Delivery
The ordered items can be handed over on-site or will be delivered after paying the remaining 50% of the purchase price. The price of our products is related to the ex works receipt in Budapest. Delivery outside the site is possible on request. The cost of delivery outside the site shall be covered by the Buyer. In Central Europe you should calculate with additional 7-9 EUR / m2 transport cost. If transport distance from Budapest is above 1.000-1.500km, you should consider additional transport cost with approx.: 15-20 EUR / m2. In the proposal we will send you individual transport price depending on your location.
When can I receive the product?
In case you ordered encaustic cement tiles on stock, you may immediately, depending on the opening hours, pick up them on-site at Budapest. In case the patterns and the combination of the colours of the tiles were chosen from our product list, an appointment shall be discussed. In this case, the delivery may be two to three weeks, depending on out manufacturing capacity. In case you ordered customized cement tiles, delivery shall be discussed as it depends on the designing process and our manufacturing capacity.
Storage and load of the cement tiles
Pay greater attention to storage and load of cement tiles after the handover because as a result of inappropriate storage and load, defects may appear on the cement tiles. The warranty terms and conditions are not applicable to defects arising after the handover.
Packaging
The weight of a 20x20 cm cement tile is 1.35 kg. We pack 15 cement tiles in a box. The total gross weight of the box is approximately 20.5 kg. The size of the box is 265x207x12 mm.
Installation
Although the installation of the handmade cement tiles is simple but needs careful work and precision. We recommend you to choose a professional who has had some experience in the installation of the cement tiles.
The thickness of the encaustic cement tiles (16mm) exceeds the thickness of the tiles commercially available. Therefore this should be considered during the planning. You also have to add the thickness of the adhesive to the thickness of the tiles.
The most important requirement of the successful installation of the tiles is that the cured concrete surface should always be completely flat/level and dry.
Traditionally, the handmade cement tiles were laid in a bed of mortar. Nowadays, it is more wide spread to lay the cement tiles with/by flexible tile adhesive. In case of installing tiles with different patterns, we recommend you to imagine or draw a sketch of the tiles before you install them. This is even more important when you have to cut the tiles at the edges of the room. We also recommend you to try all the materials you will use on a cement tile before you start to install the tiles.Apply the tile adhesive on the surface using a 10-12mm notched trowel during the installation.Apply less tile adhesive at the back of the tiles. Then use your hands (or maybe a soft rubber mallet) and press the tiles in order to set them. Make sure that the encaustic cement tiles are still level and set square.Handmade cement tiles can be installed with or without grout. Even in case of installing floor tiles without grout, the joint between the tiles may be needed to fill. Therefore we recommend you to leave a minimal place between the tiles. Installation of floor tiles and wall tiles without grout is slower than installation with grout as tiles should be fit precisely.In case of installing encaustic cement tiles with grout, we recommend you to use ph neutral white or light grey grout and 1-2mm tile spacer. The content of the pigments of the coloured grouts may damage the edges of the floor tiles. In this case, when floor tiles are installed with grout, filling the 1-2mm joints between the tiles is easier and the installation is quicker than when the tiles are installed without grout.In case the tiles are need to be cut, use wet tile saws and blades. Nothing but the wet tile saws and blades ensures the perfect cut of the surface and the edges because of the thickness of the tiles.It is important to keep the floor and wall cement tiles clean during the installation. If any residue of mortar or tile adhesive remains on the surface of the cement tile, they must be removed with a damp cloth. For this reason, work on small surfaces (3-4 tiles) at a time. In case any of the materials dries on the handmade tiles, remove them with damp cloth or fine- grained emery cloth (500+).
We do not recommend you to install the encaustic cement tiles on freshly laid flooring because it is quite sure that the surface will be uneven and may get cracked which will be worse as the time passes.
Avoid using hammer or any other tool to set the tiles as they might damage the floor and wall tiles.
