Laying ceramic floor tiles in kitchens and bathroom
You can lay ceramic tiles to provide a floor surface which is particularly resistant to wear and tear.
Ceramic floor tiles provide a floor-covering which is attractive, extremely hardwearing and easy to maintain and keep clean. The wide variety of tiles available means you should easily find a pattern which suits your colour scheme. Floor tiles are usually thicker than ceramic wall tiles (they are generally at least 9mm thick), very much stronger and have a tough hardwearing surface to withstand knocks as well as wear from the passage of feet.
The backs of the tiles have a brownish appearance caused by the extra firing – done at a higher temperature than for wall tiles, which are often almost white on the back.
Types of tiles
Square tiles are commonest, in sizes from 150 x 150mm (6 x 6in) to 250 x 250mm (10 x 10in). Besides square tiles you can choose objong ones in several sizes, hexagons or other interlocking shapes. Surfaces are usually glazed but are seldom as shiny as those of wall tiles or scratch marks would inevitably become apparent as grit was trampled in. So most floor tiles are semi-glazed; others have a matt, or unglazed finish. Patterned ceramic tiles are quite frequently designed in such a way that several tiles can be laid next to one another to complete a larger design. The commonest is built up by laying four identical tiles in a square, each tile being turned at 90° to its neighbours.
The full impact will only be achieved if a sufficiently large area of floor is being tiled. Patterned and plain tiles can also successfully be intermixed to create unusual designs, but it is essential that the tiles are all supplied by the same manufacturer, and ideally come from compatible ranges, to ensure uniformity of thickness and size. Some manufacturers supply floor tiles1 designed to co-ordinate with wall tiles, and in addition make matching panels to act as skirtings between wall and floor tiles.