http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/ Moderator: Michael Byrne Technical advice on setting ceramic and natural stone tiles. en Wed, 16 May 2012 22:59:18 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/ http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60189-How-to-Make-Ceramic-Tile&goto=newpost Wed, 16 May 2012 07:21:35 GMT The raw materials used to form tile consist of clay minerals mined from the earth's crust, natural minerals such as feldspar that are used to lower the firing temperature, and chemical additives required for the shaping process. The minerals are often refined or beneficiated near the mine before shipment to the ceramic plant.
The raw materials must be pulverized and classified according to particle size. Primary crushers are used to reduce large lumps of material. Either a jaw crusher or gyratory crusher is used, which operate using a horizontal initial step in ceramic tile manufacture involves mixing the ingredients. Sometimes, water is then added and the ingredients are wet milled or ground in a ball mill. If wet milling is used, the excess water is removed using filter pressing followed by spray drying. The resulting powder is then pressed into the desired tile body shape.
Squeezing motion between steel plates or rotating motion between steel cones, respectively.
Secondary crushing reduces smaller lumps to particles. Hammer mill or muller mills are often used. A muller mill uses steel wheels in a shallow rotating pan, while a hammer mill uses rapidly moving steel hammers to crush the material. Roller or cone type crushers can also be used.
A third particle size reduction step may be necessary. Tumbling types of mills are used in combination with grinding media. One of the most common types of such mills is the ball mill, which consists of large rotating cylinders partially filled with spherical grinding media.
Screens are used to separate out particles in a specific size range. They operate in a sloped position and are vibrated mechanically or electromechanically to improve material flow. Screens are classified according to mesh number, which is the number of openings per lineal inch of screen surface. The higher the mesh number, the smaller the opening size.
A glaze is a glass material designed to melt onto the surface of the tile during firing, and which then adheres to the tile surface during cooling. Glazes are used to provide moisture resistance and decoration, as they can be colored or can produce special textures.
Once the raw materials are processed, a number of steps take place to obtain the finished product. These steps include batching, mixing and grinding, spray-drying, forming, drying, glazing, and firing. Many of these steps are now accomplished using automated equipment. ]]> Ceramic Tile janevictory http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60189-How-to-Make-Ceramic-Tile http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60182-NuHeat-Leveler-WetBed-Question&goto=newpost Tue, 15 May 2012 13:36:50 GMT So, I'm doing a tricky install that has me a little stumped. It's a bathroom where the main floor is flush with the shower floor (no curb). I'm planning on doing a wet bed for the whole area. But a NuHeat mat is also spec'd for the main floor area, which would raise the height above the shower. Can I install the mat inside the wetbed, or do I have to put it on top? ]]> Ceramic Tile Carolyn215 http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60182-NuHeat-Leveler-WetBed-Question http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60168-I-Like-Tile-setting&goto=newpost Sun, 13 May 2012 19:36:42 GMT My previous tile guy won't travel to my neck-of-the-woods anymore.

I was recently working on a job where I thought the tile and stone work was superb, but his cell-phone inbox is always too full to accept messages.

I've done quite a few tile jobs over the years, but they've been either floors, counters, tubs, or showers with prefab pans.

I mentioned to my plumber (he's an ace) that I'm not positive about the wall thickness, because I've yet to sign a tile contractor. He said he was admiring the work in the other recently remodeled bath in the house and why don't I sign that guy up. I said he's not sure he wants to do it and that that person was me.

The previous bath had a tub. This is a whirlpool with adjacent shower which gets a site-built shower pan.

My previous tile contractors have used hot-mops, but I still refer to a 1986 FHB article by MB when prepping for tile where he has already stopped using hot-mops.

I'm tempted to take-on this one, but I want to be using up-to-date info. I've read many posts here that refer to Michael's book, but not by title. The JLC bookstore currently has Tiling for Contractors for sale and at a discount. Is this the one I want?

Thanks,

JW ]]> Ceramic Tile surfcraft http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60168-I-Like-Tile-setting http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60131-what-underlayment-to-use-over-100yr-old-pine-floors-prior-to-ceramic-tiles&goto=newpost Mon, 07 May 2012 15:29:46 GMT Plan to install ceramic tiles in kitchen and bath of my 100yr+ old DC row house. The "subfloor" is the original pine floors, Schluter/Ditra recommends1/2" OSB over the old pine then Ditra underlayment, then tile. Is this combination likely to be adequate to allow shifting and prevent cracking or should I also consider cement backerboard (1/4" Hardiebacker) or some other combination prior to the Ditra layer? Thanks in advance. ]]> Ceramic Tile DCrider http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60131-what-underlayment-to-use-over-100yr-old-pine-floors-prior-to-ceramic-tiles http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60116-adhesives-for-basement-floor-that-occasionally-get-rain-water-on-it&goto=newpost Fri, 04 May 2012 11:20:20 GMT I have a customer that has a basement here in St Louis. Every spring and maybe once or twice a year there is a small amount of moisture that comes in the basement. While I have not seen it he says it only happens on the right occasions such as quick heavy downpours or the weeks where it rains... I have a customer that has a basement here in St Louis. Every spring and maybe once or twice a year there is a small amount of moisture that comes in the basement. While I have not seen it he says it only happens on the right occasions such as quick heavy downpours or the weeks where it rains daily. Seems to be coming in at the joint along the wall.floor area but since I have not actually seen it I cannot say for sure but see no real signs of wall leaks although part of the walls are finished.