It is vey important that the cement tiles should breathe and the residue water should be dried up after the installation. Moisture stains may appear on the surface of the encaustic cement tiles. This is part of the natural process and the stains will disappear from the tiles within some days. Do not step on the tiles on the same day as the installation was made.
Sealing
We recommend several different types of sealing method in order to maintain the durability and the patina of the encaustic cement tiles. Apart from the impregnating sealer (protection against water), we recommend colour enhancing and deepening liquids as well as wax which make the tiles intense and shiny. The impregnating and colour enhancing and deepening materials recommended by us preserve the natural mat surface of the floor and wall tiles.
Sealing with impregnating sealer, colour enhancing and deepening
We recommend you to seal the surface of the tiles in bathrooms, on terraces and in wet areas in order to maintain the aesthetic value of the floor tiles. If you would like we are happy to recommend sealers during purchasing.
It is important to apply the impregnating sealers on a completely clean and dry surface after the installation. Moisture stains may appear on the surface of prematurely sealed products. Moisture of the product and the infiltrating moisture make the applied sealers less effective.
Using impregnating sealers is quite easy. The sealing can be done by anyone at home with a paint roller and a brush.
In case the encaustic cement tiles are installed without grout, the surface of the installed floor cement tiles should be cleaned with tile sponge and you should wait until the tiles get dry. We recommend you to use soft and dry cloth in order to get a clean and dry surface. Make sure that the grains sticked to the cloth will not scratch the tiles. The clean surface is suggested to be sealed in two steps:
- first the edges of the tiles should be sealed with a brush,
- then the entire surface of the tiles with a short haired paint roller.
We recommend you to seal 3-4 m2 at a time.
In case floor cement tiles are installed with grout, impregnating sealer is recommended to use before grouting. In this case, make sure that the impregnating sealer does not get into the joints between the tiles in large quantities.
In this case, the process starts with same steps as in case the floor cement tiles are installed without grout. The surface of the installed floor tiles should be cleaned with tile sponge and you should wait until the cement tiles get dry. We recommend you to use soft and dry cloth in order to get a clean and dry surface. Make sure that the grains sticked to the cloth will not scratch the tiles. Only clean surface can be sealed. Every stains left on the surface of the handmade tiles and get sealed will remain on the surface of the tile. The last step of the process is the grouting. Work with small surfaces at a time, in order to avoid damaging the tiles by the grout.
The impregnating sealer, recommended by us, is a water-like material which does not change the colour of the tiles or leave stains and the tiles absorb it quickly.
Vaxing
The wax, recommended by us, resembles shoe polish the most and is a high quality agent which contains waxes and paraffins. It gives a shiny surface and it can be easily refurbished if it is necessary. And it dries quickly.
The wax should be applied with a soft cloth/sponge in room temperature with concentric movements. The heat, arising during rubbing, helps the wax to get in deeper of the surface of the tile and makes the wax more level at the surface of the tile. 8-10 tiles of the surface should be sealed at a time, in order to avoid the solidification of the wax before applying it. If no more wax can be absorbed by the tile, remove the residue of wax.
The polishing should be done with soft cloth. In case you want to polish a larger surface, a polishing machine may accelerate the process.
Cleaning
It is very important to avoid acid cleaning materials when you clean the cement tiles because they may damage the tiles. The most commonly used cleaning materials which can be found in the households, such as Domestos, are acid cleaning materials.
We recommend a ph neutral stone cleaning soap which makes the sealing more durable due to its compound. With this method it is enough to seal the tiles in 4-5 years instead of repeating the sealing in every one or two years. The regular use of the tiles protects the tile and maintains its structure and colours.
During the cleaning of the wet tiles, moisture stains may appear on the surface of the cement tiles which is part of the natural process and the moisture stains will disappear from the tiles within some of days. Those strong stains, such as stains of red wine and stew, which are not similar to the colour of the tiles, should be cleaned immediately.