Aga Ranges Fired Earth Manual De Usuario

9

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Due to the thickness and make-up of the

majority of Fired Earth floor tiles, it is

recommended that either a diamond cutter

or an angle grinder is used to cut the tiles.

Water cooled diamond cutters are available

from tool hire shops.

Please wear suitable protective eyewear and

protective clothing when cutting tiles.

Porcelain tiles require high quality diamond

blades for cutting.

Drilling holes can be a difficult task without

the correct equipment. Fired Earth 

Terracotta, Lubelska Bricks and Slate floor

tiles can be irregular or bowed and may

require a greater depth of adhesive in order

to ‘iron out’ potential irregularities in the

finished surface. Fired Earth Thickbed

Adhesive* is perfect for this purpose as it

can be used up to 25mm in depth.

Using a suitable notched trowel, spread an

area 1 square metre to a depth of

approximately 4mm. ‘Butter’ the back of

the tile with a further 2mm of adhesive and

place the tile in the starting position as

described in the Planning Steps 1 to 4.

When using Fired Earth Thickbed Adhesive*,

use a ‘large format’ trowel to apply the

correct bed of adhesive to the subfloor.

When laying thin, machine made glazed,

porcelain or quarry tiles to an even surface

it may be possible to fix the tiles directly

onto a thin bed of adhesive, without having

to ‘butter’ the back of the tile. 

Stone or glass tiles are normally fixed with

white adhesive to prevent the colour of the

adhesive 'bleeding' through. Push the tile

home firmly with a slight twisting

movement. Place the next tile adjacent to

the first, allowing for the grout joint, and

so on over the prepared area.

All the tiles should be soundly bedded in 

the adhesive without any space for air

underneath. Be careful not to allow any

adhesive onto the surface of the tiles. Any

surplus should be wiped away with a clean

damp sponge. Once a square metre area

has been tiled, another similar area should

be prepared and so on until you have

completed the floor with whole tiles. The

remaining perimeter area should now be

prepared and cut tiles laid. If you prefer

cuts can be fitted as the work progresses.  

Check the floor level as work progresses

with a spirit level and a straight edge. Fixing

tiles into sand and cement should be

avoided because of the time required for the

tiles to dry out and the associated problem

of efflorescence. 

recommend the use of the ARMEG® range

of porcelain drill bits and core drills.

When cutting or drilling the tile, the

surface may become wet and dirty. Wipe

the tile clean immediately after cutting.

Using a water cooled diamond cutter will

achieve the most accurate cut. 

When using an angle grinder, mark the tile

where you wish to cut it, run the cutting

disc along the marked surface cutting the

tile to at least two thirds of its depth, then

the tile can be snapped. Rough edges and

chips should be smoothed and finished

with a sanding block or in severe cases, by

rubbing the tile edge with a broken piece of

another tile.

Roman Mosaic - Metal reinforcing bars are

used in the manufacture of border designs

and may cause excessive wear on cutting

equipment. Care should be taken to ensure

that the pattern is correctly matched,

particularly in the case of the basketweave

design. Small pieces of mosaic can become

detached during cutting and should be

glued back into place using an epoxy or

similar glue.

Many Fired Earth tiles require sealing to

prevent stains from penetrating the body of

the tile. Please refer to our Product Selector

on pages 18 -23 for more details.

Before sealing commences it is imperative

that the tiles are completely clean and dry,

otherwise you may actually seal in dirt,

cement dust and moisture which can impair

the final appearance.

The process of sealing should be kept

meticulously clean and all materials

including brushes and cloths etc., should 

be new and unused.

It is equally important that the sealer soaks

into the surface of the tile, disappears and

is not allowed to ‘spoil’ (i.e. the hardening of

excess sealer on the tile surface).

Terracotta and Encaustic tiles must be

individually sealed prior to fixing.

With other tiles requiring sealing the

process is performed in two stages. The

first seal is applied once the tiles are fixed

but before they are grouted. The second

seal is applied over the whole floor, once

the tiles have been grouted and have

completely dried. 

All sealers take a few days to oxidise and

will not be fully effective during this time.

Therefore keep traffic across the floor to a

minimum for the first week.