Bathroom Tile

Bathroom renovation... The first thing that comes to mind is tile. In Soviet times, the word tile was a household word, today it is more common to hear the phrase "ceramic tile". But, in fact, tile is a kind of ceramic tile and is a fired plate rectangular or square shape, made from a mixture of clay, sand and minerals, covered with glaze on top.

The choice of glazed tiles for bathroom tiling is due to a number of its advantages:

• Moisture resistance. Tiles not only fulfill aesthetic tasks, but also protect the framework from gradual but steady destruction, preventing, in addition, the appearance of mold, so this parameter is of particular importance, given the operation in a room with high humidity. When choosing a finishing material for your bathroom, you should start with the purchase of tiles designed specifically for this room, that is, the first, second or third group of porosity - the less porous tile, the higher its resistance to moisture.
• Hygienic. Tiled tiles are easy to care for, which is certainly one of its most important advantages. The bathroom is washed almost more often than other rooms, besides the use of rather aggressive chemical cleaners. Tiles designed for the bathroom and quite resistant to chemical attack are marked with the Latin letters "AA".
• Abrasion resistance. Bathroom tile must be durable and resistant enough to constant mechanical impact and not lose its presentable appearance. For floors and walls, tiles of different levels of abrasion resistance are used, indicated by the silhouette of the foot and the silhouette of the palm respectively and also divided into classes. For the home bathroom, class II (PEI II) is quite sufficient.

• Low electrical conductivity. On this coating does not accumulate static electricity, so it does not attract dust.
• Eco-friendliness. Tile has a completely natural origin, which is especially important in our age of synthetic materials.
• Design and versatility of application. It is hard to say whose taste these days can't find a tile. Different, domestic and foreign manufacturers, the ability to choose practically any style, numerous collections, different sizes and shapes of tiles - all this speaks in favor of this choice as a finishing material for your bathroom.

There is no finishing material without disadvantages, but the tile is rarely a few:

• The complexity of installation. If you do not have experience in self-tiling, it is better to turn to a professional. The costs in this case will be higher than if you do it yourself, but they will pay off with the quality of work, durability and excellent appearance. You can try to put tiles yourself and gain invaluable and, it may well be, a successful experience.
• The cost of high-quality tile from a well-known manufacturer companies of the latest collections is quite high, but much lower than glass and stone finishing materials.
• The presence of joints, and the smaller the size of the tiles, the more joints will be. Usually for their treatment use waterproof grout, which, unfortunately, over time can change its color or be affected by mold, but this problem is solved quite easily by timely and regular treatment with antiseptic agents designed for this purpose.

While the shape of tile tiles is almost always square or rectangular, the size of individual elements you can choose the preferred size for your bathroom: from small tiles, the length of one side of which is 5 cm to a large-sized plate with dimensions of 40x60 cm.

There are several types of tile laying:

The simplest type of laying, which is within the power of even those who want to make repairs in the bathroom on their own. In the case of an apartment with a low ceiling, it is recommended to use rectangular tiles, placing them vertically, which will visually help to stretch the walls in height. If you want to visually expand the room, you can also use rectangular plates, but arrange them horizontally.

The edges of the tiles are laid at an angle of 45 degrees, one of the most interesting types, suitable for masking irregularities in the wall, but this type of laying is better to trust a professional.

Assumes tiling with tiles of two contrasting colors, it is desirable to use a square tile in a square room.

The edges of the tiles are laid at a 45 degree angle, with tiles of different colors alternating.

The most spectacular of today's tile options, stylish and original, suitable for walls, floors and ceilings. Unfortunately, one of the most expensive, time-consuming and definitely requires the work of professional craftsmen.

Decor is a tile of the same size as the background of the facing, but with an image of geometric and other types of patterns, drawings, floral elements and even photographs. Often the decor pattern is not limited to a single tile, but on the contrary, is composed of several tiles arranged horizontally or vertically. Usually the decor separates the tiles of different types.

• A classic at all times - white, but to avoid unpleasant associations, it is better to add bright accents: tiles with decor, a contrasting border or ornate inserts.
• Black visually reduces the size of the room, but if you have no problems with the size of the bathroom, then such tiles, especially textured ones, will help you to create a gloomy, but very stylish design.
• Red is the color of power, but you may feel uncomfortable in a completely red bathroom, especially if you have high blood pressure. Make at least one wall red, and you'll get an original design that will please you and that will not bore you for a long time.
• Green is a self-sufficient color. When choosing this tone for finishing your bathroom, combinations of different shades of this cheerful color will look great.

Those who don't like monochrome design or art panels might like to combine two or more colors:

• The domino effect or black and white checkerboard - this uncomplicated combination is always in fashion;
• a combination of rich yellow and deep blue - for people of action;
• The red-black combination loses its aggressiveness if you add white to it;
• Lovers of boring life is very suitable combination "Kaleidoscope", present in some collections of ceramic tiles - life will be motley, but not garish.

If you want, you can decorate your bathroom not just with tiles of one or different colors, with or without decorative elements, but also withstanding a particular style that you like:

• English style. Small floral, crested lines, white tiles in narrow red, green or blue stripes.
• Provence or French country style. The domination of white, gray, cream colors and muted pastel shades: lavender, turquoise, blue and green.
• Oriental Style. Colorful colors, variety of shades and intricate ornaments.
• Scandinavian style. Simplicity and severe cheerfulness.

Modern manufacturers do not want to concede to each other in quality and variety of ceramic tile styles.

