The tiled floor is a wonderful coating, which not only has an extremely attractive appearance, but also has amazing performance. Ceramic tile is able to withstand heavy loads, it is not afraid of water, perfectly withstands the repeated movement of heavy furniture on it, has a long service life. It has long and successfully been used as flooring in toilets, bathrooms, hallways, kitchens, and in recent years it has become fashionable to make ceramic tile floors in living rooms and even bedrooms.
Laying ceramic tiles on different bases
From the qualitative characteristics of the base surface on which the floor tiles are laid , not only the appearance of the surface, but also its operational qualities largely depend. A new floor covering will serve for many years only in those cases if its foundation has previously been carefully and competently prepared.
The most traditional way is laying ceramic tiles on the screed. There is another type of base coat - a concrete base, the use of which as a base for a ceramic floor gives amazing results - flooring in such cases is just perfect, but concrete floors are not so common in practice, especially in old houses and apartments. Screed, as a rule, is always in the bathrooms, toilets, hallways and kitchens, so when installing a new floor, it is sometimes enough only to fix existing defects in places or cover the entire old floor with a self-leveling mixture.
During cosmetic repairs, sometimes there is already a tile covering on the floor. If the old ceramic floor is durable, the tile on it lies thoroughly and is not covered with multiple cracks, then it is often quite difficult to remove, without causing great harm to the screed. In such cases, the old flooring can be left, it is enough to treat it with a special primer, which will roughen the surface of the base and thereby provide better adhesion of the new tile to the old one.
Laying tiles on a wooden floor is not particularly welcomed by specialists, but - in case of urgent need - is possible. True, the floor must be strong and stable, since it will have to withstand a very impressive additional weight of their layer of adhesive solution and the tile itself. Therefore, quite often, before the start of cladding, the wooden floor is sewn up with plywood sheets, which will not only strengthen the base, but also make it more even.
Tile and glue selection
Laying ceramic tiles on the floor will be durable only if a good adhesive composition is selected for the cladding, which corresponds to the type and type of facing material. There is a ready-to-use adhesive on sale, which, however, is quite expensive, as well as special dry mixes. The adhesive for tiled flooring can be universal (used most often), base (intended only for perfectly even substrates), reinforced (for large floor tiles), and also special - this product is well suited for facing metal, glass, old tiles .
Ceramic tiles today are available in multiple variations and vary in size, thickness, surface type, color, manufacturing method, purpose and some other parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to approach her choice very thoughtfully, taking as a basis the immutable rule - floor ceramic coating must be made only from a material specially designed for these purposes. Ceramic wall tiles are not suitable for its use on the floor, as it is much thinner and is not able to withstand heavy loads.
The modern construction industry provides future owners with all the possibilities so that not only the choice, but also the direct laying of ceramic tiles does not cause special questions and difficulties.