Hello everyone, I am Brother Tile
Today we will learn about the "necessary tools for laying bricks"
For many friends who have experienced decoration, buying ceramic tiles probably means choosing the style, paying for it, and having it delivered to your home, and then the master will stick it on the wall. On the ground.
In fact, ceramic tiles are far from that simple. Just the factory packaging and transportation requires a lot of professional personnel and equipment to help you.
△Otherwise, do you think the tiles are packaged and stacked by yourself?
Image source: Oceano Ceramics
So what are the essential tools required for a tile from the factory to the completion?
1. Pull the cart
If you have never moved tiles, you can learn about it like this:
A piece of 800×800mm or 600×1200mm ceramic tile of acceptable quality weighs 15-20 kg. The standard ceramic tile packaging is about 1.5㎡ (two pieces)/box, and one box weighs 30-40 kg. If the tiling area of your home is 150㎡, here are 100 boxes of tiles weighing3-4 tons.
Well, this pace is equivalent to moving more than 30 fat ladies upstairs.
This is why we say that it is necessary to prepare a pull truck at the construction site.
△This simple version is enough
Of course, this does not mean that you have to use a cart to move the bricks yourself, but when you encounter heavy materials such as ceramic tiles that need to be moved, it will be embarrassing without a cart. Sometimes, the tiling master can also use a tractor to move cement and other materials, which can greatly improve the construction efficiency.
After all, as a team of porters at the bottom of society, it is also very hard. Brother Tile even witnessed a porter using a step ladder to move a house of ceramic tiles up to the 7th floor. Tragedy.
Picture source: "Dock Porter" Photographed by Lin Yijun
2. Water and spirit level
Moving the tiles to the construction site is the first step in laying tiles. If you have ever been to a decoration construction site, you will find that some masters soak the tiles in water.
△ Ceramic tiles soaked in water - Picture source: Kanjian.com
It looks like I am washing tiles, but I am not. The tiles need to be soaked in water because the tiles themselves are absorbent. If the tiles are not saturated with water before being laid, the moisture in the cement will be sucked away. The lack of water in the cement will affect the adhesion and cause hollowing.
Generally, ceramic tiles are soaked in water for at least 30 minutes, but many masters just leave them there to soak for half a day. In addition, porcelain tiles have a low water absorption rate (0.5%), so theoretically there is no need to soak them, but in practice, no matter what type of tiles you have, the construction master will just soak them in water.
With adhesive-backed tiles, there is no need to soak them in water.
△This is the back glue
Image source: Oceano Ceramics
Another preparation before laying bricks is also related to water, that is, leveling.
Leveling is a very important thing. It directly affects the overall quality of the construction. If the problem is serious, it will need to be reworked, so it must not be sloppy. The ancestral secret recipe for leveling is a thread.
△Pull a line based on the horizontal position
Then lay bricks along this line
Of course, now, the masters who do point-taking all use laser levels. The principle is actually the same, just horizontal lines, but the lines become light, and More accurate.
△Laser Level
3. Lifter, cross card and rubber hammer
Finally, we have come to the tile laying part. We will not mention the cement and tile adhesive, but let’s talk about the three major parts of tile laying: lifting device, cross card, and glue hammer.
△Three-piece paving set
Image source: Oceano Ceramics
The lifting device is a handle fixed with a suction cup, which can be adsorbed on a relatively flat brick surface, making it convenient to move heavy objects such as ceramic tiles, especially large ceramic tile slabs.
△Yes, mention it like this
Image source: Oceano Ceramics
However, the benefit of the lifter is not only that it can easily lift heavy objects. Whether it is a large brick or a small brick, the lifter can provide a support point on the brick surface, which can be used during paving. It is convenient to fine-tune the position of the tiles, so many masters now start to use lifters to lay tiles.
Then let’s talk about the clips. This thing is also called a cross card. It is mainly used to leave seams in ceramic tiles. There is a thin sheet of fixed thickness stuck between the seams of the bricks. Its function is to reserve the seams between the bricks, and then a thick wedge passes vertically through it. Its function is to press the edge of the tiles. (Leveling).
△When finishing work later, face the butt of the card or wedge
It can be knocked off with one hammer
Finally, there’s the glue hammer. There's not much to say about this thing. It's just a rubber hammer. It's used to hammer the tiles firmly without damaging the brick surface when laying bricks. The only technique for tapping is to tap from the inside to the outside and from the four corners.
It can be said that with the above three tools, laying bricks can be easier.
Of course, in actual construction, there are many things that need to be paid attention to when laying ceramic tiles. It is best to find a professional master to do the laying of tiles with confidence.
So after the tiles are laid, what other procedures need to be done?
We’ll break it down next time.
(This article is provided by the enterprise)
