Tile works in Tallinn.

Ceramic tiles are moisture-resistant and aesthetically pleasing, making them ideal for use in high-humidity areas such as bathrooms and showers. To date, no material surpasses its efficiency and durability. However, it is crucial to make the right choice before purchasing. 

Renovating Your Bathroom and Choosing the Right Tiles

Carrying out tile work on your own means that you will be responsible for performing all necessary tasks and selecting the type, color, and design of the tiles yourself. When choosing the right tiles, it is best to consult with a professional advisor to determine how resistant the selected product is to external mechanical impact.

In addition to durability, one must consider both the texture and design of the tiles, selecting them with attention to the room’s interior where they will be installed. For instance, rough tiles are ideal for flooring, while smooth tiles can be excessively slippery and therefore quite dangerous, as they increase the risk of slipping and falling. When renovating a bathroom and tiling the walls in shower areas, it is essential to keep this in mind.

Ceramic tiles are also used in saunas, where similar guidelines should be followed: it is important to remember that smooth and fragile tiles are not suitable for the floor.

Preparation Work Before Installation

Smooth walls are the key to success, yet not everyone pays attention to this detail. If tiles are laid on an uneven surface with significant variations, there is a high chance that they will soon start to fall off. The detachment of ceramic tiles is far from the most annoying surprise. Uneven walls will almost certainly ruin the room’s aesthetics, as the edges of the tiles will protrude and reveal all the imperfections, even at a quick glance.

It is crucial to level the walls before starting any tiling work. Some inexperienced tile setters believe that applying more adhesive can compensate for uneven surfaces, but this is not entirely true. Over time, due to uneven distribution, the adhesive under the tiles will start to crack, causing the tiles to eventually detach from the surface and fall off. This will result in the need to redo the bathroom renovation.

1. A true craftsman must ensure that the walls and floor are perfectly leveled at a 90-degree angle. This guarantees that the tile installation will be of high quality and the bathroom renovation will look stunning and professional.
2. A layer of plaster is applied for leveling. When working in high-humidity areas, such as bathrooms, waterproofing is essential and is applied over the plaster after it has dried.

Surface Marking

When laying tiles, to ensure they are placed evenly, it is necessary to make markings. The very first tile is adhered to the lower, far corner of the wall. Some inexperienced tilers make the mistake of starting from the top. Of course, both approaches are quite relevant today, but starting from the bottom is the more common and correct method.

The next steps depend on the method we choose to start the work. There are three different ways to proceed with the installation.

1.   Diagonal installation.
2. «Seam to seam» is the most popular method.
3. «In a staggered pattern» (laying each subsequent row of tiles with a slight offset relative to the previous one).

Tile Installation

After marking the layout, the installer should prepare the installation materials for the next steps—primarily the adhesive and the container for mixing the solution. The adhesive mixture for laying dries fairly quickly, so it is advisable not to mix the entire solution at once. Instead, it is better to mix it in portions to prevent it from drying out during the work.

1. They mix the blend using a drill with a special mixer attachment, though other options are also suitable.
2. Some tile setters believe that soaking ceramic tiles briefly before installation helps them adhere better to the adhesive. However, in practice, soaking does not affect the quality of the work—neither positively nor negatively. Therefore, you can simply mist the tiles lightly with water from a spray bottle before installation.
3. The adhesive solution is selected based on the type of tile sheet. To avoid making a mistake, you can consult with an expert who will help you choose the right one.
4. The adhesive is applied to the back side of the sheet using a notched trowel. It is essential that distinct ridges from the notches remain on the tile surface to ensure the adhesive is distributed more evenly and bonds more effectively with the surfaces.
5. Tiles are laid using a level to ensure they are perfectly even. If the tiles are uneven, they are adjusted before the adhesive sets, meaning before it starts to dry.
6. To ensure even alignment and better adhesion of the sheets, gently tap them with a rubber mallet. Place plastic spacers in the corners of the tiles to maintain consistent gaps.

First, install the full tiles, even if the cut tiles will be placed in the center of the wall. This can happen if there is an electrical outlet or another obstacle planned for the wall. All cut tiles are laid after the full ones are in place, which significantly simplifies the workflow.

The grout lines between all the tiles are exposed. Once the tile installation is complete, a special grout is applied to the joints. After the grout has set, the tiles are wiped down with a damp cloth.

Bathroom Tiles

Renovating a bathroom, particularly tiling work, tends to be more expensive than in other rooms due to a variety of complexities. Tiling in a bathroom differs significantly from the same process in, say, a kitchen.

First and foremost, the walls here, as in any other room, need to be leveled. The sequence of these tasks is carried out in the same way as usual. In the bathroom, tiles are never installed on bare walls. The surface must be treated with a primer to prevent potential peeling issues later on.

After the primer has dried, a metal mesh is applied to the walls to prevent detachment from the surface. A layer of plaster is then spread over the mesh. Only once the plaster has fully dried, the walls are ready for the next stage.

However, tile setters often work in spaces where the bathtub has not yet been installed, and they start laying tiles only after the bathtub is physically in place. This means they must also correctly position the bathtub beforehand. In practice, tiling in such cases is done starting from the edge of the structure. This is the main reason why the cost of the work can vary significantly.

The process of laying tiles in this case is done in concentric rings. The issue is that the bathroom has too many problematic areas (pipes and other elements), which makes the work very challenging. Another significant problem when tiling the bathroom is the doorway, where precise measurements and cuts are required. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time adjusting the tiles and making cuts.

You can book ceramic tile installation here.