In recent years, "floor tiles on walls" has been a frequently mentioned topic in home decoration.
When shopping for tiles in a tile store, shopping guides often suggest to consumers that if they don’t like the tiles (color, texture, style, etc.), they can choose to cut the floor tiles and lay them on the wall. The overall decoration effect will be more grand and beautiful. . Many decoration novices may be confused when they first encounter this concept. What is the point of putting floor tiles on the wall? OK? Is it worth doing?
Today, Mr. Zhongtao is here to talk to you about floor tiles on walls.
01
Why floor tiles on the wall?
Floor tiles on the wall means laying floor tiles on the wall. They are often used in kitchens, bathrooms and other areas.
Floor tiles and wall tiles not only have different laying locations, but also have different characteristics.
Floor tiles are generally laid on the ground. They are larger in size and harder than wall tiles. Generally speaking, most floor tiles are porcelain tiles or stoneware. The water absorption rate of floor tiles qualified by the national general standard is 0.5% to 3%. However, most of the floor tiles currently on the market have a water absorption rate of 0.5% to 1%. Polished tiles, glazed tiles, marble tiles, microcrystalline stone, full-body tiles, large slabs, etc. commonly seen on the market can all be classified into the category of floor tiles.
Wall tiles, here mainly refer to interior wall tiles, the most common ones are porcelain tiles and medium boards, with relatively small specifications and low hardness. The water absorption rate of wall tiles is relatively high. The national general standard water absorption rate of wall tiles ranges from 3% to 12%. The material is generally fine stoneware, stoneware bricks or ceramic bricks.
An important indicator that determines the difference between floor tiles and wall tiles is water absorption. Within the standard range, the lower the water absorption rate, the higher the density of the ceramic tiles, the better the hardness, strength and other properties of the product, and the higher the inherent stability.
As floor tiles, the water absorption rate is not likely to be too high. Because floor tiles absorb too much water, they are prone to quality defects such as discoloration, hollowing, falling off, and cracking after being laid.
Wall tiles are different. The high water absorption rate of wall tiles can ensure that the tiles have stronger adhesion after being laid on the wall and are not easy to fall off. The main principle is that the paving method using cement mortar as the main binder is that the water contained in the cement slurry can be absorbed by the ceramic tiles and solidified, thereby forming the grip of the ceramic tiles on the wall. If the water absorption rate of the wall tiles is too low, it may cause the wall tiles to hollow out and fall off due to insufficient adhesion after they are laid.
Therefore, a series of problems caused by too high or too low water absorption have become obstacles that must be overcome to implement floor tiles on walls.
02
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using floor tiles on walls?
In recent years, more and more consumers have chosen floor tiles for wall decoration. Why? This is because there are five major advantages of installing floor tiles on the wall:
First, it has good appearance and improves the quality of the space. The size of floor tiles is larger than that of ordinary wall tiles, and when laid on the wall, it will look more grand and beautiful; a good combination of wall tiles will make it more fashionable and can enhance the quality of the entire space.
Second, the floor tiles are rich in color and texture, giving you more purchasing options.
Third, choose the same floor tiles and wall tiles, which saves trouble and is easy to match. Moreover, the walls and floors are paved with the same ceramic tiles, making the space appear more harmonious and unified.
Fourthly, floor tiles can be processed twice and matched freely. They can be laid at will to create the desired style. It has a full sense of design and greatly improves the three-dimensional and layered feeling of the space.
Fifth, floor tiles have stable physical properties, are environmentally friendly, anti-fouling, have high hardness, are durable, and are easy to clean. They can be used in bathrooms, kitchens and other areas that are prone to harbor dirt and evil. Daily maintenance saves worry and effort, and you can have " "The naughty kid" is not afraid either.
However, floor tiles on walls also have two "fatal" flaws:
First, the cost is high. The cost of laying floor tiles on the wall is much higher than that of laying ordinary wall tiles: first of all, the price of floor tiles is generally more expensive than that of wall tiles; because of different construction techniques, labor and material costs are higher; it is difficult to knock them all down if you want to replace them later. Be careful as it may damage the base layer.
The second is the risk of the drum falling off. Floor tiles have high density, are heavier than wall tiles, and have lower water absorption. If they are forced to be laid on the wall, they will not be as strong as the wall tiles, and they will easily hollow out and fall off. This is also the biggest reason why many decorators do not recommend laying floor tiles on walls.
