How to lay tiles on the mortar. We lay the tiles on a cement-sand mortar. Grouting tiles

If repairs are being started or are already ongoing in your house, then you will certainly face the question of how to lay tiles on cement. We are happy to inform you that it is quite possible to do it yourself! This will take some time and patience, but the result will please you, besides, you will not have to overpay for work, mask or redo flaws for negligent workers. So, arm yourself with everything you need - and go!

Any construction and repair work should begin with the selection of high-quality material. Therefore, you also have to approach this issue with a sober calculation. You will need the freshest cement (after a year of storage, it can lose a significant share of its gluing ability), it is better to choose, of course, a better brand, for example, from 300. Stock up on high-quality sand, coarse-grained sand is best, but clean, without small debris and pebbles. If you are not sure about the purity of the sand, pass it through a sieve.

Mix the cement mortar. For grade 300-400, take the ratio of 1 part of cement to 5 parts of sand, for grades 500-600, a ratio of 1 to 6 is suitable. In order for the tile to hold tighter, add PVA glue to the solution, about 1/25 of the total volume of the mixture. Do not leave the diluted solution, as it will quickly harden irreversibly.

Install lighthouse tiles on the floor that you will be equal to so that the rows are neat. Pull the cord at the level of the beacons, apply cement along it. Do not apply the solution over a large area to avoid drying out during work. The cement layer should be 5 mm thicker than the lighthouse tile.

Take a tile, moisten its reverse side with water and seat it firmly in the solution. Press the tile with gentle tapping of the hammer. Adjust the shrinkage height carefully according to the cord. After finishing one row, seat it with a long bar - this will finally align the tile. Align further rows with the first.

In order for the tiled masonry to look aesthetically pleasing, after the final hardening of the cement, carefully process the seams with a special tile grout. Today, in hardware stores you can find an extensive range of these products, you can even match the grout to the color of your tile. In addition to the aesthetic factor, the grout will increase the strength of the tiled masonry, as it will not allow water to soak and crumble the cement, moreover, it is much easier to wash the debris accumulating there from the grouted joints.

Congratulations, you have just learned how to lay tiles on cement yourself! Now a little practice - and you will become a real professional in this matter. Good luck with the repair!

This article will describe the process of laying ceramic wall tiles with your own hands. The laying itself will require precision and accuracy from you, since this will directly depend on how even your surface of tiles will turn out.

materials

Laying ceramic tiles on the walls is done using special adhesives, mastics or cement mortar.

If the surface on which ceramic tiles are laid is flat, then it is best to use cement mortar or glue. The most popular among domestic consumers are ready-made mixtures: “Adhesive-sealant”, “Bustilat”, “PVA”, mastics “PSB” and “Gumilaks”, as well as other adhesive compositions focused on laying ceramic tiles on walls painted with oil paint, plastered, brick, concrete and wood.

Mastics for tiles are usually made on the basis of rubber and rubber. Although it is easier to work with them, the service life of the tile attached to the wall with their help is short. Especially mastics do not withstand high temperatures.

Often, home craftsmen prefer to make mastic for laying wall tiles on their own. To do this, mix 3-4 parts of dry cement and 1 part of dry casein glue. A little more cement is added to the prepared liquid glue, the lumps are broken and filtered through a thick sieve. The working capabilities of home-made mastic last two days after preparation.

There is another recipe for making casein mastic. To do this, use 1 part (by weight) of casein powder, 2 parts of lime (“fluff”), 2 parts of water and 0.1 part of sodium fluoride, which acts as an antiseptic additive.

But the most reliable material for laying ceramic tiles on walls today is still cement mortar. Moreover, tiles of all varieties fit equally well on it and on almost all types of surfaces. Cement mortar is prepared from the ratio of 4 parts of sand to 1 part of dry cement.

Preparing for styling

What set of tools is needed in order to lay the tiles with your own hands? First of all, we need a spatula for plastering and a ruler (or a cross with divisions in millimeters). You will also need a glass cutter, a chisel and a hammer (for cutting and cutting tiles). A spatula, a level, a weight and a rule are indispensable in order to keep the tile laying uniform.

The technology of laying ceramic tiles provides for the preliminary preparation of the surface for work. Brick and concrete surfaces are prepared quite simply. The wooden wall needs serious and thorough preparation. A roofing material is glued onto it, on which, in turn, a metal mesh with cells ranging from 10x10mm to 30x30mm is fixed. The grid should be fixed so 10-15 mm from the wall.

