tiles Advice and information on tiling and fixing tiles to a variety of surfaces

[wheeldon1]

we have purchased porcelain tiles and it says that that we should apply a porcelain impregnator to them before we fix them,a friend has said that u.p.v.a glue would suffice,is this correct,thanx

[PST]

HI i'm afraid your friend is incorrect any PVA is water based and will soften with water contact. you should only be sealing porcelain tiles if 1. its a polished porcelain and 2. you are using a dark coloured grout .
Companies like FILA , SILA , HAGEASON , LIONHEART , LITHOFIN all do a porcelain sealer in their ranges.

[mraich]

[quote="PST"]HI i'm afraid your friend is incorrect any PVA is water based and will soften with water contact. you should only be sealing porcelain tiles if 1. its a polished porcelain and 2. you are using a dark coloured grout .
Companies like FILA , SILA , HAGEASON , LIONHEART , LITHOFIN all do a porcelain sealer in their ranges.[/quote]

Speaking of tiling PST can you please tell me how to determine what grade of floor tile I should consider for partially tiling my hallway. Some of the tiles I have looked at in stores were cracked. Is there a minimum thickness of tile that should be used for my purpose. Also, could you explain the difference between, Travertine and other tiles. Many thanks.

[chris_on_tour2002]

any floor tile designed for the job should be suitable, if they are laid properly you should not have any problems. if the ones in the shop are cracked, just don't buy the cracked ones. could have been damaged in transit or abused in the shop. not necessarily a reflection of what could happen in your hallway.

travertine is a natural stone - its actually a type of limestone so its quite soft. i have it on my bathroom and toilet floor and no problems. makle sure you seal them with an appropriate product. ceramic tiles are made from clay and fired in a kiln to make them hard.

[mraich]

[quote="chris_on_tour2002"]any floor tile designed for the job should be suitable, if they are laid properly you should not have any problems. if the ones in the shop are cracked, just don't buy the cracked ones. could have been damaged in transit or abused in the shop. not necessarily a reflection of what could happen in your hallway.

travertine is a natural stone - its actually a type of limestone so its quite soft. i have it on my bathroom and toilet floor and no problems. makle sure you seal them with an appropriate product. ceramic tiles are made from clay and fired in a kiln to make them hard.[/quote][quote]
Thank you Chris_On_Tour2002 for your info on tiles. However, we have run into another problem with the floor. After taking up the carpet we noticed some of the Marley tiles were bulging slightly and removed them from the concrete floor to discover a crack in the floor right across the hallway - about 4 feet. Thought I should do the rigt thing and reported it to insurance company (in case it might present a problem later on) who sent out an assessor to look at it. It is only about an eigth of an inch wide. Anyway the insurance people told me that even if it is not covered by the policy (it isn't) I would have to pay the excess and it would be considered a claim. The assessor suggested I have the floor dug up about 2 feet either side of the crack and have it refilled with concrete. I wonder why I bother paying house insurance. I have NEVER made a claim before. Thanks again for your input.[/quote]

[chris_on_tour2002]

why would you have to pay excess? if it isn't a claim they won't pay out. if they are not paying out why do they consider it a claim? i think that needs querying...

i'd also get an independent survey done before proceeding with any work. it might be that no action need be taken. just a thought.

[mraich]

[quote="chris_on_tour2002"]why would you have to pay excess? if it isn't a claim they won't pay out. if they are not paying out why do they consider it a claim? i think that needs querying...

i'd also get an independent survey done before proceeding with any work. it might be that no action need be taken. just a thought.[/quote]

Thanks again, Chris. I think what you say is good advice. I thought I was insured with Castle Cover but they referred me to AXA who is the actual insurer. The person at Castle Cover tells me that the excess is payable because the assessor had to come out but why it should also be considered a claim annoys me no end. Keep up your good work.