Dal-Tile in the Project House
We placed beautiful decorative tile from Dal-Tile everywhere we could
in the Project House—the utility room, the hobby room and on the walls
and floors of eleven bathrooms-a stunning array of glazed tile, porcelain
tile, mosaic and decorative border pieces—all coordinated to bring an
elegant and tasteful appeal to the every corner of the home.
The number of choices is endless when it comes to the color, style,
design and combinations of tile, but before making decisions, it's
helpful to know some of the basic categories of tile and their various
uses:
"Field Tiles" are the tiles that are used as the primary tile in a
room. They generally have no decorative elements and are used to cover
the wide expanses of floor or wall.
In the hobby room of the Project House, we actually used a 6" X 6"
"stone look" field tile to create a border around the room. Then we used
12" X 12" field tiles of the same design for the main area, but set them
on a 45 degree angle to create a visually striking effect. The stone look
hides dirt well in this high-traffic room.
"Decorative Tiles" are used in accents-as a border, for a wall, or may
be used as an accent strip. Depending on the design of the tile,
decorative tiles are also often used as inserts.
In the Project House we have used many kinds of decorative tiles as
borders and inserts.
"Glazed Floor Tiles" can be used in any application in the home, on
the floor or wall. The color in a glazed floor tile resides in the
glaze, on the surface of the tile. For that reason, glazed tiles generally
are not used outside, except in parts of the country where there's no
great year-round variation in temperature, or "freeze-thaw" differential.
"Porcelain Tiles" are porcelain throughout, so the color goes all the
way through the tile. Porcelain performs very well in "freeze-thaw"
conditions, and can be used inside and out. The "stone-look" field tiles
in our high-traffic hobby room are porcelain.
"Wall Tiles" are generally thinner than floor tiles and do not handle
the stresses that are put on floor tiles. When you're planning what kind
of tile to use where, remember that all floor tiles can be used on a wall,
but not all wall tiles can be used on a floor. It's a good idea to look
closely at the manufacturer's application guidelines before using a wall
tile in a floor application.
Use of Q-Set Gel Thinset and Gel Grout in the Project House
It's important to pay careful attention to the style and design of
tile work in a home, but the most beautiful tile in the world is only
as good as the thinset and mastic that holds it in place, and the grout
that surrounds it.
Thinset (used to secure a tile to the floor), and mastic (used to
secure a tile to a wall) generally come in powdered form and are combined
with water and mixed to form a paste that is then applied to the surface
that will be tiled. Grout also comes in powdered form and is combined
with water on the jobsite by the installation crew.
Problems occur when water quality is poor, or inconsistent, and when
crews do not mix the powder and water in consistent ratios when making
successive batches.
When it comes to grout, consistency of pigment is crucial, as the
color of the grout can change as the ratios of powder to water change
from batch to batch.
In the Project House, we solved that problem by using a gel-based
thinset, and grout system called "Q-set" from QEP.
By using a gel, we eliminate the need to have a water source on the
jobsite, and we eliminate inconsistencies based on variations in water
quality. The gel also is 100% consistent from batch to batch, so we can
control the exact ratio of water to mix in every batch.
Using the gel-based "Q-set" system also allowed us to maintain a much
cleaner, more controlled, worksite.
Contact Information:
Dal-Tile
1-800-933-TILE
QEP
1-800-777-8665 |
