Materials and tools for tiles

When you are going to lay tiles on a floor or wall, you need some materials and tools. We go through what you need for your clinker and granite ceramic tiling.

Clinker tiles for your floors and walls

The fact that you need tiles for your floors and/or walls will probably not come as a surprise. But the question is which clinker tiles you should choose. Today, there is a wide range of tiles in different sizes, surface treatments, colors and patterns. Choose based on your personal taste and the conditions of the room. Also remember to choose good quality clinker tiles so that your renovation stays fresh and beautiful over the years. At Stenbolaget you will find a wide range of ceramic tiles for indoor and outdoor use - always in good quality! See our indoor range here .

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Planning is essential

Before you start, it is good that you carry out a proper planning of your construction. A lot of material is used when laying tiles and through careful preparation you can reduce wastage or that your tiles suddenly run out.

You can easily calculate the number of tiles you need based on how many square meters are to be tiled. With the help of the size of the plate, you work out how many are used in a row. Also remember to include the joint width in the calculation. Then you add a margin of 10%.

Tile tools you need from start to finish

In addition to the consumables, you need some tiling tools when laying tiles. First of all, you need to prepare the substrate and then you may need special tools. If you already have tiles or clinker on the surface, you need, for example, a hammer and chisel to remove these. If you are going to lay tiles on a painted surface, it is a good idea to sand off the paint for better adhesion. Make sure the surface is level before you start and that your walls meet the requirements for waterproofing.

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Protective equipment when renovating

As with most construction projects, you also need to protect the body in one way or another. Feel free to use safety glasses and a mouth guard if necessary when preparing the floor or wall.

Tiles and tiles with the right measurements

To measure the area and for drying, you need a tape measure, a ruler and a pencil. Make sure the tiles end up in a straight line with a spirit level and mark where they need to be cut. Good preparatory work reduces wastage and gives a better result with tiles in the right size!

When you are going to cut your tiles or your granite ceramics, you need some type of cutter, electric or manual. If you also need to cut the corners, you can use pliers that you cut with. File with a sanding block for an even and neat result.

Fix and joint must be thoroughly mixed

For materials for tiles, such as joint and fix, you need a bucket and whisk for a drill so that the masses are properly mixed. Next, you need a trowel and notched trowel for tiling. Tooth putty is used to remove adhesive and is available in several different sizes for toothing. The bigger the plate, the bigger the toothing as they say!

Place your tiles with an even joint

When you install the clinker tiles, you need string or tile cross in the desired joint width. If you use string, remove it after tiling, while the cross can remain. With the tiles in place and after the caulk has dried, use a joint pad to fill the gaps with the caulk. You then need to wash the surface clean using a sponge and joint board.

Finish by polishing the clinker tiles with a polishing cloth or tangle. You then apply the soft joint with a joint gun.

For your tiled surface, you may also need tiling tools to drill into the tiles. Then use a tile drill.

Fixing compound and material for tiling

When laying tiles, you also need material for the tiling. Bonding compound comes in many different varieties, but where most are bound together with cement. They are also called fixes and are available for most areas of use.

In some cases, it can also work with organic adhesives such as tile adhesive. It is an easy adhesive to work with and a great alternative in that you buy it ready-mixed. It works well with many clinker tiles. A prerequisite, however, is that the tile has a water absorption of less than 3% and that you should not tile in wet areas.

Joint compound for your tiled floor

With the tiles in place, you need grout for your tiles to fill up the voids with. Clinker joint is a good alternative and is more coarse-grained than the tile joint. Usually they are cement based and mixed with water. There are different shades of grout for tiles. Which one you choose depends on the desired effect and taste. It is common to choose the color of the joint in a similar color to the tile, but you can also use a contrasting color for a distinctive grid pattern.

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Fix and joint where several factors determine consumption

The amount of fix and joint you need is determined by several factors. The size of the slab, the toothing of the notched trowel and the amount of water in the mixture are some examples that control the consumption per square meter of the fix. It can vary a lot and generally it is between 2-5 kg ​​per m2. For larger plates, you can count on a higher consumption.

The consumption of joint is controlled by the size of the tile but also by the thickness of the tile and the joint width you want. If you lay tiles in the dimensions 30*30 cm, with a thickness of 10 mm and a joint width of 4 mm, you can expect to use about 0.4 kg of joint per square meter.

When you buy fixings and joints for your tiles, it's a good idea to leave a margin for spills. You don't want to risk running out of your tile material during tiling.

Joining tiles in corners and along edges

When you have finished tiling, you need to seal edges and corners with soft joint. The jointing of tiles is now very simple and is the last thing you need in terms of material to finish your renovation. Lay it with 5 mm in width or the same joint width as for the tile surface.

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