Next, a cement mortar is applied to the wall and thoroughly leveled. In order for the adhesion of the tile to the wall to be sufficient, notches are applied to the wet coating in a chaotic manner and direction. After 5 days with three daily wetting, the coating is ready for use.

Laying methods

Before laying the tile, it is immersed in water for 8-10 hours. The tile is abundantly saturated with moisture, which has a positive effect on the strength of adhesion to mastic or cement mortar. It often happens that the technology was violated during the production of tiles, as a result of which stains appear under the enamel on the tiles.

To check the reputation of the manufacturer, several tiles are dried after soaking and placed on the mortar on the wall. If even after 2-3 days the tile coating remains unchanged, then the entire batch can be soaked. Otherwise, the tile should not be left in water, but it is enough to limit it to a wet wipe before laying on the mortar.

Laying ceramic tiles on cement mortar

The technology of laying ceramic tiles includes preliminary hanging of the walls before work using a plumb line. Next, it is necessary to plant several control tile tiles (“beacons”) on the mortar, which will determine the uniform level of the lined surface. For a small surface area, 4 “beacons” located in the corners are quite enough.

First, one “beacon” is laid, and then, applying the rule and the level, the second tile is laid horizontally. The rest of the beacons are adjusted according to the same principle. Do not forget to observe a single single solution thickness of 10-15 mm. With a significant surface area, beacons are placed at a distance of at least 0.5 m from each other.

Further, rails are installed on each side of the wall, to which a horizontal cord will be attached when laying the tiles. It is under this cord that each tile will be installed. Reiki are wooden bars, the length of which is about 2 m, and the cross section is 40x40 mm. At the last stage of facing work, the slats are removed, and the place where they stood is filled with tiles. Control the volume of mortar under the tile, as the tile is placed only on the gap between the tile and the base that is completely filled with mortar.

The width of each seam is controlled using plastic crosses or wedges, which are removed at the end of the work. The thickness of the crosses is from 1 to 5 mm.

If the tiles are laid before the flooring is laid, then it is necessary to put a wooden lath under the first row of tiles with a thickness equal to the future level of the new floor.

In accordance with the technology of laying tiles, the mortar is placed on the tile in the form of a pyramid with a truncated top. After that, the tile is pressed against the wall. Attention: do not forget to ensure that the mortar under the tile fills the entire space! Excess mortar coming out along the edges of the tile is removed with a trowel.

After the mortar has hardened and the adhesion strength of the tile to the base has been checked, the entire inter-joint space should be carefully cleared and filled with cement mortar (cement and sand 1: 1) or one of the special grouts designed to fill the joints and produced in various colors. All excess is also removed, but with a damp cloth.

Putting ceramic tiles on mastic

By analogy with the method of laying ceramic tiles on cement mortar, ceramic tiles are also laid on a special mastic. The tile is placed under a stretched cord horizontally in a row.

First check the evenness of the wall. In this case, the deviation of the plumb line should be no more than 1.5 mm. The base is cleaned of stains of dirt and grease. The technology of laying tiles involves starting wall cladding from the lowest row. Since the floor is not always even, a wooden lath of a certain thickness is installed under the bottom row, due to which the tiles in the first row are laid strictly horizontally.

The wall is pre-coated with a 1-2 mm layer of mastic, and then the back side of the tile is rubbed with a damp cloth or brush and the same layer of mastic is applied to it. Next, the tile is pressed tightly against the surface of the wall and tapped with a bar designed for upsetting. In order for the mastic not to go down, wedges are knocked under the first row.

Cutting tiles and laying them on the wall

Since it is not always possible to lay tiles in whole units, sooner or later it will have to be cut. For the correct cutting of the tile, first draw a cut line, after which it is carried out with a glass cutter, while pressing hard on the tool with your hand. The tile cut with a glass cutter is taken in both hands and broken with a sharp movement along the cut line on the edge of the table. Narrow strips of tiles can be broken off along the cut line with pliers. There is even a special tool, which is a symbiosis of pliers and a glass cutter (manual tile cutter), using which you can greatly simplify the operation of cutting tiles. The price of such a device is available to any consumer and will be justified even with a single use.

