Contents
Finishing a bathroom is not an easy and costly process, and the correct selection of finishing materials is one of the key points of good quality and longevity of the finish. A separate discussion deserves tiles in the bathroom. It should be beautiful, reliable, durable, and also easy to clean.
Why tile
Bathroom tiling is the most popular option. This is explained by the good operational and aesthetic properties of this material:
- Durability. High-quality tiles on the walls and floor, do not change their appearance over the years.
- Not afraid of moisture. The bathroom is a high humidity area. There can be a lot of steam in the air after taking a shower or bath. In some areas: shower, bath, washbasin, protects the walls from further penetration of moisture into the thickness of the walls or floor.
- Ease of use. Any ceramic tile washes well and withstands repeated care using brushes.
- Large selection, both in terms of shape and size, as well as in terms of colors. In addition to the usual square and rectangular shapes, there are polygonal ones: five, six and octagonal.
- Variability in installation. The same tile can be laid in different ways. You can combine not only different colors, but also shapes and styling methods. This gives a lot of finishing options.
It is these reasons that determine the high popularity of bathroom tiling. This finishing method also has disadvantages:
- Complicated fitting process. You can lay tiles on the floor or walls with your own hands, but in this case it takes a lot of time and a preliminary study of the technology.
- High price. Good quality ceramic tiles themselves cost a lot, in addition, you need to level the walls or floor under it, and also pay for laying.
Most often, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Nuances of choice
The choice in color, size and shape is very wide, but not everyone may suit you. When choosing, consider the technical parameters and quality indicators:
- In the bathroom, fluctuations in temperature and humidity are common, so you need to choose a moisture-resistant tile. The characteristics describe mainly water absorption. This is the amount of moisture that the tile can absorb. The parameter is specified as a percentage. For floor tiles, this figure cannot be higher than 3%, for wall tiles it can be higher, but the lower the better. Moisture-resistant tile has a dense, low-porous base. In addition, such material has a reduced electrical conductivity, which is not at all superfluous in a room where there is both water and electrical appliances.
- Since the walls and floor will have to be washed periodically with detergents, and they are chemically active, it makes sense to buy material resistant to chemicals. Especially often this procedure is carried out in joint bathrooms. In this case, we choose the most chemically resistant finishing material. This characteristic is usually displayed on the label with a pictogram in the form of a flask and Latin letters standing next to it. For a bathroom, you can take B or A, and for a combined bathroom – AA, that is, the highest level of durability.
The degree of resistance of ceramic tiles to chemicals - The front surface of the tile has a different resistance to abrasion. This parameter is denoted by the letters PE and a number. The higher the number, the stronger the surface. Bathroom tiles on the walls are subjected to light loads, so the abrasion resistance can be small, but it is worth taking on the floor with PE 2 or 3.
Resistance of ceramic tiles to abrasion and its purpose - In ceramic tiles, the front surface can be glossy and matte. On the gloss, traces of water are more visible. So if the water is hard, it makes sense to choose matte.
- When choosing bathroom tiles for the floor, you need to pay attention to how slippery it will be when wet. This characteristic is also displayed on the label as a pictogram and a number. The numbers are the wet friction coefficient. The higher the number, the less slippery the floor will be. On this basis, it is customary to divide it into four categories:
- less than 0,19 – very slippery;
- from 0,2 to 0,39 – slippery;
- from 0,4 to 0,75 – acceptable;
- above 0,75 – excellent performance.
The matte surface is easier to care for – water stains are not visible, and baths with beige tiles are also cozy
Properly selected ceramics in the bathroom will last for years. When choosing ceramics, pay attention to its technical characteristics. Usually they are displayed as icons on the box. Knowing the decoding of the icons, the choice will be simple. Actual pictograms for the selection of tiles are shown in the table.
What color, shape and size
Here are some tips to make your choice easier. First of all, you should decide on the size. It will be rectangular or square – you choose, but it makes sense to calculate the dimensions.
Size selection
It is easier to determine the size based on the dimensions of the bathroom. This is especially true in small spaces. There are two rules:
- in small rooms, you should not use very large tiles, the room will seem even smaller;
- rectangular tiles laid vertically visually “raises” the ceilings.
