To cut the tile precisely, you can use the following tools:

To cut different shapes such as around columns, doors, etc. the following cutting machines can be used:

1. A tile cutter with a diamond jigsaw blade which is cooled using water.
2. A low-powered tile cutter (500-700W) with a continuous diamond blade (not segmented.)

To drill and make a hole in a porcelain tile, it is recommended that the tile is first correctly fixed. In order to achieve this, it is necessary that the drilling takes place at least 24 hours after the installation.

A special diamond drill is available on the market specifically designed for porcelain tiles. Electric drills are recommended with the hammer action turned off. You can check Vives’ video on cutting, drilling and manual smoothing for further information.

The material thickness will depend on the teeth of the trowel used for this purpose; a general estimation would be 5mm. However, it must be taken into account that the adhesive manufacturer indicates the maximum thickness depending on the properties of the cement adhesive. Another point that would have to be discussed with the manufacturer is the fact of making the installation on an existing tile.

To install ceramic tiles over stamped concrete, first we must clarify that when a placement is made with the so called ‘thin layer’ it has to be made with cement adhesive and not with conventional mortar as the surface must be perfectly levelled. Usually, stamped concrete surfaces do not have the flatness required for this type of installation; perhaps because of the placement technique or the printed pattern itself, so using mortar to level the surface would be more appropriate. If it is levelled, It would be best to consult with the manufacturer of the glue the possibility of adherence to these sub-structure to ensure a correct installation.

Gres red body tiles and porcelain tiles are materials with different heat transfer rates and different porosity but it is considered that to heat a house with under floor heating, there is no significant differences to choose one product or the other. It has to be noted however, when there is a variation in thickness from one to another as this will affect the heat transfer, the thicker the tile the slower the heat transfer will be.

Porcelain and ceramic material are perfectly apt to be used with under floor heating. The only thing that should be taken into account is that a grout joint of at least 1/16” is necessary for the installation.

It is necessary to respect a minimum grout line of 1/16” between tiles and a greater joint is advisable for tiles which are medium and large size so they can absorb the structural tensions that take place between the substrate, the adhesive and the tile.

You should always grout a scored tile with the correct grout paste. This means using a specific grout and not an adhesive. As the name suggest with a scored tile, the incision does not go right through the tile and therefore using an adhesive for grouting would not be suitable and it would soon fall out. Having said this, Vives always recommends using grout and not adhesive to grout between tiles due to its better performance. The Vives’ Hanami tile is a perfect example of a pre-cut tile that would require grouting over each piece.

Usually, the thickness of a tile does not have any bearing on the installation and the thickness itself is dictated principally by the actual size of the tile. Frequently, a larger tile has a greater thickness. It is worth highlighting that as a measure of caution, it is important to check the thicknesses when mixing tiles of different sizes. A minimum difference in thicknesses between different tiles would not affect a project if installed by an experienced fixer.

We recommend that you use an adhesive which has a high adherence, does not deteriorate, and resists any damage caused by water. Always read the manufacturer’s instructions before installation.

As a general rule, a floor tile can always be used on a floor or a wall.

It is practically always essential to resurface and level the substrate before fixing the tile with adhesive as the installation often requires little adhesive and due to this it doesn’t allow for irregularities behind the tile. If the substrate is the floor, an auto leveller can be used.

It is not recommended to install rectified tiles without a grout line as the grout absorbs the stress movements once it is laid which will help to prevent the tile from chipping.

Due to the fact that porcelain tiles have a very low water absorption rate, it is not viable to fix them with any kind of cement and sand as the tile does not absorb the water in these materials and therefore no mechanical fixing is possible causing the tile to remain loose.

The use of black grout on a polished tile can darken the surface and sometimes it is impossible to clean it back to its initial state. However, it can be used with care and always following the grout manufacturer’s installation guide. You can see Vives’ Arue 24x48 polished tile installed with black grout in our KSS Bethesda store

An expansion joint is used to subdivide tiles to relieve them from the structural stress that the tile and/or substrate will suffer caused by building movement.

We do not recommend interlocking the tiles by more than 15% of the length in order to avoid differences in levelling.

To install the tiles correctly, it is important that the substrate is stable and resistant and is slightly sloped to help water disperse. It is recommended to use a porcelain tile with a certain degree of anti-slip resistance. For the US it is required that a product achieves a DCOF coefficient of at least 0.42. Vives’ offers a wide variety of anti-slip products, including cement and wood look. The Vives’ Seine collection is a great example of a product suitable for terraces that comes in two different anti-slip grades depending on the requirements of each project.

To guarantee a correct installation and to facilitate cleaning of grout residues, it is recommended to use a product that can be used to fix and grout the tile at the same time.

Until now, to install a tile on a floor already tiled, it was necessary to pull up the old floor and level the substrate. This resulted in increased costs and took longer to install the new floor.

To avoid this, new cement adhesives are available (cement mixed with resins) which provide a perfect adherence for the new tiles on the older, existing ones.

An adhesive that is guaranteed to adhere the tile to the existing tile is necessary. Ensure that the existing tiles are still well adhered to the substrate. Spread the adhesive in small amounts using a trowel with teeth of 6x6 to regulate the thickness of the adhesive. Fix and press the new tiles leaving a grout line of 1/16”. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours before grouting.

The placement of a wall tile on a support that has been plastered is viable but previously applying a product, which creates a film that prevents the plaster dust itself detaching, thereby preventing the falling of the gripping adhesive which would cause the detachment of the ceramic material.