Ceramic Tile Tips

Ceramic tile tips are like candy at Halloween. Your job is to only consume good ones as you'll discover below.

Ceramic Tile Tips - Be Sure You Get Expert Ones

You're here because you either haven't installed tile before or you tried and it didn't go so well. Hah! I remember my first ceramic tile experiment. That's what I called it!

Ceramic wall tile seems to find its way into many new homes. There are many reasons why this building product maintains its popularity. It's beautiful, it's durable and it often becomes the centerpiece of a room with respect to interior decor. Choose wisely and the ceramic surfaces will garner countless compliments from all who visit your home.

What is Ceramic Tile?

Ceramic tile is clay that's been chemically transformed by high temperatures in a kiln. Before firing, the clay is soft and pliable. The high temperatures of the kiln change the mineralogy of the clay transforming the soft putty material to hard stone. It's very similar to what happens with concrete, although concrete doesn't need to be put into a kiln no get hard.

Ceramic tile is simply pottery. It is a clay product that is fired in a kiln. The extreme heat in the kiln changes the crystal structure of the clay making it very hard and brittle.

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How Does Tile Get the Shiny Finish?

Prior to entering the kiln, the clay surfaces are painted with a glaze. The heat of the kiln transforms the glaze into an ultra-thin layer of glass.

Most glazes are harder than steel which is why you can't scratch the surface of most ceramic tile with an ordinary knife and fork.

How Can I Avoid Cracked Tile?

You avoid cracked tile by making sure there are never any hollow spots under a tile. You also need to make sure the floor under the tile is rigid and will not flex. You can install tile on wood floors, but the wood must be very thick.

The hard tiles have tremendous strength when you squeeze them between your fingers. But if you bend the tiles subjecting them to tension or stretching forces, the tiles crack readily. Tension forces within a new house are commonplace. The lumber used to build new homes is usually fairly dry and stable when it is delivered to the jobsite. But rain, humidity and water liberated from other building materials such as drywall compound, paint, etc. can cause lumber to swell.

Will Tile Shrink If Installed on Wet Lumber?

If your tile subcontractor installs ceramic tile on lumber that has gorged itself on this diet of water vapor, the tile can start to crack as the lumber shrinks. This shrinking happens over time after you move in to your new home. In fact, these cracks that appear in walls, ceilings, tile and tile grout are often called settlement cracks when in fact they are almost always shrinkage cracks.

If you're putting ceramic tile in your new home, check out my Ceramic Tile Installation Checklist to learn exactly what you should know about the process. Avoid making costly mistakes with the help of this document. I offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee.

Can You Prevent Cracks in Tile?

You can prevent some cracking but it is very difficult to stop all cracks. In a perfect world, a builder could stop construction after the house was framed and had a roof on it. The lumber could then dry out. But this is not realistic. The cost of money and the ever-present deadlines put pressure on builders to build faster not slower.

How Can I Make a Wall Flat For Tile?

You can make a wall flat by using light-gauge steel studs. You can also use normal wood framing, but be sure the 2x material is cut from the center of the tree. Look at this photo for an example:

The piece of lumber on the top was harvested from the forest in 2013. Note how you can see it was cut from the center of the tree. You can see the sapling center ring. The one on the bottom was taken from the slopes of the Rocky Mountains just after the end of the Civil War or War of Northern Aggression. Photo Credit: Tim Carter

In critical areas, it's possible to take wood framing out of the equation. A builder can frame wall with steel studs or special engineered lumber that resists swelling and the wicked twisting and warping that can happen when ordinary lumber dries out. Using these special materials also helps to produce perfectly flat wall surfaces that tile subcontractors crave. Perfectly smooth wall surfaces make for ideal finished walls. The reason is simple: Highly glazed tiles reflect all light. If one tile is bent a slightly different angle than the one next to it, it stands out like a sore thumb.

What is the Best Wall Material Under Tile?

The best material to install tile over is one that's strong and waterproof. Cement board or other waterproof smooth products are excellent.

It's also vitally important that the tile be installed on a substrate that will indeed stand the test of time. Many years ago tile subcontractors installed their tile directly on concrete mortar. This labor-intensive process has been simplified as your builder and tile subcontractor can readily buy sheets of one-half-inch thick concrete. Using special galvanized screws, they attach this flat substrate to the wall studs. The thin sheets of concrete board are strong, durable, and waterproof.

How Do You Avoid Cracked Grout?

To avoid cracks in grout it is very important that the tile subcontractor mix the grout properly. It should not be too wet. The grout, when mixed, should resemble thick but creamy icing. Watch this informative series of videos showing how to install floor grout.

Once the grout is troweled over the tile, the excess needs to be removed. If the contractor uses a sponge that has too much water, this excess water can soak into the wet grout and weaken it. Within a short amount of time, the grout can crack and sometimes fall out.

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