Foreword

TCVN 8264 : 2009 is compiled by the Institute of Building Materials – Ministry of Construction, recommended by the Ministry of Construction, appraised by the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, and announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

TCVN 8264 : 2009

1. Scope

This standard specifies the execution and acceptance of tiling works in civil and industrial construction projects for ceramic tiles, terrazzo tiles, mosaic tiles and natural stone tiles.

2. Referenced documents

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this standard. For dated references, only the cited edition applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

TCVN 4085 : 1985, Masonry structures – Execution and acceptance code.

TCVN 4314 : 2003, Construction mortar – Technical requirements.

TCVN 4452 : 1987, Prefabricated reinforced concrete structures – Execution and acceptance code.

TCVN 4453 : 1995, Cast-in-place concrete and reinforced concrete structures – Execution and acceptance code.

TCVN 4732 : 2007, Natural stone tiles.

TCVN 7744 : 2007, Terrazzo tiles.

TCVN 7745 : 2007, Dry-pressed ceramic tiles – Technical requirements.

TCVN 7483 : 2005, Extruded ceramic tiles – Technical requirements.

TCVN 7899-1 : 2008, Ceramic tiles – Grout, adhesive mortars and adhesives – Part 1: Terms, definitions and technical requirements for adhesive mortars and adhesives.

TCVN 7899-3: 2008, Ceramic tiles – Grout, adhesive mortars and adhesives – Part 3: Terms, definitions and technical requirements for grouts.

TCXDVN 336 : 2005^*), Adhesive mortars for tiling – Technical requirements and test methods.

3. Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply.

3.1. Materials for floors or walls

Ceramic tiles, terrazzo tiles, mosaic tiles and natural stone tiles used for floors or walls, as defined in TCVN 7393-1 (ISO 11137-1), TCVN 7393-2 (ISO 11137-2) and as follows:

3.2. Layer of base

The layer with the surface used for tiling.

3.3. Underlayer

The layer to level the surface of the base layer.

3.4. Material for adhesives

Materials used to adhere the tiling material to the base layer. Adhesive materials can be cement-sand mortar, tile adhesives, semi-dry mortar, etc.

3.5. Surface of floors or walls

The finished surface of the tiled layer.

3.6. Jointing materials

Materials filled into the tile joints.

4. General requirements

4.1. The requirements in this code apply equally to indoor and outdoor construction.

4.2. Direction of execution for exterior wall tiling:

– For new constructions, the execution process is carried out from the highest floor downwards.

– For renovation projects, the execution process can be carried out from the lower floors upwards.

– Depending on the specific project, the contractor can propose appropriate execution solutions.

4.3. Before commencing execution, related works must be completed to avoid any impacts that may damage or affect the quality of the tiled surface. Plan the works to ensure sufficient time for execution and the time when the newly tiled areas cannot be walked on.

4.4. All water pipes, gas pipes, electric cables, electrical boxes and conduits must be firmly fixed before the execution starts. Before tiling the exterior surfaces where technical pipelines pass through such as ventilation ducts, smoke ducts, troughs for cooling equipment and areas with frequent temperature changes, it is necessary to wrap a layer of 1 mm diameter steel mesh around the tiling structure before underlayment. The wrapping mesh section must extend at least 20 cm beyond the technical route areas.

4.5. When the adhesive material starts to harden, it must not be remixed but discarded.

4.6. When tiling natural stone with large sizes and weights over 5 kg, metal hooks or hanging systems with adjustable screws and bolts should be used to firmly attach to the tiled surface. In case of using this method for exterior wall tiling, waterproofing measures must be taken for the outer wall surface.

4.7. During execution, avoid cutting tiles as much as possible. If cutting is necessary, place the cut tiles in concealed positions. If the tiling products have patterns, select and arrange adjacent tiles to match colors, gloss, harmonize veins and follow the instructions of the design architect.

5. Technical requirements

5.1. Materials

– Upon receiving materials, check the delivery documents, types, conditions of materials and technical certificates. Tiling materials brought to the site must be properly packaged, labeled, clearly stating dimensions, types, colors, etc.

– Tiling materials must be clean, undamaged, dry, in sufficient quantity for execution and meet the technical requirements in standards TCVN 7483, TCVN 7745, TCVN 4732, TCVN 7744.

