any reason why I can't preseal porcelan tiles before laying?

[2db]

I'm realistic enough to know I'm no good at tiling and happy to leave it to the experts.
With the kitchen coming out and replaced in a few weeks time, the kitchen fitters are on a tight timescale.

SWMBO has found some ivory white porcelain tiles @ topps for the flooring (the colours elsewhere are not quite right apparently). We originally planned for conventional ceramic tiles ... hence the timescales were planning to exclude an extra day delay for allowing sealant to dry (I'm presuming an extra day is needed here?)

I'm keen to preseal the tiles in advance to avoid an additional day delaying the fitters between tiling the floor and then grouting. They didn't plan for this, so I'm happy to do any prep work I can to minimise the extra work. (I can then do a final seal after the work has all been done)

Ignoring the practical issues of finding space for the tiles, is there are reason why I can't seal the tiles in advance of them being laid? (presumably with a dedicated porcelain sealer?)

(to top things off, SHWBO has now purchased some crackled glazed wall tiles for the rest of the kitchen, so I'll again be aiming to preseal unless anyone here says it's a bad idea!)

thanks

 

[nybor62]

are they polished porcelain , i all ways seal after fixing

 

[2db]

Hi nybor62,

yes, they're polished porcelain. I was hoping to preseal, leave the tiler to fit and grout, then apply a second seal over the lot afterwards. Doable?

 

[Ian]

Its doable yes, you will need alot of room! Double check with the tile supplier that the tiles require sealing first.

 

[SandyFloor]

It is a big chore sealing before fixing. A lot of room needed and a lot of handling. It's quite quick and easy when they are down.

 

[Rich]

To be honest I think that you will not end up saving much time by pre-sealing them. No reason why you cany but I would prob seal after they were down.

 

[Andy Allen]

no reason why you can't pre-seal b4 fixing, infact B and Q recommend you do that with there polished pocelain (mind you they are rubbish)

 

[doug boardley]

if you haven't used a sealer before I'd leave it to the tiler, badly sealed tiles can make a right mess if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[2db]

thanks doug,

got to be honest, I'm vv nervous about choosing these tiles anyway. Having been distracted all afternoon looking at the forums and threads, seems like Topps tiles porcelain are pretty well much the same as B&Q polished porcelain (happy to be told otherwise). I know the samples we have have a wax coating on them too which needs removing.

It's the other half that needs convincing 🙂

 

[2db]

S'pose while it's on my mind ... anyone anything positive or negative to say about Topps Tiles polished porcelain (the one that comes with a wax coating on)? It's 2-3x the price of B&Q polished porcelain, but doesn't necessarily mean it's better quality of course!