Recommendations for laying DECORIA quartz-vinyl (PVC) tiles. Laying PVC or quartz vinyl tiles on the floor: installation process and tools

There are many options for finishing the floor surface. One of the recently appeared materials are vinyl cladding plates or their improved version - quartz vinyl, where the polymer structure is supplemented and reinforced with fine quartz sand. Laying PVC tiles is not a difficult process from a professional point of view. If there is a desire to veneer the floor on your own, you can’t do without knowing some of the nuances.

Features of polymer tiles

In order to experience a minimum of difficulties when laying PVC tiles on the floor, it is important to understand the specifics of this type of coating. The material is polymeric, while multilayer. The front side of the plates is covered with a strong transparent polyurethane film, which gives the material wear resistance, hence durability. Further down, the structure of the synthetic lining is as follows:

• a layer of decor responsible for the formation of a pattern and texture;
• carrier base, consisting of polyvinyl chloride and quartz sand;
• a stabilizing layer formed by glass fiber, giving the plates a constant geometry and dimensions;
• mounting vinyl base.

Despite the synthetic nature, quartz vinyl cladding very naturally conveys the appearance of various natural materials, which are often wood, ceramics, and wild stone. Vinyl flooring is not afraid of wet cleaning, exposure to household chemicals. The moisture resistance of polymer finishing plates allows them to be used for cladding not only in ordinary rooms, but also in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet. The advantage of the material, which makes it competitive with laminate and floor tiles, is elasticity and resilience. Quartz vinyl is much more pleasant tactilely, it dampens sounds well due to the porous, multi-layered structure.

Vinyl tile is often compared to high-quality linoleum. Polymer plates really resemble linoleum flooring in many technical parameters.

The advantages of quartz vinyl are obvious:

• much more convenient in transportation and lifting to the floors;
• much less waste, especially in rooms of non-standard geometry;
• Laying PVC tiles on the floor is not a big deal either floating or glued.

The disadvantage of the material in question is only its cost, which approximately corresponds to commercial grade linoleum. But the advantages of quartz vinyl plates outweigh this disadvantage of polymer cladding in the eyes of many consumers.

Differences of PVC tiles by installation method

Manufacturers have provided two main ways of laying quartz vinyl tiles on a mounting base:

• adhesive;
• floating (castle).

The first technology involves gluing each element of the polymer cladding to the base of the floor. You can stick the finishing plates using a special adhesive for quartz vinyl tiles. Some manufacturers make it easy by applying a sticky substance to the back of the tile and making the vinyl tile self-adhesive.

Laying the finishing floor tiles in a floating way is possible if the tiles are equipped with mating locks. Quartz vinyl is more common with adhesive locks, less often with latches, like those that join a parquet board or laminate.

Subfloor Requirements

More often, the mounting base for laying synthetic plates is a properly prepared screed made of cement-containing materials, which can be:

• concrete;
• self-prepared cement-sand mortars;
• ready-packed mixtures for screeding (levelers);
• self-levelling solutions.

Whatever building material is used to level the floor base, the result should be a surface that meets the following requirements:

• strength and integrity (the presence of large cracks, exfoliating fragments is excluded);
• evenness (the curvature of the surface should not exceed 2-3 mm per 2 meters);
• the absence of solid particles on the working surface that can damage the material during further operation (it is necessary to carry out a thorough cleaning);
• sufficient adhesion with a moderate ability to absorb moisture, which is especially important when installing PVC tiles with an adhesive method (achieved by treating the cement screed with a primer);
• moderate humidity (after pouring the screed or repairing it, you need to let the material dry).

You can check whether the cement screed has dried sufficiently in this way. A fragment of a polyethylene film is placed on the surface and pressed along the edges. If at room temperature condensation is found under the film after 3 hours, the subfloor has not dried sufficiently.

It is better not to use forced drying of the screed in any way. This will drastically reduce the strength of the floor substrate and may lead to delamination and cracking.

