What is tiling?

Tiling is covering walls and floors with tiles made of ceramic, natural stone, glass or concrete, fixed to a substrate with tile adhesive or mortar and then grouted. It produces a hard-wearing, easy-to-clean finish widely used in bathrooms, kitchens, toilets, hallways and outdoor areas. In Dutch it is called tegelwerk.

Build-up

1. Substrate: flat, dry, sound and clean (plaster, plasterboard, sand-cement screed, concrete or tile backer board).
2. Primer: improves adhesion and controls the suction of the substrate.
3. Waterproofing: in wet zones such as showers, a liquid or sheet tanking system with sealing tape in corners and around penetrations.
4. Tile adhesive: classified under EN 12004; C1 is normal cementitious adhesive, C2 is improved. An added S1 or S2 indicates deformability, important with underfloor heating and large formats.
5. Tiles: laid with tile spacers or a levelling system.
6. Grout: cementitious grout to EN 13888 (for example CG2 with improved properties) or epoxy grout for heavily or chemically loaded areas.
7. Sealant joints: in internal corners, along baths and shower trays, and at junctions with other materials.

Practical tips

• Set out first: make a drawing or dry-lay the tiles to avoid thin cut strips at doorways or in prominent places.
• Full adhesive bed: comb the adhesive with the right notch size and press the tile in with a sliding motion. For floor and outdoor tiles, also butter the back of the tile (back-buttering) to avoid voids.
• Movement joints: keep floor tiles clear of walls and carry movement joints in the substrate through the tiling.
• Curing time: wait to grout and load the floor until the adhesive has cured sufficiently according to the data sheet.

Common mistakes

• Tiling onto a screed that is still too damp.
• Grouting internal corners with normal grout instead of sealant: it cracks with movement.
• Skipping waterproofing behind the shower; tiles and grout themselves are not waterproof.

Key checks when tiling

• Substrate flat, dry, sound and clean: For example plaster, plasterboard, sand-cement screed, concrete or tile backer board.
• Screed no longer too damp: Tiling onto a screed that is still too damp is a common mistake.
• Waterproofing behind the shower: Tiles and grout themselves are not waterproof.
• Sealant, not normal grout, in internal corners: Normal grout in internal corners cracks with movement.
• Adhesive cured before grouting and loading the floor: Wait until the adhesive has cured sufficiently according to the data sheet.

Related terms

• Tile spacer
• Joint
• Expansion joint
• Split tile
• Paver pedestal

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