Sometimes their products make you forget that they are just for the bathroom:

• "The "patchwork" effect of the "Atelier" collection from the Austrian company Lasselberger;

• the luxury of the collection "Agat" from the Russian "Zersanita";

• Belarusian "Deja Vu" by "Keramir";

• the sophistication of "Golden Waterfall" from the French collection by the Russian-Italian "Kerama Marazzi";

• the memory of Scarlett O'Harrah - "Scarlett" collection, Spanish "Aparici";

• The famous French flavor of French "Leroy Merlin".

Choosing tile for the bathroom, you should consider not only your taste, idea and financial possibilities, but also the size of the room to be finished. Decorating a large-sized bathroom, you are not limited by the size, shape and design of the tiles. If, on the contrary, you can not boast of a large bathroom, then you should not buy a large-sized tile. Most likely, it will have to be trimmed, which can distort the pattern, but even if you do without trimming, the pattern on tiles of this size, more often than not, is also large - you simply will not be able to cover it with a close look, and all your efforts will be in vain. The same can be said about finishing a bathroom with a lot of curved, rounded surfaces. For a small bathroom perfectly suits tiles of medium size or small mosaic tiles, preferably a glossy version, as it visually increases the size of the room.

Choosing a variant of bathroom design, you should remember that light colors contribute to the visual expansion of space. In addition, on the light tiles are much less noticeable sweat, water drops and buildup, which is especially noticeable on the surface of dark-colored tiles. It is important to consider the fact that by choosing a bathroom design, you are making this choice for a long time, so try to assess whether you will get bored with the chosen color scheme or an abundant and colorful print too quickly. Perhaps the best option would be an overall calm tone and one brightly accented wall. Looks great and spectacular edging mirror, successfully emphasized the shape of the tile bath or sink, and, of course, an unusual effect produces a mosaic of one of the walls of the art panel.

Determined with the design and size of tiles, you must check its quality by the following parameters:

• Tile appearance. Carefully inspect the tiles for the absence of chips and scratches, as well as the uniformity of the staining; if the tile has a drawing, check whether its lines on one tile coincide with the lines on the other.
• Degree of evenness (in case you choose smooth rather than textured tiles). To do this, place the two tiles side by side face up. If they are even, there will be no gap between them.
• Observance of dimensions. The dimensions of the glazed tile should correspond to its marking, and the corners should be straight. If the first you can simply measure with a ruler, then to check the correctness of the corners, put one of the tiles on a horizontal surface, and on both sides put two more tiles on the ends. In the corners formed this way there should be no gaps.

If you decided to renovate your bathroom and choose to tile any design, shape and size, then you will certainly face the question: how many tiles will you need?

There are three possibilities to calculate the number of tiles you need:

1. Trust a professional handyman, Who will do it for you.
2. Calculate on an online calculator.
3. Do the calculation manually..

When calculating manually, you need to take into account several factors, which will determine the correctness of the calculation:

• The type of tile installation;
• color scheme;
• pattern matching;
• the presence of decorative elements: border, pencil, inset, decor.

General rules for calculating tiles:

1. the length and width of the surface to be tiled is measured. If it includes a door and/or bath, the area of the door and/or bath must be subtracted from the total area.

2. Calculate the area in square meters.

The number of tiles per square meter is determined.

4. To the calculated amount, add 10% for undercutting at the edges of walls, rejects, tile damage and possible future repairs.

The best way to calculate tiles by hand is to make a layout plan for each surface to be tiled, especially when using tiles with a pattern or decorative elements. This rather time-consuming work will help you avoid financial, physical and emotional costs in the future.

The price of glazed tiles depends on different factors:

• country-manufacturer;
• brand promotion;
• tile material;
• tile size;
• the use of decorative elements.

Ceramic tile is also good because, subject to systematic maintenance, care for it is not difficult. There are two options for detergents: household chemicals, sold in any supermarket, and improvised home remedies, which can cope no worse. When starting to clean the bathroom, you should start with... putting on gloves.

Next, everything will depend on what means you decided to use: if purchased, then follow the instructions, if homemade, the sequence of actions should be as follows:

• Washing the walls with a warm soapy solution in the bottom-up direction;
• Wipe the walls dry with a top-down motion;
• If the soap solution is not enough to remove the dirt, use ammonia or, in its absence, a solution of vinegar (at a ratio of 200 ml of vinegar per 1 liter of water); in the case of mold that has already appeared in the seams, an alcohol solution is an excellent help: half a glass of alcohol should be diluted in 4 liters of water; however, before using such aggressive means, you should carefully inspect the seams and the tile itself for mechanical damage - if they are present, vinegar, alcohol or, all the more so, household chemicals can cause even greater damage;
• If necessary, treatment of tiles and joints with antifungal agent;
• Vacuuming the flooring;
• Washing the flooring with a soft cloth or mop.

A modern steam cleaner can make cleaning work in the bathroom very easy. You should also remember that if you want to enjoy the beautiful appearance of your bathroom, you should not use abrasive powders, hard and, even more so, wire brushes when cleaning it. The most appropriate materials for this would be microfiber cloths and soft sponges.

Painting already laid tiles is an infrequent phenomenon and is usually made either by dictation of the soul, or for financial reasons, when the old design bored or locally deformed, and there is no money for a new one. In these cases, the painting is quite possible, you just need to decide on the design and choose the right paint.

The design of painting tiles can be different:

• a complete change in the color of the entire tiling surface;
• the allocation of individual fragments;
• Drawing a pattern, a drawing or a picture.

• A visit to America and Marilyn Monroe - hello from the 50's;

• For lovers of the style minimalism is as minimal as it gets;

• calm and tranquil - lavender cool;

• sometimes only one accent is enough - flowers on the wall;

• if we do not go to the sea - the sea comes to us;

• fun green - along with the fish;

• a small Mediterranean bathroom.