The Tile Association (TTA) provides essential info on the installation of large porcelain panels.
It will not have escaped anyone’s notice that tile sizes are increasing. Large porcelain panels are now seen in both commercial and residential installations. This article serves as an introduction to the information which TTA can offer on this topic – with much more in the technical document ‘Large Format Wall & Floor Tiles and Panels in Internal Tiling’ which, along with all 16 TTA technical documents, is available as a free-of-charge download to members.
The bigger the tile size, the more dramatic the statement that can be made in the home, particularly when allied to the fashionable concrete or industrial look. Large porcelain panels are so classified if their surface area is greater than 1m2 or any tile edge greater than 1,200mm.
The main reason for their popularity is that they offer a no-nonsense, sleek and unfussy aesthetic. This is due to the fact that porcelain panels of this size have far fewer grout lines, allowing a clean and uninterrupted finish. When used in bathrooms, kitchens and other hygiene-sensitive environments, this also means easier cleaning along with health and wellbeing benefits.
However, their installation does pose a number of challenges for the tile fixer. Firstly logistics: getting the materials to site and having enough space to store the crates or ‘A’ frames they come in is one issue. Even with a telehandler on site, the forks must be adjusted to the width of the supports on the crates.
Sometimes the jobs are badly handled and the panels are taken out of the packing by labourers and stacked against a wall without use of any lifting aids or frames. Problems occur when the panels are sold to customers, without any consideration for access, especially if they are being used in an upstairs location. This is usually OK on a new build, but on refurb work a lot of staircases only allow a maximum size of 900 x 2.4 m. Since the standard panel sizes are 2.4 x 1.2 and 3m x1m and above, what some fitters do is ask the customer to carry up a sheet of expanded polystyrene, which makes them realise how difficult the material handling is and how realistic their requests are. However, there are alternative methods, such as using scaffolding platforms outside and gaining access by removing windows if required.
Secondly, additional care and the appropriate trowels and techniques are required when laying an adhesive bed and back buttering panels. Walls need to be plumb and square prior to installation of the panels, and floors need to be as flat as possible. Issues can arise where the floors are of a reasonable standard for normal flooring but just don’t meet what is needed to achieve solid bedding with large porcelain panels.
Thirdly, many clients underestimate the installation costs, which are around the same or slightly more than the retail cost of the porcelain panels themselves. Due to the high cost of the panels, customers’ expectation of the finish is brochure quality. If a panel breaks while fabricating the pieces, this has to be replaced at either the client’s cost or the fitter’s, so this is also factored in on the pricing of a job. Some fitters average out the amount of replaced panels over a 12-month period as a percentage over every job, others will just put a caveat on their quotes that they are charging for their labour only and not responsible for supplying any panels if breakages occur while installing. Clarity over this is very important, as customers don’t like surprises and no one wants to be working and not making any money if the panel is replaced at the fitter’s cost.
Grout joints should be minimum 3mm wide, together with expansion joints where needed.
There are also requirements regarding the fixing of large porcelain panels. These are included in the current revision of the British Standard relating to tiling – BS5385-1: 2018. This states that: Where tiles greater than 0.1 m2 face area are required to be fixed to walls above 3m above floor level they should be secured by mechanical fixings.
Also: Where tiles are to be mechanically fixed the background should be sufficiently robust to take the method of attachment.
So, such tiles and panels in these types of installations should be mechanically fixed to a supporting metal framework by means of special clips or anchors which are fitted to undercut slots or holes formed in the back of the ceramic tiles or slabs. Various types of proprietary support and mechanical fixing systems are manufactured for this purpose.
For the fitter there is undoubtedly a steep learning curve required when it comes to installing large porcelain panels. The skills needed are a combination of tiling, glass handling and cutting. Even some of the highest skilled tilers avoid installing large porcelain panels either because they don’t want to invest in the equipment needed or because there are easier product areas to specialise in or they had a previous difficult experience with the material.
The Tile Association recognises the importance of all these issues around fixing large format tiles and panels. Recently a group of UK tile installers, retailers and distributors took part in a four-day trip, organised by TTA, to Castellón, Spain, hosted and funded by ASCER, The Spanish Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Association and the Castellón Chamber of Commerce. The aim of the trip was to learn about porcelain panels, through a number of visits to local factories and showrooms, as well as gaining some hands-on experience.
To find out more about membership of TTA and how to benefit from the technical expertise which TTA has on large format tiles and panels, as well as other aspects of tiling, visit www.tiles.org.uk