Laying PVC tiles on plywood or pressed particle boards (OSB) is less common. Slabs usually level existing wooden floors, or mount plywood on logs, creating a surface for laying polymer facing tiles. Almost the same requirements are imposed on the plywood mounting base as on the cement screed. It should be smooth, without sharp drops. Joints between sheets of plywood or OSB must be puttied before floating or gluing PVC tiles. When laying on glue, the dried putty is primed. The rest of the surface of the board material does not require primer treatment - the surface of OSB boards and plywood meets the necessary requirements in terms of moisture absorption and adhesion.

You will learn how to glue PVC tiles on the floor a little later. Now about what is needed for the successful implementation of the installation process.

We prepare the tool and purchase materials

For laying PVC or quartz vinyl tiles on glue, you will need general construction and special tools. From the usual tools will come in handy:

• construction tape measure (meter);
• knife with replaceable blades;
• drill with a spiral mixer nozzle;
• two spatulas (wide and narrow);
• construction square;
• rubber hammer.

Special tools are notched plastic spatula and pressure roller. The usual spatula-comb, which is used if you need to lay tiles, will not work in our case, since the formed layer of glue will be redundant. The point is not that there will be an overspending of glue for quartz vinyl tiles, the price of which is 6-10 dollars per kilogram. It will be problematic to simply stick PVC tiles on a thick adhesive layer with high quality, so you need a special tool with small triangular teeth.

The second specialized tool is a metal roller for uniform pressing of polymer plates to the mounting base. The weight of such a tool is about 50 kg and professionals prefer to “tamp” vinyl tiles to the floor with just such a roller. You can replace a heavy metal roller with a conventional one used for wallpapering, but then you will have to spend a lot of physical energy pressing the roller to the floor with force when rolling each quartz vinyl tile.

Of the materials that will be needed in the work, you need the polymer tile itself and glue for its installation. Before acquiring the necessary, you need to correctly calculate the amount of both. There will be no problems with glue - on each package (hermetically sealed plastic buckets of various sizes), the manufacturer indicates the average consumption per m2. You just need to know the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe floor in the room in order to determine the required amount of glue.

The number of tiles is a little more difficult to calculate. It is necessary to initially imagine how the installation will be done (along or across the floor). Knowing the width and length of the room, the required number of facing units is calculated. The width of the room is divided by the width of the plates, the length of the room by the length of the tiles. Niches under radiators, entrances to the doorway are taken into account.

It is not necessary to make a large margin when buying quartz vinyl, since the plates are stacked with a minimum amount of material waste.

Having calculated and purchased the required amount of material, and having the necessary tools at hand, it's time to find out how PVC tiles are usually glued to the floor.

The process of mounting quartz vinyl on glue

After preparing the base, you can proceed to installation work, which does not differ at all when laying on a cement screed and plywood. First, the surface is marked for laying the first row, which is usually done from the far wall to the entrance to the room. Sometimes, with complex or irregular floor geometry, it is necessary to lay tiles from the middle of the room. In this case, the center must be determined by repulsing the diagonals and finding the point of their intersection. It is convenient to lay square plates from the middle of the floor - this way they will find symmetry themselves. It is more convenient to start laying oblong tiles from the wall. If necessary, the plates of the coating of the first row are cut along their long size so as not to go to the opposite wall with a too narrow strip.

Square polymer tiles are mainly laid in a seam, that is, like a regular tile. Rectangular plates are easier and more economical to lay like a laminate (laying a row begins with a whole fragment, the next strip of coating starts with a cut cut). The plates are glued end-to-end with the formation of a minimum seam between adjacent tiles. The master's task is to join the individual facing elements as tightly as possible, while reliably gluing them, especially in the places where the plates join, where they most often peel off during the operation of the coating.

Glue the tiles to the floor like this.

1. The adhesive mass (must be thoroughly mixed with a construction mixer before use) is distributed over the surface of the screed or plywood base slightly wider than the element to be glued.
2. A plastic spatula forms a uniform layer of adhesive mass. After applying some types of glue, it must be allowed to stand for up to 10 minutes (carefully read the manufacturer's recommendations).
3. The plate is applied close to the adjacent, already laid tiles and pressed against the floor with the entire area.
4. After the initial landing of the tile on the glue, it must first be gently tapped with a mallet (rubber hammer), then rolled with a pressure roller. As a result, glue squeezed out from under the plate may appear in the seams, which is immediately removed with a damp cloth or sponge.