– Grouts and adhesives must be compatible with the base layer and meet the technical requirements specified in standards TCVN 7899-1, TCVN 7899-3, TCXDVN 336.

– Cement-sand mortar meets the technical requirements specified in standard TCVN 4314.

5.2. Base layer

– The base layer surface must be flat, firm, stable, have good adhesion to the adhesive material and cleaned of impurities.

– The base layer elevation is suitable for the overlaying tile material. The slope of the base layer conforms to the design.

– The surface of structures to be decoratively tiled or protectively tiled vertically must not deviate beyond the allowable values as prescribed in standards TCVN 4085, TCVN 4453, TCVN 4452.

– Check the flatness of the tiling base before flat tiling. If the tiling base has bumps and depressions greater than 15 mm, it must be leveled with cement-sand mortar. The base layer’s unevenness when tiling with adhesives must be ≤ ± 3 mm when checked with a 2 m ruler.

– Only proceed with tiling on a base layer with a leveling mortar layer when the strength of the leveling mortar layer reaches at least 75% of the designed mortar grade. The leveling mortar layer must ensure good adhesion to the base. When tiling with cement-sand mortar, only tiles with a weight of ≤ 20 kg/m² should be used.

5.3. Tiled layer

5.3.1. Quality of floor tiling

– The tiled surface must meet requirements for elevation, flatness, alignment, slope, adhesion to the base layer, thickness of adhesive material, width of tile joints, color, pattern, decorative shape, etc.

– For tiled materials using mortar as the adhesive, the mortar must be evenly spread on the base layer to ensure the space between the tiled layer and base layer is filled with mortar.

– The tile joints must be sharp, even, straight and filled with jointing materials.

– Tolerances on the tiled surface must not exceed the required values in Table 1 and Table 2.

Table 1 – Allowable tolerances

Table 2 – Elevation difference between two edges of tiling material

5.3.2. Quality of wall tiling

– The overall tiled surface must have the correct geometric shape, dimensions, tiling pattern details, and decorative lines on the tiled surface must follow the design.

– The tiling materials used must have the correct specifications for type, size and color, not warped, chipped, and defects on the tiled surface must not exceed the values specified in relevant technical standards or design requirements.

– The tiling pattern details and decorative patterns on the tiled surface must conform to the design.

– Horizontal and vertical tile joints must be sharp, even, straight and filled with jointing materials.

– The flatness deviation of tile joints in case of flat tiling must not exceed 1 mm when the joint width is < 6 mm; not exceed 2 mm when the joint width is ≥ 6 mm.

– There must be no cracks, stains of cement mortar or adhesives remaining on the tiled surface.

– Allowable tolerances of the tiled surface must not exceed the values specified in Table 3.

Table 3 – Allowable tolerances of tiled surface

Unit: milimeter

6. Execution of floor tiling

6.1. Preparing tiling materials and adhesive materials

– Tiling materials must be cleaned, free of dust, dirt, oil, grease, and substances that reduce adhesion between the base layer and tiled layer.

– For tiling materials that can absorb water from the adhesive, the tiling materials must be soaked in water and taken out to drain before tiling.

– Mixing, using and storing adhesive materials must comply with the requirements of each material type.

– Adhesive materials can be cement-sand mortar, ternary mortar, tile adhesive mortar, adhesives.

6.2. Preparing the base layer

– Use tensioned strings, levelling instruments or surveying equipment to check the elevation, flatness, and slope of the base layer.

– Install standard elevation benchmarks, with at least four benchmarks at four corners in each room, for large rooms the benchmarks are installed in a square grid, with a distance between benchmarks not exceeding 3 m.

6.3. Tiling tools

– Prepare all necessary tools for tiling such as: trowels, tiling float, jointing float, 3 m ruler, folding ruler, rubber mallet, tile cutter, tile grinder, chisel, coconut fiber broom, cleaning cloth, levelling instrument or surveying equipment.

– There must be sufficient and suitable tools for the execution requirements of each professional operation. Damaged, too old, worn-out tools that do not ensure accuracy during execution must not be used.

