile into a real work of art, but it is difficult to do it yourself, it is better to turn to professionals. It is worth considering that such work will cost more than a standard cladding.
In general, the price of a window sill made of tiles directly depends on the quality of the material, the manufacturer and the cost of repair work.
Mosaic tiles
Recently, window sill lining with mosaic tiles has become popular. The process of laying the mosaic itself is much simpler and does not take much time. This design looks modern and stylish.
The only drawback of this cladding is that it has many seams, because the mosaic is much smaller than ordinary ceramic tiles. Moisture may accumulate in the seams and mold may appear, making it difficult to care for the surface. Problems can be avoided if you purchase high-quality grout for joints, this is not worth saving. When choosing a mosaic for cladding, you must understand in advance that you need to take care of such a windowsill more carefully.
As a finish, you can buy a finished mosaic in the store or make it yourself from beaten tiles. The second option will require certain skills in working with glass. If there is no such experience, then it is better not to experiment, so as not to get injured.
The surface of the window sill before laying the mosaic is prepared in the same way as for ceramic tiles. Then, special glue is applied to it and mosaic elements are laid. Excess pieces of material are cut with a glass cutter. Excess grout is removed with a rubber spatula. After the surface is completely dry, it is cleaned with a damp sponge.