The same effect, by the way, is given by columns of a different color. But the specific dimensions are selected according to the dimensions of the room itself.
When choosing the width of the tile, the wall opposite the entrance is taken as a guideline, it immediately catches the eye. You measure it accurately, and select the tile so that it fits without trimming or trimming is minimal. Do not forget about the width of the seam, it must also be taken into account.
When choosing the height of the tile, you can focus on the height of the bathroom, shower tray or washbasin. The washbasin, if desired, can be slightly raised or lowered, but this will not work with the bathroom. Try to fit an integer number of tiles.
Since there are so many sizes of tiles, the chance of finding the perfect fit is great. But not everyone is so meticulous in the details, so you can omit this stage, and focus only on preferences.
What color to choose
As for the color of ceramic tiles, rely on your own preferences. But when choosing shades, there are certain recommendations:
- In a small room, it is better to use light colors, so it looks more spacious. You can use dark colors, but only in fragments. For example, lay out a strip, vertical or horizontal, part of a wall or even one wall, but definitely not the whole room. In the design of bathroom tiles, as well as when wallpapering, they practice combining several “friendly” or contrasting colors.
- To make the atmosphere not reminiscent of an operating room, use warm shades.
A large drawing can be used to visually “raise” the ceilings - A large pattern looks great in a spacious bathroom, and a small one makes it even smaller. Therefore, in small bathrooms, small or medium-sized tiles are used, and if you want a drawing, then not very large or in the form of a small fragment. We advise you to pay attention to the mosaic. It is very beautiful and looks great in small spaces. Minus – it’s expensive. The way out is to find a tile of a standard size, but imitating a small one, as in the photo below.
Tiles can be of the color and combination that you like. But the combination of a brighter and more saturated color with neutral ones is considered the most advantageous. Neutrals are white and its shades, gray, beige. For example, a combination of dark red or burgundy and beige is often found, brown (chocolate) is also combined with it. Tiles look no worse in a combination of green and beige, pink and gray.
The most difficult thing is to choose a companion color to yellow and orange. The most win-win option is white, but not snow white, but creamy or with a very slight pinkish tint. You can try to find a shade of gray, but you need to select a specific color. In any case, try to choose from “warm” shades.
How to define quality
In addition to technical parameters and colors, nto check the quality. To avoid problems during installation, ceramics must be of high quality. This can even be determined visually:
- There should be no glaze defects on the front surface. GOST allows no more than two peeling of glaze on one fragment. At the same time, the party is considered to be of high quality. But who needs tiles with defects in the bathroom. When choosing a tile, check immediately in the store.
With a difference in size, you can get something like this - It is necessary to consider and compare several tiles from one pack for matching sizes. Ideally, they should not differ, but a difference of plus or minus a millimeter is considered normal. When laying, you will have to use crosses of two sizes – 2,5 mm and 3 mm.
- It is also necessary to check the plane of the tile. It should be flat, without bends. There are parties in a concave or convex middle, with protruding edges, etc. All these are signs of poor quality tiles.
- You should also look at the back side. It should be smooth, dense, uniform, without large pores. The loose back side absorbs a lot of moisture. This tile is not suitable for the bathroom.
All these operations must be carried out not with one tile, but with several, preferably from several boxes. If after the inspection you were satisfied with everything, then you need to decide on the quantity.
Quantity calculation
There are several ways to lay tiles – straight, offset and diagonal. Depending on the layout method, the number of tiles needed for work depends. So, with direct laying, it is necessary to add 5% to the calculated amount, laying out the tiles with an offset, you need to add 10%, and if you decide to apply a diagonal one, add 15%.
Measure the exact room and calculate the area of work or use the calculator. It will help calculate the number of tiles on the walls in the bathroom, taking into account its size and the thickness of the seam.
A supply of tiles is necessary, since it has to be cut, especially with a diagonal layout, it breaks, and marriage also occurs.
If there is a window in the bathroom, it must also be subtracted from the repair area. Calculate the area of the window opening will help the calculator.