6.4. Tiling process

6.4.1. Tiling with cement-sand mortar

– Spread the mortar evenly on the base layer surface wide enough to lay 3 to 5 tiles, only spread more mortar for further tiling after these tiles are laid.

– After the mortar layer becomes stiff, sprinkle a layer of cement powder on the spread mortar layer or apply a layer of cement slurry on the back of the tile.

– Place the tile in position immediately, avoid pressing the tile corners.

– Use a rubber mallet to lightly tap, align the tile for a flat surface, straight joints and parallel to the tensioned string.

– The sequence is as follows: stretch the string and lay the tiles on the straight line connecting the benchmarks installed on the base layer. Then lay the tiles within the scope of the standard elevation benchmarks, in the direction perpendicular to the previously tiled direction. The general tiling direction for the entire house or project is from inside outwards.

– During tiling, frequently use a 3 m ruler to check the flatness of the tiled surface. The flatness of the tiled surface is checked in the longitudinal, transverse and diagonal directions. Regularly check the elevation of the tiled surface based on the reference elevation benchmarks.

– When tiling, pay attention to arranging the tiles according to the designed pattern.

6.4.2. Tiling with adhesives or tile adhesive mortar

– Proceed with tiling one tile at a time and the adhesive material must be evenly applied on the back of the tile.

– Use a rubber mallet to lightly tap, align the tile for a flat surface, straight joints and parallel to the tensioned string.

– The tiling sequence follows 6.4.1

6.4.3. Tiling with semi-dry mortar

– This method is used for terrazzo tiles.

– Spread a 2 mm thick layer of cement slurry on the base layer surface.

– Next, evenly spread and compact a layer of semi-dry mortar with a thickness about 10% to 15% greater than the designed thickness. The amount of mortar evenly spread on the base layer surface is wide enough to lay 3 to 5 tiles, only spread more mortar for further tiling after these tiles are laid.

– Apply cement slurry to the back of the tile and place it in position immediately, avoid pressing the tile corners.

– Align the tiles evenly, with straight joints and parallel to the tensioned string. Then lightly tap to level the tile surface and firmly attach to the mortar layer.

– Sweep clean the cement slurry on the tiled surface.

6.5. Jointing floor tiles

– Jointing floor tiles can only be carried out when the tiles have adhered to the base layer. Before jointing, the tiled surface must be thoroughly cleaned. After jointing, immediately wipe the joints to make them sharp and clean the tiled surface without letting the jointing compound stain the tiled surface.

– The jointing time is between 12 h and 48 h.

6.6. Curing tiled surface

– After filling the tile joints, avoid strong impacts before the adhesive material hardens sufficiently.

– For outdoor tiled surfaces and when the adhesive material is mortar, there must be measures to shade from the sun and prevent rain splashes for 1 to 3 days after tiling.

7. Execution of wall tiling

7.1. Preparing tiling materials and adhesive materials

– Most tiling methods require dry tiles. Only tiles applied with cement-sand mortar can be soaked in water before tiling.

– Mixing, using and storing adhesive materials must comply with the requirements of each material type.

– Adhesive materials can be cement-sand mortar, ternary mortar, tile adhesive mortar, adhesives.

7.2. Preparing the base layer

The tiling base surface must be flat, satisfying the requirements specified in section 5.2.

7.3. Tiling tools

– Prepare all necessary tools for tiling such as: mortar spreading float, jointing float, 3 m ruler, folding ruler, rubber mallet, tile cutter, tile grinder, chisel, coconut fiber broom, cleaning cloth, levelling instrument.

– There must be sufficient and suitable tools for the execution requirements in professional operations. Damaged, too old, worn-out tools that do not ensure accuracy during execution must not be used.

7.4. Tiling process

7.4.1. Tiling with cement-sand mortar

– Apply a mortar layer with a thickness of ≤ 10 mm, smooth the tiling surface and wait for the mortar to stiffen.

– Evenly apply a layer of cement-sand mortar with a ratio of 1:1 diluted to a thickness not exceeding 3 mm on the back of the tile.

– Attach the tile to the applied mortar layer, align it in position to be flat, with straight joints and parallel to the horizontal tensioned string.

– Press or lightly tap the tile to create adhesion between the two mortar layers.

– For mosaic tiles, the paper layer must be peeled off.