Placement of tiles on the wall can be done seam to seam, in a run and diagonally:

the option "seam to seam" is both symmetrical and non-symmetrical. With symmetrical laying, one tile is placed in the middle of the first lower row, and facing is carried out from it to the right and left. In this case, you will only have to cut the tiles that meet the corners. The asymmetric version is distinguished by the fact that the first tile is placed in one of the lower corners, and a row is drawn horizontally from it to the opposite corner. In this case, it will be necessary to cut the tile in only one of the corners. The asymmetric method gives a minimum of waste;
placing tiles on the wall "in a run" allows you to cut only those tiles that are adjacent to the wall corner;
diagonal placement of tiles is considered the most time-consuming process, since ceramic tiles will have to be laid not just like that, but by cutting them from each corner of the wall, as well as in the top and bottom rows.

Rules for laying tiles on the floor

Putting tiles on the floor with your own hands is quite simple. First, a cement mortar is prepared, to which a larger amount of sand is added than when laying tiles on walls. The ratio is 5-6 parts of sand to one part of dry cement. Laying ceramic floor tiles on a concrete floor is the easiest, as concrete does not need any preliminary preparation. The surface is moistened, and a layer of pure cement 3 mm thick is sown on top through a thick sieve. When the cement absorbs water from the surface of the concrete floor and turns into a pasty state, tiles can be laid on it. It is not necessary to apply a solution to the tile itself.

Along with pure cement, a mortar mixed in a 1:1 ratio with sand can be used. The thickness of the applied layer should also be about 3 mm. In the case of a very relief and uneven screed, the mortar layer can reach 15 mm. With small dimensions of the room (up to 10 sq.m), “beacons” are laid on the plaster in the corners of the surface to be lined. First, one of the tiles is laid, and then, in accordance with the level measurement, the second tile is laid horizontally. The rest of the beacons are adjusted according to the same principle. As soon as the beacons are in place, we put the rest of the tile, not forgetting to check the accuracy of laying with the level and rule. You can set the tile to the desired level using the handle of the spatula. After laying the first row of tiles, the beacons are removed, the place under them is cleared of gypsum mortar and filled with tiles, which are already set on a permanent cement mortar.

We have learned how to properly lay tiles on the floor, and now we will consider the final stage of work.

Final stage of work

All cement mortar that has come out on the surface of the tile should be removed. After 2-3 days, it is necessary to prepare cement milk or grout, which will fill all the cavities of the joints between the tiles. After another 1-2 days, the floor surface is repeatedly wiped with a damp cloth, completely removing traces of cement from the tile. In this case, the cement remains only in the seams. If it is problematic to remove the cement mortar from the surface of the tile, then a 3% solution of hydrochloric acid is applied to the tile, which should be washed off with water after a few minutes. The floor will be ready for use in 1 week.

Video on installing tiles on the wall

As a rule, a qualified craftsman is invited to perform the tiling of a bathroom or a kitchen work wall. Many factors speak in favor of such a decision: materials are now expensive, and the process of leveling surfaces is a laborious task, requiring a sharp eye and a faithful hand. Special equipment used for cutting tiles costs a lot, and it is not particularly cost-effective to purchase it for the sake of one time. In addition, not everyone knows how to properly prepare a cement-sand mortar. This article will help fill this gap.

Ready mixes

Today, in the construction markets and in specialized stores, ready-made mixtures of various brands are freely sold, each of which most fully corresponds to its purpose. On thick paper bags, in addition to the manufacturer's logo, it is indicated why this material is needed. There are mixes for outdoor use, wet rooms, and many other types of gray powdered mass, which, according to the advertising of instant lemonade, you just need to add water. These materials are certainly good, they have only one drawback, which, however, overlaps all their advantages. A ready-made cement-sand mortar will cost two times (and sometimes more) more than a home-made one. If the owner of the house has the funds to buy a branded mixture, then, as a rule, he will find money for the master. But the one who decided to do everything with his own hands would prefer to save money.

Main and additional ingredients

The composition of the cement-sand mortar, as the name implies, contains cement and sand. In addition to these main ingredients, it may also contain additives that change properties according to the requirements for building materials. If you do not take into account some high-tech active substances, which, according to advertising, are saturated with ready-made mixtures from leading manufacturers, then you can choose from the products available to the average buyer quite effective and inexpensive additives that will increase the adhesive ability, give some elasticity and durability to the layer, and , therefore, will provide the necessary resistance, strength and durability to the entire composition. But more on that later, but for now we should dwell on the quality indicators of the main components.

cement quality

In addition to the brand, cement is characterized by age. The fresher the main binder, the better the result will be. You should not stock up on this type of building material for the future: it is hygroscopic, and therefore, having absorbed moisture, it becomes a monolith, no matter how hard it is to break, so useless. It is also possible to buy stale goods on the market if the seller is not honest enough, but if you just scoop up a product in a handful, then it will not be difficult to determine how old it is. The new product is “fluffy”, it spreads between the fingers so that you won’t notice how the palm is empty. The stale one, on the contrary, will immediately begin to crumple, so it is quite easy to distinguish good from bad, even for an inexperienced buyer. The following calculation of the brand of cement-sand mortar is made from the initial assumption that the cement is new, and if you still get it not very fresh, then, of course, you can use it, but you will have to experiment a little. And be prepared for the fact that its consumption will increase.

