Newbie! Advice on tiles for kitchen please

[Denni]

Hi, Ive just found your site and joined, so hello to everybody.

I have tiled walls but never attempted a floor before, in case you haven't guessed already, this is from a female, so please be patient:helpsmilie:

I've found the tiles I think I want from Wickes, but they are ceramic and have heard this not the thing for a kitchen, although Wickes say they are.
I cook a lot, we have a lot of visitors but rarely young children, a dog and cat, hubby and I in our fifties, so not too clumsy, would these be okay? Understand they are easier to cut than the others, porcelain or stone

Bascially clueless, any help please

Denni

 

[jimbob]

Hi Denni and :welcome:

As long as the floor is well looked after and treated well I do not think there is much of a problem with having ceramic tiles down on the kitchen floor. Others may be able to give you more detail about potential pitfalls, but if Wickes are saying they are suitable quality for floors, you should have no trouble. If you are going to be laying them yourself, they will be much easier to cut than porcelain, you are right, as porcelain is much harder and you would need a decent cutter for the job.

Just to throw another idea in - thought about electric underfloor heating before installing your floor? It is not as expensive as you would think, and your cat and dog would think they were in heaven once they had laid on it....

All best
Jim bob

 

[Deleted member 9966]

hi Denni

I'm female too so :welcome: to the best tilers forum in the world; it's a place where gender doesn't matter.

I have just laid ceramic floor tiles in my hallway (see my photo albums on my profile) and I found it to be an enjoyable experience. The ceramic floor tiles I bought were about 8-9mm thick so they're pretty sturdy and were easy to cut using a wet saw tile cutter. Most boxes of tiles will say what areas they can be used on and if Wickes has said that the tiles you are looking at are ok for the floor, then it should be fine :hurray: if you're unsure, get them to put it in writing

I would point out a couple of things before you start:

- whatever tiles you go for, check the care instructions. You don't want to buy something and then find out some time later there was a specific way of caring for the floor once laid.

- I would also recommend using a bagged, cement based adhesive. Bagged adhesives set via chemical reaction, whereas tubbed adhesives that you can buy from DIY shops require air to allow them to set, and that takes a long long time. I fixed my hallway floor tiles with a rapid setting adhesive and they were set within about 4 hours so they could be walked on. Rapidset isn't for the feint hearted though, but regular setting bagged adhesive can be set in about 8 hours under the right circumstances.

- and finally, tile your way to a door so you don't get stuck in the kitchen unable to get out until the adhesive has gone off :yikes:

If there is a Tile Giant store near to where you live, pop in and say the tilersforums.com recommended you go there for advice and guidance.

Good luck with your project

 

[david campbell]

:welcome:to the forum denni,
i would suggest you look at porcelain for your kitchen floor,as you say there is a fair bit of traffic in your kitchen,porcelain tiles are much more hard wearing than ceramic and there is less chance of them fading or wearing

 

[grumpygrouter]

I have ceramic tiles on my kitchen floor...........

 

[david campbell]

personal choice grumps.i've seen some poor quality ceramics laid on floors and look as if they have been there 10 years after a short space of time!

 

[DHTiling]

Hello and welcome....Girl racer red has posted good advice....foloow that and if you have any more questions come back..

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

hi Denni

I'm female too so :welcome: to the best tilers forum in the world; it's a place where gender doesn't matter.

I have just laid ceramic floor tiles in my hallway (see my photo albums on my profile) and I found it to be an enjoyable experience. The ceramic floor tiles I bought were about 8-9mm thick so they're pretty sturdy and were easy to cut using a wet saw tile cutter. Most boxes of tiles will say what areas they can be used on and if Wickes has said that the tiles you are looking at are ok for the floor, then it should be fine :hurray: if you're unsure, get them to put it in writing

I would point out a couple of things before you start:

- whatever tiles you go for, check the care instructions. You don't want to buy something and then find out some time later there was a specific way of caring for the floor once laid.