– In case it is not possible to apply the first mortar layer or when tiling small areas, tiles can be directly applied to the tiling base by spreading cement-sand mortar on the back of the tile and attaching it to the determined position, aligning and lightly tapping for a flat tiled surface. The thickness of the tiling mortar layer is about 6mm and not greater than 12 mm. This method must not be applied to ceramic tiles with a thickness of ≤ 5.5 mm as it can easily cause tile cracking.

– The tiling process must be checked horizontally and vertically.

– After 2 hours when the mortar hardens, the mortar adhering to the surface can be cleaned.

7.4.2. Tiling with adhesives or tile adhesive mortar

– The adhesive material used for tiling must be suitable and compatible with the tiling base and tiling material.

– When tiling with adhesives, the back surface of the tiling material and the tiling base surface must be dry to not reduce the adhesion of the adhesive.

– The preparation, mixing of adhesives and the tiling operation process must strictly comply with the design requirements and manufacturer’s instructions.

7.4.3. Tiling by hooking, hanging support method

– The support frame system, hanging hooks, etc. must be firmly designed and constructed to attach the tiling material to the load-bearing structural components of the building.

– When tiling the building exterior, all support frame details, hanging hooks, etc. must be designed or have appropriate treatment measures to withstand the corrosive effects of weather and environment.

– When tiling large-sized and heavy-weight tiles, mechanical or semi-mechanical lifting means must be used. The scaffolding system ensures firm construction without affecting the operation of equipment during tiling.

– The construction process of installing the support frame system, hanging hooks, etc. and fixing the tiling material to the structure must comply with the design requirements, instructions or manufacturer’s specifications.

– When tiling the building exterior, the top tiled surface and expansion joints need to have appropriate treatment measures to prevent rainwater from penetrating behind the tiled surface. To avoid the phenomenon of rainwater stagnation staining the tiled surface, the tiled surfaces of roofs, decorative ridge details, edges, etc. should have a slope for drainage when tiling.

– The last row of tiles at the wall base must not be in contact with the floor or tile layer, etc. to avoid the phenomenon of water seepage from below or impact due to swelling of the ground or tile layer.

7.5. Tile joints

– When tiling to a height not exceeding 5 m, the tile joints need to be filled with joint filling material during the tiling process.

– When tiling with cement-sand mortar, adhesive mortar or adhesive across expansion joints, the tile joints should be arranged to coincide with the expansion joints to prevent cracking or breakage of the tiling material.

7.6. Curing tiled surface

– When tiling walls, the tiled surface needs to be protected from rain and sun until the adhesive material hardens. Afterwards, continue to protect for at least 2 weeks.

– There must be protective and shielding measures to avoid impacts, scratches or damage to the tiled surface.

– After filling the tile joints, avoid strong impacts before the adhesive material hardens sufficiently.

– For outdoor tiled surfaces and when the adhesive material is mortar, there must be measures to shade from the sun and prevent rain splashes for 1 day to 3 days after tiling.

8. Inspection and acceptance

8.1. Inspection of tiling quality is carried out according to the execution sequence:

– The base layer surface is directly measured with a ruler, levelling instrument, surveying equipment.

– Check the quality of tiling materials and adhesive materials by sampling and testing according to material standards.

– The elevation of the tiled surface is directly measured with a ruler, levelling instrument, surveying equipment.

– The flatness of the tiled surface is directly measured with a ruler, levelling instrument, surveying equipment.

– The slope of the tiled surface is measured with a levelling instrument, water pouring test or rolling a 10 mm diameter steel ball.

– The firmness and adhesion between the tiling material and the base layer are checked by lightly tapping a wooden bar on the surface, the tapping sound must be firm and uniform at all points.

– The uniformity of color, pattern, decorative border details is visually inspected.

– Other special requirements as per design specifications.

– Deviations in elevation, slope, surface flatness must not exceed the values in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3.

8.2. Acceptance of tiling works is carried out on site. The acceptance documents include:

– Minutes of acceptance of tiling material and adhesive material quality;

– Minutes of acceptance of base layer;

– Minutes of acceptance of tiled layer;

– Minutes of acceptance of completed works;

– Construction log book.

*) TCXDVNs and TCXDs will be converted to TCVNs or QCVNs.