Fixing Tiles 

Refurbishment can range from the replacement of a few tiles through to large scale tile on-tile work or the wholesale replacement of the existing flooring with ceramic tiles.The speed at which refurbishment projects must be undertaken, so that the business can minimise its losses while the building is modernized, can also lead to unusual and stringent demands being placed on tile adhesives.

Tile-on tile for walls

• In a domestic situation, all that is usually required is a thorough cleaning of the existing tiles, followed by the use of an appropriate adhesive, such as PCI Tilefast Super.
• A commercial/industrial task is usually more demanding than a domestic situation, and for this a cement-based adhesive is advised. PCI Tilefast 6 Flex, for example, will provide the degree of adhesion required without the use of additional admixtures. In either case, the existing tiles must be inspected to ensure they are clean, degreased and firmly fixed to the wall (the finished tiling can only be as secure as its background).
• Any unsound tiles must be removed and the wall repaired with PCI Polycret 5.

Tile-on-tile for floors

• The existing tiles must be inspected and any loose or damaged replaced, or the surface repaired with PCI Polycrete 20.
• The floor must then be rigorously cleaned and degreased, or Floorfast 20 Rapid
• The new tiles should be fixed with PCI Tilefast 6 Flex, or PCI Tilefast 6 Rapidflex, the choice depending on the bed thickness required or the speed with which the floor must be made available for traffic.
• Priming of the existing tiles is not usually required, although there may be occasions where priming is necessary, for example where the existing floor is highly polished or has non porous tiles installed, with the use of primer 303.

Tile-replacing-tile

• The removal of existing ceramic tiles will invariably cause some damage to the underlying screed, concrete, or other subfloor.
• Repair the damage area with a self-levelling compound such as PCI Periplan (applied according to Technical Datasheet, available from PCI) which will be ready for tiling as soon as it is hard enough to walk on - typically after just three hours.
• Before applying the leveling compound, first apply a primer to the substrate, such as Primer G from PCI.
• Periplan flows self-levels at depths of over 3mm and provides an ideal surface for rapid tiling (the opportunity to install under-tile heating exists at this point in time.
• If the damage is localised, it can easily be made good with the use of PCI Polycret 5 or Polycret 20, which are trowel applied resurfacing repair compounds that are easy to apply and smooth out and can be tiled on after a few hours.

Replacement of an existing PVC floor covering with ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiles are designed to withstand varying degrees of wear-and-tear and they are often called upon to replace shorter-lived materials, e.g PVC,Vinyl etc.when the latter have reached the end of their life.

• PVC tiles or sheet flooring is usually fixed to good quality screeds, so their removal is unlikely to cause any significant damage. If it does, then either Periplan or Polycret 5 20 will remedy the problem.
• The removal is, however, likely to leave adhesive residues on the screed.If this is the case, and if the residues are firmly bonded to the screed, removal of debris and an application of Primer G is normally all that is required to prepare for tiling.
• The adhesive will be chosen to suit the tiles to be fixed – PCI Tilefast 6 Rapid or PCI Tilefast 6 Rapidflex for fully vitrified tiles; Floorfast mortars for large format tiles and PCI Tilefast 6 or PCI Tilefast 6 Flex where time is not a constraint.
• PVC floorings are often laid over mastic asphalt and the removal of loose material and an application of neat Primer G is all that is required in the majority of cases.