Wall ceramic granite, its types, properties, scope, technologies of external and internal wall cladding. According to the coloring method, ceramic granite can be homogeneous and partially colored. In the first case, only natural pigments are used, the material is distinguished by good wear resistance and environmental friendliness. A product with partial coloring is a two-layer product: it is a tile and a layer of paint. The technical characteristics of such a material are lower than that of a homogeneous material.
In terms of their size, products may vary significantly. The most popular sizes of porcelain stoneware for walls are 60x60 cm, 45x45 cm, 30x30 cm. The largest size of thin ceramic granite, which is used for facing facades, is 120x360 cm, and the smallest one is 5x5 cm. Products of any size can be obtained using waterjet cutting.
As for the thickness of the material, its maximum value is 3 cm, and the minimum is 3 mm. Porcelain stoneware products with a thickness of 8, 6 mm are able to withstand a load of 200 kg / cm2… With a properly executed cladding, the thickness of the coating does not play a special role for its strength.
Technical characteristics of porcelain stoneware for walls
The unique properties of ceramic granite allow it to be widely used for exterior and interior decoration of buildings. During the installation process, artificial and natural stones behave differently. When polymerizing an adhesive mixture with a natural stone, the composition, penetrating into its microcracks and pores, can spoil the surface of the facing by bleeding through stains, which will then be impossible to get rid of. Ceramic granite is devoid of such a disadvantage.
Despite the fact that it is of artificial origin, the advantages of the material are undeniable:
- Low percentage of water absorption - less than 0.05% of the mass, providing frost resistance of the material, in natural granite this figure is 5%.
- Resistant to solar radiation, chemicals and temperature changes.
- High impact and bending strength.
- The ability to create a structural non-slip surface.
- Long-term service life of the coating and the lack of special care for it.
- High level of fire resistance, the material is non-flammable.
- A huge assortment of slabs of various shapes, colors and textures of their surfaces, allowing you to create numerous options for wall decoration with an unusual design.
There are very few disadvantages of ceramic granite:
- The significant weight of the material, which additionally loads the building, therefore, not all houses can be decorated with porcelain stoneware tiles.
- The high price of products, which is due to the complexity of their manufacture, but taking into account the above-described advantages, the cost can be considered quite justified.
Porcelain stoneware is an excellent floor covering, especially for areas with heavy traffic: subways, train stations, airports, cinemas, shopping malls and shops. In home interiors, porcelain stoneware for walls is used for decorating kitchens, halls, corridors and hallways, as well as for cladding pools and bathrooms.
The material is widely used for facade coatings, and it is simply irreplaceable as floors in car washes, garages or workshops. In addition, porcelain stoneware is used for finishing open terraces, stair steps and walls of production halls. The material performs its functions equally well both outside the premises and inside them.
The choice of adhesive for mounting porcelain stoneware on walls
Porcelain stoneware has a high density and low moisture absorption. Therefore, the glue for it should be selected with great care. The adhesive must ensure a high level of adhesion between the base and the facing material.
For reliable fixation of tiles when decorating walls with porcelain stoneware, it is not recommended to use pure cement mixtures. They are not able to hold dense heavy cladding elements for a long time, which will simply fall off over time. Therefore, the glue for porcelain stoneware contains polymers that ensure its tight adhesion.
The glue mixture goes on sale in the form of a powder, consisting of sand, cement and modifiers. The solution is mixed with water. Tile adhesive must provide moisture resistance and mechanical strength of its layer. The second aspect is very important when stacking products of large sizes, since they have a solid weight.
Also, the choice of glue depends on the conditions of the cladding work. If they are performed at low temperatures, it is recommended to use a quick-setting compound. In addition, when choosing glue, you should know its permissible consumption.
The base material on which it is planned to glue the porcelain stoneware is also of great importance when choosing a working mixture. If it is brick or wood, then the appropriate glue is selected for them.
The most popular foreign manufacturers of ceramic adhesives are Index, Ceresit and Mapei. Products of domestic manufacturers - glue brands Yunis, Osnovit, Knauf. Most experienced master builders prefer to use Ceresit brand mixes, which are divided according to purpose:
- CM 11 - used for interior and exterior cladding;
- CM 12 - for interior decoration;
- CM 14 is a fast-setting, frost-resistant and moisture-resistant compound for external cladding;
- CM 17 is a universal adhesive suitable for any type of substrate.
Advice! When applying the mixture to ceramic granite tiles, the thickness of the cladding element and the adhesive layer must be the same.