If the tile is self-adhesive, then the task is facilitated. It is necessary to remove the protective adhesive layer from the back surface of the plates and glue the tiles to the floor base. It is necessary to roll the self-adhesive tile with a roller.

Laying quartz vinyl tiles and PVC plates involves cutting them against the walls to the required size. Polymeric material is cut simply - with the help of a construction knife. After measurements, a mark is made on the front surface of the tile with a pencil or marker. A building square is combined with the mark, forming a perpendicular to the length of the facing element. An incision is made along the ruler with pressure of medium intensity with a knife blade, after which the plate is folded and broken. It is not recommended to use a grinder for cutting tiles - the material melts when heated, and the smell is not the most pleasant.

In a floating way, quartz vinyl tiles are laid very simply. Adjacent elements are joined using adhesive locks that protrude beyond the plates themselves from two adjacent sides. It is enough to remove the protective film from the lock joints and very quickly join adjacent tiles, making them a single floor covering.

During the construction of a country house, reconstruction, overhaul of urban housing, it is natural to want to choose the best, most durable materials for flooring. In the struggle for a buyer, manufacturers are constantly releasing new coatings, improving their wear resistance, strength, and performance. Relatively new facing materials on the Russian market include quartz vinyl tiles. What is it and how to lay quartz vinyl tiles?

Structure of quartz vinyl tiles

The main component that gives vinyl tiles new properties is quartz sand. Some varieties of quartz vinyl tiles contain up to 80% filler, which is second only to diamond in hardness. It is he who gives quartz vinyl floor coverings increased wear resistance and durability.

The layered structure of the quartz-vinyl tile contains a protective polyurethane coating, a decorative layer, the main quartz-vinyl material, fiberglass reinforcement.

Advantages and disadvantages of quartz vinyl flooring

The material was specially developed for floors with high loads - warehouses, shopping centers, train stations, parking lots. But, in addition to strength, the material has a number of other advantages that make it rational to use it in housing construction:

• resistance to moisture (allows application for sanitary facilities);
• fire safety (does not support combustion);
• hygiene;
• a variety of colors (allows any design);
• ease of care.

Preparatory work for laying quartz vinyl tiles

Required Tools

Tile laying tools are not complicated. It includes the simplest tools, fixtures:

• marking cord,
• meters,
• flat spatula,
• abrasives,
• metal square,
• metal ruler,
• special blade knives
• building level,
• notched trowel,
• sponge, rubber roller.

A device for measuring floor moisture with a large amount of work can be purchased, with a small amount - rented.

The choice of adhesive for quartz vinyl tiles

Particular attention should be paid to the choice of glue. The tile itself is inert to moisture, low-quality glue can absorb it, nullifying all the advantages of a quartz vinyl coating. The manufacturer's recommendations must be strictly followed. The recommended water-dispersion, acrylic adhesives are laboratory tested and adhere to the material in the best possible way.

Foundation preparation

The preparation of the surface for laying the quartz-vinyl coating should be carried out with great care - a thin adhesive layer does not fill the voids, the mechanical connection of the tiles should also fit snugly to the base.

Preparation of the base for laying quartz vinyl tiles on concrete

For high-quality preparation of the concrete base, the following operations must be sequentially performed:

• dismantling of the old coating (remove boards, logs, tiles, clean the floor to clean concrete);
• do a wet cleaning (combined with troubleshooting the base, damaged areas are marked with chalk);
• cut down the bulges of the base;
• clear damaged areas (up to solid concrete);
• pre-seal holes, cracks (performed with a flat spatula, the excess is removed);
• sweep, vacuum the floor;
• completely cover the base with a primer (choose a water-repellent primer, prime with a brush or roller);
• putty damage (as a rule, acrylic putties are used);
• clean the puttied places (abrasive bar, emery cloth);
• sweep, vacuum the floor.

Puttying of damaged areas must be repeated until the base is completely leveled.

All these operations can be replaced by applying . Its surface levels itself, but the materials are quite expensive. Before installing the tiles, the subfloor must be completely dry (residual moisture - no more than 5%).