Sand

It is best if it is river and already sifted. Otherwise, you need to take a sieve with a small cell, a shovel, and go ahead. Clay inclusions are undesirable, they reduce the overall density of the cement-sand mortar, which will affect the result. The main thing to remember is that there should be no shells and pebbles, they will worsen the fit of the tile, and they will have to be picked out at the most inopportune moment. Good preparation is half the battle, as the British say, and this statement is quite applicable to the process of preparing the second most important ingredient, sand.

Water

There are no special requirements here, it can be taken from the tap, but in the case of a lake or river, you need to make sure that there are no algae and other microorganisms in it. Adding moisture to the finished mixture is preferable to doing it the other way around, because it's easier to achieve the desired consistency. The cement-sand mortar should be the same as that of a good housewife's dough: not liquid (otherwise it will all slide off), but plastic enough to hold well on the wall while waiting for the tile. Too dry is also bad - it will not stick as it should.

Available Supplements

So the turn came to the "secret additives":

In the first place among them is worthy the good old polyvinyl acetate glue, aka PVA. It has the wonderful quality of resisting moisture when cured. In addition, the adhesive properties are greatly enhanced. You don’t need a lot of it, but you need to keep a couple of cans of a kilogram on hand, so that each bucket of cement has 200 grams.
Detergents give the solution elasticity, which increases durability.
If the tile needs to be laid outside, then a plasticizer with an antifreeze composition (it is sold) should be added, and it should be applied according to the instructions printed on the package.

Share of cement and brand of cement-sand mortar

So, the main binder substance, cement. He is different. In addition to the usual portlad, there are grades used to create heavy-duty layers and even plugging oil wells. They rarely happen on sale, but if somehow the future tile laying master still comes across some kind of special cement, then the general rule should be remembered: the larger the number indicates the brand, the more sand needs to be added to the solution. This must be taken into account because the high hardness of the final layer between the wall and the back of the tile does not at all mean better adhesion. With vibrations experienced by building structures, microcracks appear over time, and, as a result, the hardened solution is destroyed. This will not happen if the tile "sits" on a softer base. Cement-sand mortar M100 (and it is quite enough for high-quality cladding) is obtained by mixing three parts of sand and one share of grade 400 cement. In this case, its volume should be a quarter of the total mass. However, novice repairmen do not always have enough experience, they want the tiles to stick faster. It is possible, but it is important not to overdo it. It is easy to calculate that a more viscous and quick-hardening cement-sand mortar M150 will be obtained if there are two and a half buckets of sand per bucket of cement. You don't need to knead more.

For business!

No matter how good the cement-sand mortar is, if it is used incorrectly, the case can end in a complete fiasco. How to lay tiles correctly is a topic for a separate discussion, but the main reasons for failures can be briefly listed right now. These include:

poorly prepared surfaces (namely, the remains of old paint, loose plaster, serious irregularities, etc.);
dry tile (it must be pre-soaked, for half an hour or more, until it stops hissing in the open air);
the desire to lay the tiles end-to-end, without gaps. It is almost impossible to do this absolutely evenly, and if it succeeds, then due to natural vibrations, the tiles will press on each other until the entire layer falls behind. To create the desired gap, special plastic "crosses" are sold, but you can get by with matches - they are just the right thickness.

There are other mistakes made by novice masters, but they are not so critical. However, only idlers always act correctly. Here they have a word never at odds with the deed! And to everyone else - good luck and determination!

Before starting work, make sure that the base is level and clean. When gluing tiles, its moisture content should not exceed 8%. First, the tiles are laid out and the number of rows is determined, as well as the number of tiles in each row; match the pattern if available.

It is necessary to count the number of pieces and their size relative to the whole tile to cover narrow areas of the floor. You can cut the tiles using an electric machine, having previously installed a ceramic cutting disc for cutting.

Start laying tiles from the wall opposite the doorway (entrance).

Before laying, install pendulum tiles one level along the walls.

Periodically check the level with a long rod (deviation can be up to 4 mm).