Exterior wall decoration with porcelain stoneware
Exterior wall cladding with porcelain stoneware has been used not so long ago. But the popularity of such a finish is gaining strength every year, which is associated with the excellent qualities of this material. Facade wall decoration is carried out in two ways: by gluing plates or by installing hinged structures.
The first method differs from the internal cladding only in the composition of the glue for fixing the material and is used mainly for finishing the basement part of the walls. For the rest of their area, the second method is more acceptable. It is quite simple and available for self-execution. In addition, the manufacture of a curtain wall often involves building insulation, which is an additional advantage given the growing cost of energy resources.
The construction of the porcelain stoneware façade will consist of a load-bearing frame fixed to the walls, insulation and facing slabs. When using insulation, a ventilation gap should always be left between it and the back of the cladding, which ensures free circulation of air flows in the structure, creating additional insulation of the building in the cold season of the year and contributing to its cooling in the heat of the summer months.
Fastening of plates to the frame is carried out in a visible or hidden way. When using the first option, the fasteners are outside the cladding plane. The frame of the facade system is made of light metal profiles. Ceramic granite is installed on them with the help of clips or clamps.
The hidden method of fixing the plates involves the use of pins or anchor screw dowels. For both cases, holes are pre-sawn or drilled in the slabs.
The work on the installation of the ventilated cladding is carried out in the following order:
- First, you need to prepare the workplace. To do this, it is necessary to retreat 3 m from each of the walls of the house and mark the border of the safe zone. Outside this line, you need to place all the necessary materials: metal profiles, brackets, anchors, fasteners, gaskets, insulation, porcelain stoneware slabs, windproof and waterproofing films. In strong wind, atmospheric precipitation or low temperatures, it is highly undesirable to work.
- Then, markings should be made on the walls for attaching brackets, horizontal and vertical metal profiles.
- After that, the brackets are mounted. This can be done with a punch. In the holes drilled by him, you need to insert poronite gaskets and fix the brackets on the wall using dowels and a screwdriver.
- The next stage of work is the installation of insulation. It starts at the bottom, with the first row of insulation boards resting on the wall base. The insulation should be installed in a checkerboard pattern. From above it must be covered with a windproof membrane (film). Fasteners are made with special umbrella dowels.
- After the installation of the brackets, insulation and wind protection, the profiles are installed. Metal rivets are used to fix them.
- At the last stage of the work, porcelain stoneware is laid on the wall in a visible or hidden way. If the installation of the plates was carried out in the first way, then it should be completed by painting the fasteners to match the tone of the base material. In the second case, the slabs are fixed on two guide profiles, while the connection of the slabs looks more attractive.
Internal wall cladding with porcelain stoneware
Prepare the walls before laying the porcelain stoneware. To do this, clean the surface from the old coating to the ground and inspect its condition. Small cracks can be repaired with cement mortar or gypsum plaster. The moisture content of the walls when facing should not be more than 3%.
The walls are leveled with a gypsum composition with a layer thickness of no more than 2 mm. Then the putty surface must be covered with a primer layer for better adhesion of the adhesive to the substrate.
After the wall is ready for facing with porcelain stoneware, it is necessary to apply markings on it to determine the sequence of laying the material and places for its trimming. Most often, the cladding starts from the wall farthest from the exit, and the trimming is performed at the locations of the doors.
Facing the interior walls with ceramic granite should be done from the bottom of them. After applying the adhesive mixture to the surface and back of the tile, the material should be applied to the wall. You can use a rubber mallet to firmly adhere the product to the plane. After laying the boards of the first row, you need to wait for the adhesive to polymerize, and then continue the cladding.
Each installed tile must be checked with a level in the vertical and horizontal direction. A seam should be left between them, the width of which is fixed using special plastic crosses.
The adhesive mixture is applied to the wall in small areas, as it thickens rather quickly when it sets.
Pruning of porcelain stoneware must be done using a special machine or an angle grinder with a diamond wheel.
At least twelve hours after the end of the cladding, the joints between the tiles should be repaired. For grouting, a special compound is used, a rubber trowel and a soft sponge. After completing this work, the cladding must be completely cleaned of the remnants of glue and grout.
How to lay porcelain stoneware on the walls - watch the video:
Using foreign collections of materials and having an idea of / u200b / u200bthe installation of porcelain stoneware, you can settle in your home a piece of any country, endowing its walls with a unique flavor.