03
How to install floor tiles on the wall?
The key to success is the paving process and auxiliary materials from floor tiles to walls.
With the advancement of science and technology and production levels, people have gradually developed paving techniques that enhance bonding strength and auxiliary materials that are stronger than cement mortar. With the help of auxiliary materials and innovative processes, floor tiles have been paved. wall.
At present, there are mainly the following methods for installing floor tiles on the wall:
(1) Wet hanging
Wet hanging means bonding copper wire to the back of the ceramic tile, then nailing steel nails to the wall, and finally wrapping the copper wire around the steel nails to increase adhesion, and using cement mortar as the adhesive.The knotting material holds the tiles to the wall together.
(2) Dry hanging
Dry hanging means that when paving, you first install embedded parts on the wall, then make grooves on the back of the tiles, and finally hang the floor tiles on the wall. Compared with wet hanging, dry hanging is more reliable for mounting floor tiles on the wall.
Note: Both wet hanging and dry hanging are only suitable for floor tiles on the wall in the living room and dining room, not suitable for bathrooms and kitchens. This is because bathrooms and kitchens need to be waterproofed. If these two methods are used, the waterproof layer on the wall will be damaged.
(3) Wet paste
Wet paste is actually a traditional ceramic tile laying method, using cement mortar to bond the ceramic tiles to the wall.
Under normal circumstances, wet pasting can be used for laying floor tiles and wall tiles with small size and high water absorption rate. Just pay attention to soaking the wall tiles in water before laying them. However, if the floor tiles are mounted on the wall, the traditional wet pasting method is not applicable. The reason is that the water absorption rate of floor tiles is extremely low and almost no water is absorbed. The cement mortar, the binding material, cannot effectively bond with the floor tiles. It is very likely that the tiles will hollow out and fall off after they are laid. In particular, the walls of bathrooms and kitchens have waterproof layers and smooth surfaces, which further reduces the bonding ability of cement mortar to the wall. Therefore, wet pasting is not suitable for floor tiles and walls in areas with waterproof layers such as bathrooms and kitchens.
(4) Thin paste method
The wet hanging, dry hanging and wet pasting mentioned above are not suitable for installing floor tiles on walls in bathrooms and kitchens. So, how to install floor tiles on walls in bathrooms and kitchens? The answer is the thin paste method.
In the thin-sticking method, the first thing to do is to roughen the wall. As mentioned earlier, because of the waterproof layer, the wall surfaces of bathrooms and kitchens are very smooth and cannot absorb water. The purpose of wall roughening treatment is to make the walls of bathrooms and kitchens not smooth, thereby increasing friction and ensuring that the bonding material and the wall are better bonded together. The specific operation is to mix the interface agent into the cement mortar, then apply it on the waterproof layer of the wall, and finally use a scraper to scrape out burrs on the mortar layer to make the roughened layer bumpy. The interface agent can make the cement mortar layer better bond to the waterproof layer.
After the wall is roughened, the tiles can be laid with the help of adhesive materials. The bonding material used here is no longer cement mortar, but a tile adhesive with better bonding (composed of cement, quartz sand and a variety of additives, which is more adhesive and resistant to falling than traditional cement mortar). When using tile adhesive, first mix it with water according to the proportion to form a paste, then scrape a layer on the wall and the back of the tiles, and finally press the tiles on the wall.
It is worth noting that even after roughening the wall and using tile glue to increase the bonding ability between the bonding material and the wall, the floor tiles may fall off after being installed on the wall. The reason may be that the quality of the floor tiles is too poor. , or the release agent on the back of the floor tiles has not been polished cleanly. In response to this situation, another material needs to be used when the floor tiles are mounted on the wall - tile adhesive.
Tile adhesive is a product composed of high-quality polymer emulsion material and inorganic silicate, which can greatly improve the bonding strength between ceramic tiles and bonding materials. The method of use is very simple. You only need to use a brush to apply an even layer on the back of the tiles. After the adhesive is completely dry, use bonding material (cement mortar or tile adhesive) to lay the tiles.
Decoration is a highly subjective matter, and whether or not to install floor tiles or wall tiles depends on personal preference. After reading the above analysis, will you choose floor tiles for wall decoration in your home decoration? What about the effect of having chosen floor tiles on the wall? Welcome to leave a message and share!