- I would also recommend using a bagged, cement based adhesive. Bagged adhesives set via chemical reaction, whereas tubbed adhesives that you can buy from DIY shops require air to allow them to set, and that takes a long long time. I fixed my hallway floor tiles with a rapid setting adhesive and they were set within about 4 hours so they could be walked on. Rapidset isn't for the feint hearted though, but regular setting bagged adhesive can be set in about 8 hours under the right circumstances.

- and finally, tile your way to a door so you don't get stuck in the kitchen unable to get out until the adhesive has gone off :yikes:

If there is a Tile Giant store near to where you live, pop in and say the tilersforums.com recommended you go there for advice and guidance.

Good luck with your project

ha ha i did this once tiled myself right into a corner had to crawl across the worktops to escape.....thought ok now for a brew!!!!!kettle was in the corner i had just left lol

 

[Ajax123]

Wot U tiling onto Denni? :welcome:

 

[Denni]

Hi, thanks everybody for your advice, it is a big help! Will have a look at Tile Giant next time we are in King Lynn, our closest store, not too much locally in the wilds of Norfolk! Have 3 doors in the kitchen to escape from, so should be okay, I hope!
Ajax u asked about the floor. Underneath the carpet are marley tiles, very well stuck down and concrete below that

 

[Ken Bruty]

Hi Denni,

I would recommend a 3mm skim of latex screed if you are tiling over the Marley tiles, especially if they are fixed with a sticky black adhesive, as this is oil based, and can cause delamination of adhesive given time. In fact even if they are stuck with a contact or acrylic adhesive, I would still skim screed over them to be on the safe side, this screens off the tile adhesive from any sealers/adhesive and prevents it reacting with the marley tile adhesive and any other seals/cleaners that may have been used over the years. Latex screed is not too expensive and with a bit of practice, easy enough to apply.

 

[Ajax123]

Hi, thanks everybody for your advice, it is a big help! Will have a look at Tile Giant next time we are in King Lynn, our closest store, not too much locally in the wilds of Norfolk! Have 3 doors in the kitchen to escape from, so should be okay, I hope!
Ajax u asked about the floor. Underneath the carpet are marley tiles, very well stuck down and concrete below that

Are you going to take up the Marley tiles or try and tile on top of them.....not a great idea I think. I am sure the pro tilers on here will have some advice on that issue as well

 

[Ajax123]

Hi Denni,

I would recommend a 3mm skim of latex screed if you are tiling over the Marley tiles, especially if they are fixed with a sticky black adhesive, as this is oil based, and can cause delamination of adhesive given time. In fact even if they are stuck with a contact or acrylic adhesive, I would still skim screed over them to be on the safe side, this screens off the tile adhesive from any sealers/adhesive and prevents it reacting with the marley tile adhesive and any other seals/cleaners that may have been used over the years. Latex screed is not too expensive and with a bit of practice, easy enough to apply.

Ken - I'm confused. If the marley can cause delamination of the tile adhesive then why will it not do the same to the levelling compound. Surely the best thing would be to take up the marley and clean up the concrete before tiling.

 

[Ken Bruty]

Hi Denni,

in an ideal world, it's best to remove the old marley tiles, as it's always a risk tiling over them, cos they have a habit of just coming loose, but not very often, the safest thing to do is tap them with a hammer gently, and if any sound hollow remove them before you latex the floor. I'm not sure about the chemistry of latex and why you can rely on it to screen off the old adhesive, but it definitely does work. If you want any technical info, you can visit the websites of manufacturers like BAL, F BALL, ARDEX, WEBER to name but a few, they all have technical areas on their websites or technicians on the phone that will give verbal or written advice on request. I hope that helps.

Or you can try tiling onto the tiles directly with a flexi adhesive and hope for the best.

 

[Ken Bruty]

Sorry Ajax,

I just noticed it was you that asked and not Denni.