Preparation of the base for laying quartz vinyl tiles on plywood

When mounting on bases made of plywood, sheet materials (OSB boards, GVL), the joints of the sheets, attachment points must be puttied. The tile before installation is laid out in a horizontal position for 24 hours.

Tile installation

To maintain the geometric pattern of laying, it is important to start it from the center line, which must be carefully marked (parallel to the line of the walls, diagonally). When laying tiles, air must not get under the coating. Glue is used strictly according to the instructions. Some types of glue are used immediately, others require drying (up to fifteen minutes).

The installation operations of adhesive laying include:

Trimming of quartz vinyl tiles is carried out with two knives. Knives with a trapezoid blade are used to mark the cut. For a full cut, use a knife with a hook-shaped blade. A small gap should be left near the wall, which is filled with silicone sealant.

When installing tiles with interlocking joints– the principles of work are the same. The main difference is that the center line is drawn at the far wall, and laying begins from there. Of the several types of mechanical assembly, the simplest type of connection available for self-assembly is the “groove-comb”.

The first row of tiles is located against the wall with the side where the groove is located. The lower protrusions of the grooves of the tiles of the first row (resting against the wall) are cut off. The end edges of the panels snap into place. To snap the panels in place, insert the comb into the groove at an angle and lower the tile down.

For a tight connection, the use of rubber milk is acceptable. It is more convenient to work by placing tiles from left to right. The tongue of the panel to be laid must point towards the installer. The second row of tiles and subsequent rows are also assembled. The second row is connected to the first, the operation is repeated until the installation is completed. It must be remembered that coatings with locking joints are "floating" structures - they cannot be fixed on the base (nailed, glued).

Video on laying quartz vinyl tiles

Caring for quartz tiles

Durable, wear-resistant coating does not require special care. For the normal preservation of quartz vinyl floors, regular cleaning with a vacuum cleaner, wet cleaning is sufficient. Special mastics for rubbing floors are not used, chemicals for cleaning rooms do not harm the coating.

For high-quality installation of floors in the room, in addition to choosing DeART tiles, you also need to choose the appropriate adhesive for installing quartz vinyl tiles. DeART FLOOR recommends using special adhesive compositions of the joint Russian-Finnish concern KIILTO for the installation of adhesive quartz vinyl tiles.

To determine the appropriate adhesive composition, it is necessary to determine the type of substrate on which the quartz vinyl tile will be mounted.

The bases are absorbent and non-absorbent.

Absorbent substrates are understood as a surface capable of absorbing water. These include:

• concrete, cement-sand screeds;
• plywood;
• OSB, OSB (OSB) boards - oriented strand board;
• Chipboard - chipboard;
• fiberboard - fibreboard;
• GVL - gypsum fiber sheet;
• GKL - drywall sheet.

For these types of surfaces, KIILTO PLUS glue is ideal (KIILTO PLUS)

Non-absorbent substrates include:

• painted surfaces;
• metal surfaces;
• ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles;
• linoleum, other PVC coverings;
• mosaic floors (terrazzo);
• laminate;
• plastic compounds (plastic coatings);
• fibrous concrete;
• rubber;
• countertops and furniture fronts

For these bases, use KIILTO 2 PLUS glue (KIILTO 2 PLUS)

Supplied in containers of 1.4; 4 and 18 kg.

Quality in harmony with nature

Kiilto strives to harmonize functionality and environmental issues while solving the problems set by our customers.
In 1993, the Finnish Standards Union (SFS) certifies the high level of Kiilto's work with the ISO 9001 quality certificate. The ISO 14001 environmental program, the occupational health and safety management system OHSAS 18001 are also integrated with this quality system.
The quality assurance system covers all stages of the product life cycle: development, production, marketing and sales, customer service, warehousing and delivery of products, and also considers environmental protection, health and safety.
In August 2013, all divisions of Kiilto in Russia successfully completed the ISO 9001 quality management system certification procedure at DNV.

Invisible but very important factor

Kiilto pays special attention to environmental and safety issues. The company strives to organize production in such a way that all activities, from the development stage, through the manufacturing process, to the recommendations for the final application, are carried out in an environmentally friendly manner.

