Treatment advice Portuguese cement tiles and Moroccan cement tiles

Inspect the Portuguese floor tiles before laying them. Remove white edges on the tiles if so desired with fine sandpaper or a scuff sponge and water.

Wooden underfloor

It is advisable to screw a waterproof surface to the wooden floor and to glue the Moroccan tiles and Portuguese floor tiles with a flexible tile glue and to fill the joints with a flexible mortar. With larger areas it is better to use a dilatation joint.

Concrete underfloor

The tile can be fixed in cement mortar or they can be glued (for indoor use we advice 711 special glue from Eurocol). Use a dilatation joint with large areas.

Floor heating

We advice to use a flexible joint between the tiles and to leave the skirting board free.

Glueing

As the tiles from the Portuguese tiles have continuing patterns, we advice to lay the tiles against each other and to joint them as well. When glueing you can best use a 6 mm comb. Immediately remove glue and dirt during the laying and joining. Leave tiles to dry for at least 3 days before impregnating!

Joints

Width of joints approximately 2 to 3 mm. We advice mortar from Eurocol 706, the silver-grey colour is the most beautiful. It is very important to join the tiles per m2 and to remove excess mortar with a wet sponge immediately. After joining the tiles, let them dry for at least 2 days in a well ventilated room. You can then cover the floor (preferably with linen cloth, do not use cardboard) if you have to walk through the room. When the floor tiles are clean and dry, make them free of dust. After that you can impregnate the cement tiles.

If so desired you can give the cement tiles 1 preliminary treatment before you start joining, but only apply 1 layer on a clean floor and leave it to dry well before you start joining.
If you join the cement tiles as required, no cement veil can appear, never use cement veil remover on the cement tiles!

To lay in a sand-bed

The tiles can also be layed in a cement-bed or sand-bed. It is very important NOT to use black sand, but to use Rhine sand. This Rhine sand is mixed with mortar. You must wet the Moroccan and Portuguese cement tiles thoroughly before laying them in the sand-bed (just like with natural stones), so as to get a good suture. The floor must now dry for at least 3 weeks and harden (1 week per cm3 cement-bed). Leave the tiles to dry for 3 weeks before impregnating. The cement-bed must be at least 3 cm thick. Because the tiles are wet through and through, the tile has to harden. The tiles are completely hardened after at least 1 month. During this period you can walk on the floor but it may not be loaded. It is best to cover the cement tiles with linen cloth, to prevent dirt from permeating the floor. If activities have to be carried out in this room, we advice you to lay down blankets underneath appliances (ladders, grinders, etc.).

Impregnating

Lithofin MN All-purpose cleaner: with this product you can remove all the dirt before treating or maintaining the floor. Light cement veils on tiles can be removed with Lithofin MN all-purpose cleaner. You can apply for all the necessary information. Lithofin – Stain stop: for years the most qualitative and durable protection for tiles against water and stains. Remains invisible. This impregnation is applied on a dry and clean surface with a piece of cloth or a mousse-roller till the tiles are saturated. Next you remove the surplus product with a dry non-fluffy piece of cloth. The product works optimally after 2 days. Before impregnating: as pre-impregnation you apply Lithofin Stain stop on the dry clean cement tiles. (NOT on the sides of the tiles).

Maintenance

For daily maintenance the floor can be vacuum cleaned and mopped. Every now and then you clean the floor thoroughly (brush with sturdy hairs). Use Lithofin Care Sheen to give the floor a deeper shine. When the floor has been impregnated, the top layer is protected against staining. However, we advice you not to load the floor too much for the first three months, because the tile is not yet hardened. If further activities have to take place in the room, do not put appliances, like ladders etc, on the floor. We are not responsible in case of damage.

Maintenance

Burned Cement

Dalle Piagge's mix for burned cement consists of a pre-mixed paste for use on old or new surfaces.

The floor is easy in maintenance and has the typical characteristics of a deeper satin glow after some very thorough polishing. For daily maintenance you can vacuum clean and mop the floor. Always use natural Savon D’or soap of green soap.The first step is to inspect the surface. Look for loose parts (for instance with a broomstick) by way of precaution. When everything is ok, clean the surface, remove rubble and make sure the surface is level.

Dalle Piagge paste must be applied in a thickness of 3 (three) millimetres, to prevent pieces coming undone or a shortage of material. Connecting joints must be used with spaces varying according to the surface, dimensions and characteristics of the surface that is treated (usually every other meter). These joints can be of either plastic or metal, but can also be dry joints (grooves that have been made in the surface, just after application).

Preparing the surface

Important message: take care that the surface is clean and dust free, and that it has been dampened for one night before applying the paste the next day. The surface can be dampened with a brush. Take care not to completely saturate the surface when dampening it. Prepare the "glue" in a ration of _kilo white cement to each litre of elastomer used.

