Cement tiles: features and applications in the interior

The familiar cement tile is an original building material that is used to decorate floors and walls. This tile is made by hand. However, none of us thinks about where, when and by whom it was invented.

Cement tiles were invented in the Middle Ages. The manufacturing technique was born in Morocco. The production was based on the traditions and flavor of this African country.

Due to wars and migration, the plate ended up in Europe. It was there that she became very popular at the end of the 19th century. It was often chosen as a finishing material for houses in Spain, France, Germany. Then the Art Nouveau style appeared in art, and such a finishing material lost its popularity for a long time.

Now the situation has changed somewhat. At the moment, there is a process of reviving the popularity of this finishing material. Now such a stove is put in the bathroom and toilet again. This fact is associated with the fashion for antiquity and handicraft.

Cement tiles fit perfectly into different styles of interiors. It is widely used by designers to create interiors in Mediterranean and Moorish styles. Natural paints are used to decorate the premises. They have a soft, delicate color.

The top layer of cement tiles is matte and non-smooth, so you can safely lay it on the floor of your bathtub or toilet. The risk of slipping on it after taking a shower and falling is reduced to almost zero.

Tile making is a very entertaining technological process. It is made by hand, which explains its value. It takes about three minutes of work to make each one.

The manufacturing technique is the same as a hundred years ago:

• The first step is to make a form from metal. It has the outline of the ornament of the future cement product. This is a kind of template. Workers prepare a colored mortar, which consists of prepared cement, sand, fine marble chips and natural paints.
• The matrix is ​​placed in a metal mold and colored cement is poured into it. Then the matrix is ​​carefully removed, gray cement is placed on the colored layer. He plays the role of the base.
• Then the mold is covered and pressed. Thus, the main and decorative layers merge together. The result is a tile.
• The almost finished cement tiles are removed from the mold, soaked for a while, and then carefully folded. She should then dry out for about a month. After complete drying, the cement tile is ready.

It can be used to decorate various premises. Cement board is very popular for interior and exterior finishing of buildings. It is appreciated for its excellent performance and beautiful design. Due to the fact that this finishing material is not fired, but only dried, the dimensions of the slab remain the same.

The tiles should only be laid on an even and dry base. Otherwise, it will simply disappear, and you have to start all over again. Lay individual tiles at a close distance, the joint width should be approximately 1.5 mm.

The cement tile production process is carried out manually using natural paints. The tiles may vary in color from each other. Therefore, so that this fact is not so striking, the tiles should be taken in turn from different boxes.

Cement tiles should be laid on a layer of special glue. Two days after installation, the cement tiles must be thoroughly washed with special products intended for this purpose. As soon as the finishing material dries well, it must be lubricated with a special substance. It is well absorbed into the tile, protects against moisture, and prevents the appearance of spots during grouting.

In the process of grouting, do not use painted compounds, as they can leave ugly stains on the tiles. At the end of the work, the remains of the grout should be washed off, and a special protective agent should be applied again to the top layer of the tile.

For information on how to lay cement tiles, see the next video.

Among the most popular cement board companies are the following:

Enticdesigns is a brand of finishing building materials founded in Spain in 2005. The brand is engaged in the manufacture of tiles together with a workshop located in Cordoba, where more than one generation of true masters of their craft work. Cement tiles offer what other building finishing materials cannot. During operation, it begins to be covered with a beautiful bloom. Due to the growing recognition of the value of handcrafted tiles, these tiles are back in trend.

Today's shoppers are becoming more and more demanding. The company values ​​its customers and offers them only the brightest colors and original design drawings. The work of the designers of the Enticdesigns company is dedicated to the creative search for the new and outstanding, therefore the shades and patterns of these products satisfy the tastes of even the most capricious customers.

Spouses Per Anders and Inga-Lill Owin founded the Swedish company Marrakech Design in 2006. Scandinavian businessmen rightly believed that the revival of this building material is associated with a general trend of increasing demand for unique and custom-made projects, an interest in antiquity and ancient ornaments. In addition, cement tiles can be easily adapted to the individual preferences of the client, reviews about it are mostly positive.

This finishing material is very beautiful. Coating with a bloom over time, it only gets better. In Scandinavian countries, tiles are used mainly for interior decoration of non-residential premises. Sometimes she is lined with walls of bathrooms and toilets.

In America, this type of finishing material began to be used quite recently. Interest in it is easy to explain by the fact that modern people are more and more interested in antique, hand-made things. Well, is it really possible to compare hand-made tiles and their factory-made counterparts? Of course not.

If we talk about design, then the people of the United States understand that this fashion came from distant countries, so it is necessary to adjust it to the American lifestyle. This is the main task of Popham Design: to combine tradition of production with fashionable designs and colors. Fashionable ornaments are used in architecture and design to decorate various premises. It gives freshness and novelty. Tile colors can be combined. This gives the masters of design and architecture the opportunity to introduce new materials into their work.

Designers of many Russian firms use Spanish Mosaic del Sur cement tiles in their works. The use of this finishing material is associated with the influence of Moroccan fashion.Antique patterns and intricate ornaments allow this material to be used in interiors decorated in oriental, Mediterranean and modern styles.

In 2015, the company Bisazza (Italy), which produces glass mosaics, also began mass production of cement tiles under the Luxemix trademark.

Peronda is a giant manufacturer of various tiles in the Iberian Peninsula. The most successful collection of this company, created two years ago, is called Harmony.

Today it is difficult to imagine a modern toilet or bathroom without tiles on the walls and floors. Such a room looks out of date, too simple and boring. Cement tiles made in the form of decorative bricks, for example, are a very practical, beautiful, original finishing material. Modern stores of building materials offer our attention a rich assortment of this type of design.