In 1992, Kiilto joined the chemical industry's international "Responsible Care - Responsible for Tomorrow" program, which includes environmental protection, health and safety.

By signing the program, Kiilto has made a commitment to actively promote the protection of the enabling environment and openly share information about its products, production process and plans for the future.

Kiilto's R&D department is constantly researching safer and more environmentally friendly alternative raw materials, developing healthier and more environmentally friendly products.
All Kiilto product packages have instructions for the disposal and use of empty packages. When choosing packaging materials, the company gives preference to the use of secondary raw materials.

Thank you for choosing KIILTO for your DEART FLOOR quartz vinyl tiles!

Depending on the type of room and the configuration of the pattern, a specialist lays from 80 to 150 sq.m of material on the prepared floor surface in 8 hours of work.

Laying technology does not provide for sealing seams(as for linoleum or porcelain stoneware), the tiles are glued to the base of the floor butt to each other. And since there are no seams, the quartz-vinyl tile floor looks like a single seamless canvas. This protects the floor from dirt and when driving over the tiles of shopping and warehouse trolleys, the floor does not "noise".

Coatings from must be laid on an even, clean (without traces of sand, dust, grease, oils, polishes, paints) and always a dry base.

It's important to know! Coatings do not allow moisture to pass through, so if you stick them on an insufficiently dry base, then moisture will accumulate under the material, destroy the coating and glue from the inside.

The first stage is the preparation of the subfloor for laying quartz vinyl tiles

The base of the floor can be:

• concrete floors with cement screed.
• asphalt floors
• ceramic floors
• wooden floors
• metal floors

Details about the preparation and types of floor bases can be found in a special section of our website.

• Before starting laying work it is necessary to measure the moisture content of the screed.
• The readiness for the next stage of work is determined in accordance with the indicator of residual moisture, it should be no more than 2.0%.
• On the concrete base of the floors of the first floors, entrance groups and in wet rooms (in the kitchen, bathroom) waterproofing is required.
• Further surface is primed The primer has a high penetrating ability, serves to increase the adhesion of repair masses, as well as to strengthen and waterproof. It binds surface dust, reduces the absorbency of the base, protecting it from the moisture of leveling compounds and glue.
• Then it is necessary apply leveling compound, which is designed to create a leveling layer. The grade of the leveling mass is selected according to the compressive strength, i.e. according to the degree of load in the room. The thickness of the leveling layer depends on the quality of the screed, but the required minimum is 1.0-2.0 mm.

The second stage is the preparation of quartz vinyl tiles for laying

The tile must be kept in place in its original packaging for 48 hours.

When laying floor coverings with underfloor heating heating must be on for at least 10 days prior to laying.

During the application and drying of the adhesive, the heating must be adjusted in such a way that the temperature of the substrate is maintained at + 18°C. The temperature must be maintained at this level for at least 3 days after laying the coating.

Necessary tools and materials:

Knife with interchangeable blades: trapezoidal blades for pre-cutting, and C-shaped blades for final cutting

• notched trowel A2-AZ
• metal ruler
• square
• pencil
• styling adhesive
• roller (rollers) 65-70 kg for laying floor coverings

The third stage - laying quartz vinyl tiles

• Quartz-vinyl tiles should be glued completely, avoiding air ingress.
• For gluing use > glue for laying PVC coatings
• It is not recommended to lay the material close to the walls - it is necessary to leave a small gap of 5-10 mm.
• It is necessary to roll the flooring with special heavy (65-75 kg) rollers to remove air bubbles and secure adhesion.
• Professionals start at the main doorway, as the first impression of a room is the most important.
• However, it is possible to start in the middle of the room, and laying out the tiles loosely for inspection purposes will ensure that the work looks good when finished. This is especially important where drawings are laid out, with which you can hide visual defects, highlight certain areas of the room, or simply decorate the floor. For example, stripes along the room make it visually wider.

Getting Started

• Measure the room to be installed in all directions, including recesses, ledges, etc.
• Draw a center line A-B at right angles to the wall containing the doorway.
• Draw line C-D at a right angle and in the center of line A~B
• Laying starts from the center of the room.

After that, using the "pyramid" method, lay several incomplete layers of tiles.

