Laying and treatments
Ceramica Elias offers different treatments for its products depending on the preferences of the user and the project environment. There are two types of laying; thin coat and thick coat. The treatments are carried out with Oils, Water Sealants and Waxes.
Laying
We advise two basic laying methods based on the type of material and environment.
Laying with “thin coating”
If the area to be laid has an even and sufficiently leveled surface the product can be fixed using a coating of approx. 5 to 10mm. of glue, which is known as “THIN COATING”. This method allows quick drying and the product doesn’t have to be wet during the fixing. This means that the appearance of efflorescences is avoided and treatment can be started earlier.
Laying with “thick coating”
If the area to be laid is irregular, it has to be levelled. To achieve this a thick layer of mortar must be used, the terracotta must be wet and is then fixed directly, and its known as “THICK COATING”. The inconvenience of laying by this method is that you must wait for both the mortar and the terracotta to be completely dry before treatment can be started.
We recommend to lay the material with thin coating whenever possible since the whole process of laying and treatment is faster. All the pre-sealed materials and the Rodes and Milenium series have to be laid with thin coating.
Joints
We advise a 5 - 10 mm. joint between the pieces when laying, since terracotta is a natural material and has contractions and dilatations due to temperature. The product used in these joints should not contain pigments as these can penetrate the terracotta and stain it.
Since our material is manufactured by traditional methods of manufacture the tonality and measures can vary slightly. It is recommended to mix tile from different packets and laying with recommended joints.
Treatment
Cerámica Elías offers pre-treated terracotta products in order to make its use easier and faster.
These pre-treatments are water sealants or oils, depending on the use of the material. The treatment consists of three steps:
1. Cleaning,
2. Sealing
3. Finishes
Cleaning
It is very important that the area to be treated is completely clean of any cement residues or stains which may have appeared during the fixing, There are specific cleaning products available in the market. We would like to emphasize the importance of this process and it should not be overlooked in order to achieve the best results for terracotta treatments. It is very important to let it dry completely before treatment.
Sealing
Sealing for exteriors is not recommended. In case of being essential like when used in a barbecue area or any eating area where the terracotta could be stained must be done by immersion of the whole piece.
Indoor sealing is necessary in all cases to prevent the terracotta from staining.
There are several methods to seal depending on the use of the material:
- Water sealants – the sealer lowers the absorption of the material so the water cannot get into the tile. These sealers are the base upon which waxes are applied.
- Oils – by saturating the material with oil the pores of the material are filled with it and the absorption is eliminated.
Finishes
- Waxes - can be used to achieve different finishes, such as a matt, satin or gloss effect. There are also colored waxes to obtain different finishes, for example, dark wax to get an old leather finish. The wax is applied to the watersealed material.
- Oils - as already mentioned, can be used to saturate the material reducing water absorption. You can also obtain a dark finish by applying several layers of oil.
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