Tiles against brick edging – expansion gap? - Tile Advice

[jonathonherbert]

Hi all, new signup here beginning first tiling job.

We've got a conservatory room at the back of our house in which we're laying some quarry tile. We've figured out the spacing, and happily the room is pretty square (3mm skew for just under 4m), so we're beginning our layout on the left hand side of the room facing outward, which is the thoroughfare between kitchen and garden and sees the most use.

One thing I hadn't considered until I set the tiles down today to get the layout – we'll be laying the edges of the tiles against the brick, with no skirting board to cover them. This raises a few questions –

• How big should the gap be between the tile edge and the wall? Our grout lines are 2mm but although the wall is very straight, some of the bricks jut a little more or less, meaning we'll likely need more space – a quick experiment with 3mm spacers looks a bit better.
• What should we use in between the tile edge and the wall? Presumably not grout, to allow for expansion – are there other compounds to use, or caulking etc.?

Any help much appreciated. Happy to post pictures if needed. We've sweated for a week getting the floor level, very keen not to see our work go to waste by missing a detail! – JSH

 

[Dave]

Hi all, new signup here beginning first tiling job.

We've got a conservatory room at the back of our house in which we're laying some quarry tile. We've figured out the spacing, and happily the room is pretty square (3mm skew for just under 4m), so we're beginning our layout on the left hand side of the room facing outward, which is the thoroughfare between kitchen and garden and sees the most use.

One thing I hadn't considered until I set the tiles down today to get the layout – we'll be laying the edges of the tiles against the brick, with no skirting board to cover them. This raises a few questions –

• How big should the gap be between the tile edge and the wall? Our grout lines are 2mm but although the wall is very straight, some of the bricks jut a little more or less, meaning we'll likely need more space – a quick experiment with 3mm spacers looks a bit better.
• What should we use in between the tile edge and the wall? Presumably not grout, to allow for expansion – are there other compounds to use, or caulking etc.?

Any help much appreciated. Happy to post pictures if needed. We've sweated for a week getting the floor level, very keen not to see our work go to waste by missing a detail! – JSH

Silicone 👍 and 3mm is the minimum joint for floor tiling