Then, using the “layer by layer” method, full rows of tiles are laid. Further, by the “pyramid” method, several more incomplete layers are laid out, and so on stage by stage.

Pay Attention When Laying Quartz Vinyl Tile

It's important to know!On the back of each tilethere is an arrow indicating the direction, in which all tiles must fit. If the tiles are not laid in the same direction, the light reflection will disturb the planned optical image.If the tiles are stacked randomly, you should not pay attention to the arrows.

Cutting tiles near the walls of the room and “obstacles” is carried out with a trapezoidal knife: the upper (protective) layer is cut, then the tile is broken along the cut line and cut from the back side with a C-shaped knife. If the “obstacle” has a very complex shape (for example, a column, steps complex shape, pipe, etc.) cutting tiles should be done according to pre-made patterns.

Foundation preparation

The following materials can be used as a base for PVC tiles:

• Cement-sand (cement) screed
• Various mixtures specially designed for leveling floors
• Plywood of increased moisture resistance (FSF marking)
• Bulk, dry bases (Knauf Superpol)
• Existing coatings: tiles, porcelain tiles, vinyl tiles

· The base for laying PVC tiles should be prepared in exactly the same way as for ANY other floor covering. The base must comply with the requirements of SNiP 3.04.01-87 and SNiP 2.03.13-88 and be sufficient:

• Clean: the surface must be free of sand, dust, grease, paint and other foreign matter
• durable
• stable
• Dry
• Rovny

Determination of the laying direction of quartz-vinyl tiles

· Before starting work, it is necessary to determine the direction of laying the tiles. Remember that diagonal laying increases tile consumption due to more undercutting.

• Aesthetic considerations: a neatly designed entrance to the room, adjoining tiles to visible walls and other structures.
• Convenience of the laying process: minimal labor costs, the possibility of simultaneous laying by several workers.
• When laid diagonally, the beacon row is usually the longest row, setting the angle of adjoining vinyl tiles to walls and structures.

Tool for laying quartz-vinyl tiles

· Before laying tiles, make sure you have the right tools. For fast and high-quality styling, you will need:

Line punching tool. It can be either a professional chopping cord, or a “right And lo "(or another, sufficiently long object), with which you can draw a straight line.

• Roulette
• Square.
• Rubber mallet.
• Knife. It is better to use professional construction knives, but a regular clerical knife will do.
• Notched trowel. The choice of trowel is essential for the correct installation of PVC flooring. When choosing a spatula, pay attention to the fact that:
• When laying PVC tiles, use ONLY a notched trowel.
• For laying vinyl tiles, a dosing spatula of 300 - 400 g/m2 is used. The use of a spatula with b ABOUT Excessive consumption of adhesive composition can adversely affect the quality of installation. Do not use a trowel to lay tiles.

The process of laying quartz-vinyl tiles

· Before starting work, carefully read the instructions for using glue or mastic.

Before applying mastic or glue, the base is recommended to be primed

· Apply adhesive to the BASE at the rate of several (3 - 4) rows of tiles. Apply adhesive to an area that can be tiled in 20 to 30 minutes. Depending on the skill of the stacker and the configuration of the room, this area may be different.

· Next, you should wait for the time required for the release of excess (transport) moisture from the adhesive (gumming time). This time, depending on the characteristics of the adhesive and the climatic conditions in the room, usually varies from 15 to 40 minutes.

· For complete confidence in the readiness of the adhesive to work, it is necessary to conduct a “finger test”. If the glue is not yet ready to work, then when you touch it, it will leave marks on your finger. If the finger sticks to the adhesive layer, but there are no traces of glue left, then you can start laying the coating.

· Lay the beacon rows. Remember that the first row is especially important. The following rows will adjoin it. Carelessly (unevenly) glued tiles of the first row will create difficulties for laying subsequent rows.

· Install the rest of the vinyl tiles. Laying of each next row can be done from the already laid tiles.

· ATTENTION: On the products of some manufacturers, on the back side there are arrows indicating the recommended direction of laying the tiles. We advise you to arrange the tiles in accordance with the direction of the arrows.

End of work

· ATTENTION: do not cover the laid tiles with any covering materials within 72 hours.