"Paint" the surface in parts (bit by bit) with the smoothened mix (glue) using a brush - and then apply the Dalle Piagge® paste to the "glue" when still wet. It is important not to let the glue dry out because it has a function as a link to the surface (check the application of the underlying paste).

Preparing and applying the Dalle Piagge® mix

Take a clean bucket, preferably a plastic one, to mix the materials as instructed. Mix 50 kg Dalle Piagge® mix with water until it has a paste-like texture. Immediately finish off with _gallon (approx 4.5 litres) elastomer. Mix well till the paste becomes smooth, without lumps. Spread the Dalle Piagge® paste, level it out with a straightedge and finish with a tile trowel.

After finishing the treatment, and keeping the surface moist for 7 days, and when the mortar has dried, you can start cleaning - you can 'break' the surface gently with 120 or 200-grid water sandpaper. After that, when the surface is completely dry, you apply the acrylic resin with a woollen paint roller (with short hairs), always in the same direction with 8 hours between each treatment. Do not use a synthetic roller for this treatment as the resin affects this material.

Application

These are pressed tiles, 100% handmade, manufactured by craftsmen that keep up a meticulous technique. From the preparation of the paint to the final drying of these tiles they take all the care required to guarantee that things are done under the required circumstances and with the quality demanded by the factory. And therefore our care also extends after delivery of the product, so that it can be received, layed and used in the right way, making the final result in accordance with the demands of our customers. Because of this philosophy we of Dalle Piagge® give some extensive instructions to follow.

The pressed tiles from Dalle Piagge must always be kept in a covered space and on pallets, to prevent the surface from gettingg wet as a result of rainfall, as the cardboard of the boxes, when wet, can cause staining on the surface. When the tiles are taken from the box to lay them, always stack them in the same way they were packed, with the surfaces of the tiles against each other. This prevents scratching. The pressed tiles can be layed in mortar (for indoor or outdoor use) and with a toothed tile trowel. You can choose to use white mortar when the tiles have light colours (beige, white or off-white). Because these are traditional (handmade) tiles it is normal that there are minimal differences (up to 1mm) in thickness. We therefore recommend the tiler to apply mortar to both the surface and the underside of the tile, to prevent differences in height.

Take care that when the tiler applies the mortar, it is also applied to the corners of the tiles, to prevent them from coming undone after laying. The pressed tiles are always layed with a “dry joint”, in other words no room is left between the tiles as with ceramic tiles, with the exception of a number of conditions in which a minimum space of 1 to 2 mm can be used.

Observation: never tap the tiles with the handle of a hammer, as is usual when laying ceramic tiles, as, apart from scratching (especially with bright coloured tiles) this can damage or clamp the tiles in other ways. These little cracks are not visible during tiling, only when the tiles are treated with resin or when they are mopped. If the tiles are damaged they must be sanded with 200-grid water sandpaper. When cement is spilled during tiling we advise to clean this up immediately with a clean, wet sponge to prevent the cement/glue from reaching the surface and penetrating it. All the same, we recommend to sand the tile(s) lightly with a 100-grid water sandpaper. The pressed tiles are very porous (before treatment with resin). Therefore we always advise, when the location is determined but still in use as a passageway, to cover the tiles with plastic and on top of that blister padding and cardboard. Never put cardboard or newspapers directly on the floor as these may stain.

Check whether the tiles are clean and dust free before treating them with resin. When this is not the case we recommend to sweep the surface with a soft broom or to mop it with water and a neutral soap. Never wash the surface with hydrochloric acid or other acids, chemicals or comparable products. If the stains persist, contact the manufacturer for the instructions required. Check that the mopped tiles are completely dry. Wet tiles must not be impregnated because this can cause staining. Use a woollen paint roller (with short hairs) to apply the resin to the tiles because it does not loose hairs, as is the case with synthetic rollers because of the chemical effect of the resin. In this way there will be no surplus of resin on the surface. Always apply 3 layers with intervals of 8 hour between each layer. The layers must be applied in the same direction (in straight lines) and not crosswise.

After the first layer of resin has dried you can fill the joints of the pressed tiles with joint powder (mix this into a paste and apply this between the tiles), remove the excess paste, which will get on the tiles in general, with a wet sponge. Because the tiles already have a layer of resin it is easier to remove the surplus paste, without causing staining to the tiles. For daily maintenance it is recommended to apply a colourless wax with a squeegee every 15 days, or when you notice that the surface becomes dull. When it is necessary to clean the surface, use water and a neutral soap. The wax protects the resin and therefore it is best to apply it regularly.

A reminder: Pressed tiles are a traditional product and should never be compared with industrial manufactured tiles, like ceramic ones, as some minimal imperfections make them unique and give the pressed tile its charm and value.

A personal advice without any obligations? Contact us at Portupalace.