The sophistication of a home is reflected in all aspects. Therefore, it is best to decorate a new house in every aspect and not to be careless. It’s the design that makes a home look comfortable, but it’s the details that really enhance family happiness. There is a classic old saying in the decoration industry called "Golden Kitchen and Silver Bathroom", which means that although the kitchen and bathroom spaces are small, they are particularly important to home life. More thought is needed in decoration, and this is where the details are truly experienced.
Today, Zhongtaojun will talk about the selection and laying of bathroom tiles.
01
Tips for purchasing bathroom tiles
Although the bathroom is a small space of a few square meters, it is a frequently used space in daily life. It is in an environment with water all year round, so every space during decoration Don’t be careless about the details, and choose the materials well, especially ceramic tiles. Due to the special environment and functions of the bathroom, when choosing ceramic tiles, you must not only consider their aesthetics, but also pay attention to their performance.
Generally speaking, bathroom floor tiles must meet the following three characteristics.
The first is that the water absorption rate should be low. It is very easy for water to accumulate on the bathroom floor. If the water absorption rate of the floor tiles is too high, the accumulated water will be easily absorbed by the tiles and will not evaporate easily, causing the bathroom to be moist all year round. The floor tiles will easily turn yellow and discolor, and will easily emit a musty smell over time. Generally speaking, ceramic tiles with low water absorption are of higher quality, which ensures that the bathroom environment dries quickly.
The second is anti-slip. The bathroom is a space for bathing and bathing, and the floor will be relatively moist, especially the floor tiles in the shower room. Therefore, try to choose non-slip tiles for bathroom floor tiles to increase the friction between the tile surface and the surface of people's feet to prevent the soles of the feet from slipping when taking a bath, causing safety hazards.
Lastly, it does not hide dirt and is easy to clean. In order to facilitate the cleaning of the bathroom later, it is not recommended to choose ceramic tiles with deep uneven texture on the surface. The bathroom is filled with water all year round. Over time, the uneven gaps on the surface of the ceramic tiles will easily accumulate dirt and become difficult to clean.
Generally speaking,bathroom floor tiles need to meet the three characteristics of low water absorption, anti-slip, and easy to clean. It is best to choose porcelain tiles with a water absorption rate of less than 3%. Currently, the most commonly used bathroom floor tiles on the market are 400×800mm mid-board or 800×800mm floor tiles cut and laid, which are of high quality and rich in design and color choices.
Let’s talk about bathroom wall tiles. When choosing bathroom wall tiles, many people will think that "since the floor tiles have low water absorption, the wall tiles should also be the same." This idea is not wrong, but there are certain hidden dangers in the later stage. Because ceramic tiles with low water absorption are easy to hollow out and fall off when laid on the wall. In fact, there is little water accumulation on the bathroom wall, and the water absorption rate of the wall tiles is not high. It is enough to choose ordinary ceramic tiles (tiles). However, for the design and matching of space, many people currently choose 800×800mm cut to the wall, or two 600×1200mm ceramic tiles to the top.
02
Things to note when installing ceramic tiles in the bathroom
The most critical part of bathroom renovation is the hidden work that cannot be seen inside. If these projects go wrong, they will be difficult to repair after completion. There are many details that need to be paid attention to when laying bathroom tiles. Zhongtaojun has summarized the following 6 precautions.
(1) Wall tiles and floor tiles.
In order to prevent water from penetratingUnder the tiles, at the junction between the wall tiles and the tiles, it is recommended to adopt the process of "wall tiles on floor tiles".
"Wall on the ground" process
When constructing the wall to the ground, you need to stick the top wall tiles first, leaving the bottom layer, then lay the floor tiles, wait until the floor tiles are dry and fixed, and then put the last row Wall tiles added. Installing wall tiles first and then floor tiles can protect the floor from dirt and prevent accidents to the wall tiles and damage to the floor tiles. After completion, the water in the bathroom flows down from the wall, and when it reaches the corner joints, it flows directly along the slope of the floor tiles to the floor drain without flowing into the gaps. Therefore, the wall-to-ground construction process is more waterproof.
