Hi, hope all’s well. I’ve been asked to tile a polished concrete floor, approximately 80 m2 , floor is in decent condition was laid last year, what’s beat prep wise? I can’t get ditra matt or anything like that here. ThanksHi Waterdogs,
Probably too late in replying to your question, but perhaps it will assist someone else nonetheless.
One of the issues is, most subcontractors will quote only the labor cost of installation (typically between 50-80k /m2 depending on the installer, size of tile - up to 60x60, and whether it’s a wall or floor to be tiled). Few would want to provide the cost estimate including materials (a builder would but it might be difficult to get a builder for such a small job).
Some variables come into play when looking at installing tiles, and for that matter polishing cement (note polishing concrete is a different ballgame).
Proper tile installations should be done in a “dry” manner, ie. Installed with a thin layer (max 1cm with a combed trowel) of proper tile grout applicable to the substrate to which the tile is being installed. MU and AP and a few other companies offer such products. Some installers will seek to do a dry install with regular cement by adding what they believe to be plasticizer agents to them (usually they use PVA glue) - it’s not recommended. Installers that understand the importance of doing a dry install will generally charge more as it is a more difficult installation. But it is by far the more superior installation.
That brings us to the wet installation method, the all too common and all to wrong method of installing tiles here. This is essentially when the worker lays down a thick bed of regular mortar (typically anywhere from 2-3”) and “jiggles” the tile into place. This method provides poor adhesion to the relatively imporous tile. It also fails over time - we’ve all experienced walking through an Indonesian home and noticed sunken pieces of cracked tiles, probably the victim of a heavy table, etc. Stay away from wet installs (exception only exists for large oversized pieces of marble / granite which are wet installed on a slurry of cement and terazzo gravel)..jpg)
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For polished cement floors, much of what you see in Bali isn’t polished per se, it’s screeded. If you’re planning on having this done it’s advisable to use a grouting formula rather than a general cement mix as the latter will be far more prone to cracking over time and will likely result in a blotchy look as each bag of cement may vary in color slightly. This method is essentially priced the same (labor wise) as cement plastering and will typically run 60-80k / m2. You may wish to seal it, and if you do be sure to make up samples first as some greatly darken the surface, and others, like one of AP’s natural stone sealers, won’t
If you’re looking to do a polished concrete floor, you’ll need the floor polisher and the myriad of stones that are required to get a fine polish. This (true polished concrete floors) is not something all to often done in Bali - a good readymix concrete substrate is a must and then you’ll need either terazzo or marble installers to handle the polishing for you (they actually need to cut back the entire surface before the polishing begins). This service can range anywhere from 100k to 200k /m2 depending on the flushness of the original substrate.
Best of luck.
Cheers,
Populaire
I am here for the solutionHi Waterdogs,
Probably too late in replying to your question, but perhaps it will assist someone else nonetheless.
One of the issues is, most subcontractors will quote only the labor cost of installation (typically between 50-80k /m2 depending on the installer, size of tile - up to 60x60, and whether it’s a wall or floor to be tiled). Few would want to provide the cost estimate including materials (a builder would but it might be difficult to get a builder for such a small job).
Some variables come into play when looking at installing tiles, and for that matter polishing cement (note polishing concrete is a different ballgame).
Proper tile installations should be done in a “dry” manner, ie. Installed with a thin layer (max 1cm with a combed trowel) of proper tile grout applicable to the substrate to which the tile is being installed. MU and AP and a few other companies offer such products. Some installers will seek to do a dry install with regular cement by adding what they believe to be plasticizer agents to them (usually they use PVA glue) - it’s not recommended. Installers that understand the importance of doing a dry install will generally charge more as it is a more difficult installation. But it is by far the more superior installation.
That brings us to the wet installation method, the all too common and all to wrong method of installing tiles here. This is essentially when the worker lays down a thick bed of regular mortar (typically anywhere from 2-3”) and “jiggles” the tile into place. This method provides poor adhesion to the relatively imporous tile. It also fails over time - we’ve all experienced walking through an Indonesian home and noticed sunken pieces of cracked tiles, probably the victim of a heavy table, etc. Stay away from wet installs (exception only exists for large oversized pieces of marble / granite which are wet installed on a slurry of cement and terazzo gravel).
For polished cement floors, much of what you see in Bali isn’t polished per se, it’s screeded. If you’re planning on having this done it’s advisable to use a grouting formula rather than a general cement mix as the latter will be far more prone to cracking over time and will likely result in a blotchy look as each bag of cement may vary in color slightly. This method is essentially priced the same (labor wise) as cement plastering and will typically run 60-80k / m2. You may wish to seal it, and if you do be sure to make up samples first as some greatly darken the surface, and others, like one of AP’s natural stone sealers, won’t
If you’re looking to do a polished concrete floor, you’ll need the floor polisher and the myriad of stones that are required to get a fine polish. This (true polished concrete floors) is not something all to often done in Bali - a good readymix concrete substrate is a must and then you’ll need either terazzo or marble installers to handle the polishing for you (they actually need to cut back the entire surface before the polishing begins). This service can range anywhere from 100k to 200k /m2 depending on the flushness of the original substrate.
Best of luck..jpg)
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Cheers,
Populaire