He would like to put down ceramic tile to make the space look a little nicer but is not a fan of doing some sort of raised floor on sleepers or one of the dry core type systems. Mostly just wants something nicer to look at than a concrete floor he says.

I am wondering if a certain adhesive would work better in such a circumstance or if it will just come loose from getting moisture on it a couple of times a year.

Also wondering if any of you have had any experience with the concrete epoxy systems and if something like that would work at the floor/wall joints. Seems like the floor probably floats a bit so not sure that would help at all.

I prefer to use something to raise the floor off the concrete so water could flow to the drain but he is not sure of it. Ceiling is already pretty low so the 2 inches of height might be an issue. ]]> Ceramic Tile Mbeezo http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60116-adhesives-for-basement-floor-that-occasionally-get-rain-water-on-it http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60042-tile-spacers-small-rooms-amp-more&goto=newpost Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:18:16 GMT Guys have done tile for years but still get frustrated by it at times. So a couple of questions. For those of you that use tile spacers, do you have a brand you like better than others? I have been trying out the Tavey spacers whiich sit on top of the tile and can be used at corners or between... Guys have done tile for years but still get frustrated by it at times. So a couple of questions.

For those of you that use tile spacers, do you have a brand you like better than others? I have been trying out the Tavey spacers whiich sit on top of the tile and can be used at corners or between tiles since one side is a single spacer and the other side is the cross spacer. My issue is their size. The seem to hide a lot of the tile and I have had a couple of times where I have found a tile that was a bit undersized to look out of alignment but I did not see it because of the size of the tile. If I was using the nylon cross that go in the grout line I think I would have seen it.

For small rooms like a powder room. How many of you do a complete dry layout or story pole system before you start? I often get frustrated with having to back out of the room but needing to reach around the door frame while trying to get the tiles all in alignment. I find that I am often at some sort of weird angle and sometimes having to put a hand on a recently set tile to reach another and then noticing that I have slid the tile out of position or squeezed all the thinset from under it. Plus with the small room I do not always have the perspective of a larger room where I can step back and see how the tiles are looking. There is usually only one way to look at the tile until it is dry and then it is too late. Had this happen recently where I set a tile that was out of the box but undersized by 1/8 inch and did not notice it from one direction. But sit down on the pot and you see it from that angle. Very frustrating.

And I have almost always had an issue where tile hits up against a wood threshold. Very hard to get the grout to not pop out over time. My guess is the wood and tile move differently and the grout pops out. Or maybe I need to leave a larger grout line? Or no grout line?

I know with some complaining about lack of activity on the forums I could have made 3 seperate posts but I am only one person...... ]]> Ceramic Tile Mbeezo http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60042-tile-spacers-small-rooms-amp-more http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60032-Total-Floor-Dead-Load-Very-Important-Factor&goto=newpost Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:57:20 GMT It is important for ceramic tile or stone to be installed on a code-conforming wood-framing system. Part of being a code-conforming substrate requires that the floor system to be designed with the appropriate Live Load AS WELL AS the Total Dead Load that includes the weight of the framing system... It is important for ceramic tile or stone to be installed on a code-conforming wood-framing system. Part of being a code-conforming substrate requires that the floor system to be designed with the appropriate Live Load AS WELL AS the Total Dead Load that includes the weight of the framing system below and the "installation method." Until recently, the weight of installation methods for TCNA Handbook methods had not been published.

The 2011 TCNA Handbook contains an appendix with the typical weights of the various floor tile installation methods: http://www.tileusa.com/publication_main.htm

This is an extremely valuable resource for folks interested in specifying and designing floors that will use tile or stone surfaces. Solid-sawn wood-joist floors that were to be covered with carpet etc. have been typically designed for a 10 psf total dead load for many decades. Inspection of the TCNA Handbook will review that total design dead load for tile applications is about 20 psf or more when the weight of the framing system is added to the TCNA Installation Method weights.

Frank Woeste, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor Emeritus
Virginia Tech ]]> Ceramic Tile Frank Woeste http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?60032-Total-Floor-Dead-Load-Very-Important-Factor