The opposite of wall pressing on the ground is the ground pressing on the wall. The method of laying the floor-pressed wall is to lay the wall tiles from bottom to top first, and then lay the floor tiles after the wall tiles are laid. This process will cause a gap to appear at the joint between the wall and the floor, and the water flowing down from the wall will penetrate through the gap into the plaster layer on the ground, causing mold to form in the gap later, and the plaster layer to be damp and water accumulated.
(2) Yang angle protection.
The sunny corners of bathroom wall tiles need to be protected to avoid chipping and scratching people due to too sharp corners. Common methods of protecting sun angles include sun angle strips and crabapple angles. The method of protecting the external corner strip is to implant the external corner protection strip at the external corner position when tiling. The advantage is that it is simple and trouble-free, but it is not beautiful enough. For Haitangjiao, the tiles are processed into a 45-degree base before tiling, and then two bricks with a 45-degree angle are put together, leaving a small missing corner at the sun corner for a beautiful seam, which is beautiful and can protect the sun. corner effect.
Corner protection strip
Haitang Point
(3) Drainage slope of floor tiles.
In order to prevent water accumulation on the bathroom floor, the tiles in the bathroom must be laid with an inclination to guide the flow toward the floor drain. Before laying the tiles, design the inclination according to the location of the floor drain. The conventional practice is that the height difference at a distance of 1 meter around the center point of the floor drain is 0.01-0.03 meters. The smooth drainage of bathroom floor tiles can be tested with a table tennis ball: place the table tennis balls on the ground in every corner of the bathroom. If the ball eventually rolls towards the floor drain, the drainage is smooth. Otherwise, it must be reworked and redone.
(4) Height of wall tiles.
Bathrooms are basically made of aluminum gusset ceilings. Lamps and wires are usually arranged above the aluminum gussets. If the ceramic tiles are attached to the ceiling, it will easily cause the space above the aluminum gussets to be damp. Hanging water beads. Therefore, the height of the wall tiles can be affixed to the ceiling of the aluminum gusset plate, and there is no need to affix it to the ceiling.
(5) The groove is anti-slip.
In order to better prevent slipping, the floor tiles in the shower room can be marble or whole large-sized floor tiles, which can be laid after being grooved.
(6) Caulking and beauty.
The bathroom is relatively humid, and the gaps between the floor tiles and the wall tiles can easily trap water. Over time, they will become moldy and turn black and yellow. Therefore, it is recommended that the brick joints in the bathroom be made of stainless steel with better anti-mildew effect. If the decoration budget is really low, then consider using traditional caulking agent.
03
Matching design of bathroom tiles
As a highly used home space, the bathroom must not only satisfy practicality, but also be ornamental. A good match of ceramic tiles can be the icing on the cake for bathroom design. So, what type of tiles should you choose for the bathroom, and how to match them?
(1) Gray matte bricks + white wall tiles. Gray is a simple, elegant, practical and stain-resistant floor tile color. It has a very versatile spatial effect and is also suitable for use on bathroom floors. Matte tiles meet the anti-slip requirements of floor tiles, and when paired with white wall tiles, the lighting effect is better.
(2) Light brown retro bricks. Light brown and light yellow are also relatively stain-resistant floor tile colors. This kind of floor tile is more common in traditional decoration styles and is now standard in many finely decorated houses. This kind of floor tile is also more suitable for special decoration styles such as American style.
(3) Light blue retro bricks. The light blue tiles are fresh and elegant, and at the same time meet the lighting and anti-slip needs of the bathroom. The overall space effect is relatively quiet, elegant and natural.
(4) Literary tiles. With young people’s pursuit of personalized decoration styles, matching patterns such as flower tiles and terrazzo tiles are also a very good matching solution for the small space of the bathroom.
(5) Colorful tiles. In addition to the common black, white and gray colors, you can also try other colors in bathroom design, breaking away from the color logic of a single color, allowing the bathroom to be reborn and present a new atmosphere.
It should be noted that if there is no professional designer guidance, for the sake of insurance, it is best to choose floor tiles that match the wall, or chooseChoose a color that is similar to the wall. Generally speaking, the color of floor tiles is darker than that of wall tiles, so that it will not feel top-heavy.
