INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE

Installation and cleaning advice

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Before the cladding or flooring of a surface, a careful planning must be drawn by the builder, by the tiles or installation supplier or, less frequently, by the layer in charge.
For a careful planning, some basic and really important requirements must be taken into account for a "satisfactory" installation.

The laying is done to a fine art when it is:

  • regular and harmonious: which means when it is flat, with no bumps or dimples, with straight and regular joints, with no steps, etc...
  • integral: with no disjunctions among the elements and with no cracks
  • durable, which means able to last in time and preserve its technical and aesthetic performances, without wearing away
  • safe, enough to avoid accidents, which may cause damage to people (for example slipping)

Starting point for an effective planning, is the evaluation of a few data, such as:

  • * features of surface to be tiled
  • * area of destination
  • * tiles chosen along with their specific technical features

Such data defines:

  • the laying technique. In particular, type, composition, thickness and fixing method of the tile bed (which provides for the tiles fixing to the body). This layer can be made either with concrete mortar (traditional method) or with different kinds of adhesives
  • any treatments to be carried out or auxiliary layers to be applied on the support surface
  • width, course and direction of the joints between the tiles. Thus the planner has to specify if he intends to carry out either a jointless fixing or a buttered joint fixing, with sliding or staggered, broken or unbroken joints
  • placement and dimension of any movement joint. Such joints are tiles bed discontinuities, even visible, sometimes considered as an "aesthetic nuisance" by the user. However, they are of great importance as for reliability and duration of the installation

At this stage it is possible to proceed with the fixing, that is to say the real carrying out of the project, whose success much depends on the layer care and expertise.

Once studied the room, the tiles and project to be carried out, he must then:

  • organize the fixing yard
  • check and prepare the surfaces to be tiled
  • check the measurements, the squarings, the verticality of the walls and any floor inclinations
  • check materials and report any visible defects
  • optimise bed, in order to make the surface to be tiled as harmonious as possible
  • prepare the mortar or the adhesives, proceed with the installation of the tiles
  • let enough time elapse after the installation of the tiles (from a few hours to a few days), proceed with the filling of the joints and with the cleaning of the surface

The fixing work is now finished.

CLEANING METHODS

The care and the attention of the user are elements of great importance in order to allow a floor or a cladding to last in time and keep its technical and aesthetic features unchanged.
As for the cleaning, the use of specific detergents, as those available on the market, is highly recommended. Avoid very strong and aggressive acids, even if acids of this kind may not damage the tiles directly, they could still damage the joints, filled with grout.
When cleaning, try to avoid highly abrasive means, such as steel wool, particularly on polished tiles.

Maintenance

DIRT TYPES DETERGENTS
Oils and vegetable and animals fats, beer, wine, coffee, food wastes. Nicotine, tea, shoe polish etc. Specific alkaline-based detergents, caustic soda, potash
Inks, rust stains, felt pen Specific acid-based detergents, muriatic acid, oxalic acid
Oils and mineral (mechanical) fats, tyre/tyre rubber, resins or paints, candle wax, synthetic shoe polish Solvents: trichloroethylene, niter diluent, turpentine, acetone
General greyness, colour loss due to dirt accumulation Acid and solvent detergents
Opacification due to detergents, footprints, general domestic dirt Alkaline detergents - Hydroalcoholic detergents
Hygiene Sanitizing products
Daily cleaning Common detergents free from waxes or perfumed oils

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

Make sure the professional layer has carried out a proper cleaning with the specific products to remove all installation residues. As for daily cleaning, do not use products containing wax or perfumed oils, most suitable for the traditional glazed tiles (for example bathroom tiles).
The surface of REFIN’s porcelain stoneware tiles is completely vitrified and compact; their superficial absorption is at the lowest levels (lower than 0·5%), therefore it is possible to use aggressive cleaners with no particular restrictions by simply following the supplying company instructions. Any further waterproofing or aesthetic treatment, which may be carried out after installation, must undergo a preventive test since, as previously mentioned, porcelain stoneware tiles do not usually need such kind of treatments.
The installation rules are to be considered valid either for GL surfaces and UGL surfaces, while the cleaning procedures are easier for the former ones thanks to the glaze presence even if the same methods can be used as REFIN’s tiles are acid and base resistant.