Large-format tiles: features of selection and installation

Which tile is large? The one whose dimensions start from 50×50 centimeters. Rectangular tiles 40×60 or 40×80 centimeters also have the right to be called large-format. It is difficult to select the standard sizes of large-format tiles. Manufacturers have series with dimensions 60×60, 60×90 centimeters. But larger slabs exceeding a meter on the larger side are most often piece products, manufactured to order for a specific project.

The benefits of large tiles include:

• Large tiles, including porcelain stoneware and natural stone, look respectable, unusual, and will decorate any interior.
• The laying process is faster, especially if the tiler, the choice of which the portal wrote in detail about, is already familiar with such material and its features.
• You can get a monolithic surface, without seams and joints.
• Practical, durable, material resistant to mechanical stress, environmentally friendly.
• The design, drawing, color of large tiles can be very different. There are imitations of wood, leather, marble and granite, a variety of ornaments, patterns – anything to your taste.

Large-format tiles also have disadvantages:

• You need a perfect foundation. All the differences will be visible! If the base is uneven, the glue layer will be too thick, and the elements may crack..
• It is difficult to choose a tile for the size of the room. Note that tilers call the optimal size 30×30 centimeters. If slabs are noticeably larger, there will be more costs, which will raise the cost of repair.
• Laying large tiles, especially on walls, is difficult. It is physically difficult. With especially large formats, the masters always work together, respectively, and you will pay more for the work. Serious physical efforts and accuracy are also needed during transportation, carrying large-format tiles to the installation site.

Before you start laying large tiles, you should take care of the availability of the necessary tools. If the dimensions of the slabs exceed a meter, you need a kit for their manual transportation, with holders and vacuum suction cups. Imagine what would happen if you drop and break such an expensive finish.!

Of course, you will need spatulas, including a notched one, a roller for applying a primer and the primer itself, a tile cutter, a container for mixing glue and a construction mixer, a level, a rubber mallet. You can use a tile leveling system or “crosses” if you have seams.

Important! The packaging of glue for large-format tiles must indicate that it is intended, among other things, for such non-standard sizes. The weight of the boards is large enough, the adhesive must be reliable.

We remove the old coating, make a screed on the floor, or level the walls with plaster so that the differences do not exceed two to three millimeters per square meter. After applying the primer, you can start laying. The process, of course, is similar to the installation of a standard tile, but tilers are advised to apply an adhesive to both the surface and the board itself..

Video about laying large tiles: