No_7_November_and_December__1950 — Page 46

SINGAPORE & THE FEDERATION OF MALAYA SECTION

ART OF THE TILE-MASON Fourth of a series of articles By "Ceramico"

We have previously described the various tools that the tile fixer and his labourer possess and now we will proceed to describe the way in which at least a few of them are used.

First of all the mason is briefed by his foreman as to the type of tiling that is required in the specific job he is about to carry out,

This briefing will, of course, include the required height of tiling for dadoes and, if skirtings are required, what these will consist of. Some skirtings are made of the dado tiles while others are a continuation of the floor and are of the same material.

Having completed the briefing. the foreman will leave the necessary drawings with the fixer so that a careful check may be made for accuracy from time to time.

The first thing that the experienced fixer will do will be to check the suitability of the walls and floors. He will then find out how the size of the tiles that he is to use will fit into the length and breadth of wall or floor. Where he is to fix a dado and lay the floor off it, he will always start with the dado.

If a complicated design is incorporated in the tiling of the dado the fixer will have to set out the full design and try it for size. If there is no design and the tiling is to be plain, it will only be necessary to lay out the height in relation to the size of one tile. He can then place a straight-edge along the length of the laid out tiles and mark off with a pencil the exact position of the joints. The tile fixer finds a name for everything that he uses and the name he gives to this It will show marked off piece of timber is a PINCH ROD. him exactly where his tiling will work out on the wall and will help him in setting out.

He will have been told by the foreman what bond he must use when fixing his tiles on the wall. The bonds in normal use with 6" X 6" tiles are Straight Bond and Broken Bond. Stretcher Bond, Flemish Bond and English Bond can all be used to good effect with oblong tiles such as 6" X 3".

When he commences to set out his work, the tile Axer will first mark a true level line at a convenient height on all the walls.

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Having decided the height of the line, a measurement is taken from the datum and the point marked with a pencil or a chalk. It is a distinct advantage to have the line at coincidental point with a horizontal joint in the tiling. Having fixed a point from which to start, the line is levelled along the wall by the use of a straight-edge and spirit level. Spirit levels should be frequently tested for accuracy, as should also all straight-edges.

It sometimes happen that the clerk of works will set out levels by the use of a surveyor's level or theodolite.

Tiles are said to be "working slack" if their overall size is found to be slightly less than the space that it is desired to fill with them. If the slackness is not too great, say no more than 1 inches per 5-feet, the fixer will get over this by using slightly wider joints than normal,

If the slackness is too great to be overcome in this manner, he will have to do some smart cutting to ensure that the course of cut tiles is as inconspicuous as possible.

The term "working full" is used to describe the opposite of "working slack", that is to say the space to be filled is In this case slightly less than a given number of whole tiles.

if the difference is too great to be "lost" by placing the tiles very close together the fixer will again have to carry out a little smart cutting and subsequent concealment.

Before doing any cutting the fixer should bear in mind

the possible effect the cutting may have on window sills or

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over doors and window-heads. Cutting that would be dis- pleasing to the eye must be avoided at these particular points.

If the tiles, to a given number of full ones, fit exactly into the space that they are to fill, the tiling is said to be "working-out".

This term is also sometimes used when no preliminary arrangements with regard to the adjustment of the overall width of the tiles to the space available have been made.

The work is carried along a wall with whole tiles until a corner is reached which might necessitate a complete vertical course of cut tiles leading into the angle-bead. This will be the last course on the wall already done and in order to give an apparent effec! of a tile having been bent around the angle, the cut off pieces from this last course will be the first vertical course on the adjacent wall.

Starting Points

Sometimes, but not very often, the wall tiling may spring off a truly levelled floor without the use of angle-bead or other type of skirting tile. In this case the job is simple and it obviates the necessity of supporting the lower edge of the first course with a narrow straight-edge.

It is customary, especially in new houses, for the floor to be left with a raked screed. The wall tiling usually has a 6" X 6" x 1" tile for the bottom course combined with an angle which forms the skirting and makes a very real and pleasant joint with the floor. The last course on the wall immediately above the skirting tile is supported by rules or narrow straight edges.

The last course, that is the skirting, will be inserted after the straight edges have been removed upon completion of the dado.

The straight edge must be securely nailed to the wall and the spirit level used to see that the top edge is perfectly level. The front face of the straight edge must be straight and true.

It is most essential that the straight edges are fixed securely, and, in the case of a surface to which they are to be fixed being too hard to withstand the ready insertion of driven nails, the walls must be plugged.

When driving the nails through the straight edge, care must be taken to leave the heads protruding in order to facilitate ready withdrawal without disturbance of tiling when the straight edges are ready to be taken away.

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