1. Check the trade name and quality of the marble. Ensure that it is as per the indent. e.g., Adanga, Rajnagar white, Makarana Marble, etc.
2. Check the entire marble lot by striking each piece with a metal piece. It should give a clear ringing sound. Reject any cracked marble pieces.
3. Check the thickness of the marble. The variation in thickness should not be too large.
4. Check the size of the marble stones and the diagonals.
5. Check the edges of the marble. Reject any damaged pieces.

1. Check the quality of the glazed tiles such as 1st, 2nd, etc. It is marked on the glazed tile boxes.
2. Check the thickness, the brand name, and the size of the glazed tile.
3. Ensure that the color and the design pattern does not differ in the
4. same lot.
5. Check the quantity of tiles by multiplying the number of boxes by the number of tiles in a box, for the exact quantity of the glazed tiles.

1. Check the sizes and diagonals of the tiles. They should be as per the requirement.
2. Check the thickness and edges of the tiles.
3. Confirm that tiles are free of cracks.
4. Confirm the quality of the tiles.

PREPARATION FOR MOSAIC TILE FLOORING AND TILES FIXING WORK PROCEDURE

1. For flooring and tiles fixing work procedure, the surface should be clean and levelled. There should not be any cement mortar lumps on the slab and corners of the rooms. 
2. There should be sufficient skirting margin from the surface level. Generally, it should be 23cm (9″) from the slab surface. 

2. LIME MORTAR PREPARATION

1. Lime mortar or bedding mortar under the flooring should be prepared well in advance, before Flooring and tiles fixing work procedure commence.
2. It is also called the ‘machan’ material.
3. This mortar is prepared in a lime mixer or mortar mill (chuna ghani) .(Refer Figure No. 30.8), in the proportion of 1:3:3, 1 being lime and 3 being sand and shingle respectively.
4. It should be spread evenly in all the rooms, with reference to thiyyas i.e. level dots.

4. MACHAN WORK (MORTAR BED)

1. This is the most important part of preparations for flooring and tiles fixing work procedure and requires extreme caution.
2. First, fix the right angle taking into consideration the longest span of the room, to ensure that there will be the minimum wastage of tile and therefore, minimum cutting work.
3. Now, fix the string line (Dori) from the right angle corner with one corner reference tile.
4. If the reference ‘right angle’ string does not match the wall, then try to adjust the difference in skirting.

PROCEDURE OF FLOORING AND POLISHING TILES WORK

1. MOSAIC TILE FLOORING AND TILES FIXING WORK PROCEDURE

1. Wooden farma as shown in Figure No. 30.15 should be prepared out of wooden batten (patti). With the help of this wooden farma, the skirting tile is fixed projecting only 8mm from the wall plaster.
2. Fix skirting tiles at two ends of the wall with farma, projecting only 8mm outside the wall plaster. This is easy as 9″ plaster from the bottom is not done. Masonry of the Perni layer is done as described.
3. Then, between the skirting tiles are fixed with the help of a wooden farma.
4. All the skirting tiles should project only 8mm from the wall plaster. Keep the skirting in one line. 
5. The plaster of the long walls may differ slightly in line. Hence, fix the skirting at two corners and fix the line, Dori, as a guideline for a line of the in-between skirting.
6. At the column positions, skirting needs to be cut/sliced in a vertical direction. This keeps the 8mm projections from the wall plaster constant. 
7. For the skirting of internal walls, a clear margin on both sides is got to accommodate the skirting, as perani block of a smaller size is used. 
8. For skirting of the outer wall pieces of the skirting should be adjusted in the corners where furniture work is expected.
9. Curing of flooring and skirting is done for a minimum of 14 days.
10. Ensure that the skirting lines are perpendicular to the mosaic tile line.

1. Give a proper slope, to allow the water to flow through the spout, during the flooring and tiles fixing work procedurefor balconies. For this 25mm (1″) slope towards the spout is enough.
2. Fix the spout 25cm (10″) away from the sidewall, considering one tile distance, to prevent the water from stacking inside the balcony area.
3. Confirm from the working drawings whether the drop in tile levels of the balcony is there or not there. Accordingly, proceed further.

PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN FOR MOSAIC FLOORING AND SKIRTING FIXING

1. At the site, cutting should be allowed by machine only.
2. Mixing of lime should be done properly while preparing the ‘machan’.
3. Wastage of tiles should not exceed 3 %. Collect the wasted tiles in empty cement bags and stack them separately. They can be used for landings, parking, etc.
4. Insist on a separate D.P. switch for each polishing machine. Never allow direct connection from the main switch.
5. Check the polishing machine thoroughly. If the stones slip due to loose fixing, then the machine scratch and damage the 00 rotating flooring surface.
6. The sequence of polishing should be strictly observed.
7. Broken tiles should be removed and replaced immediately, with due care, to avoid damage to the adjacent tiles. 
8. Hand polishing at the corners and for skirting should match the machine-polished floor surface.
9. The sequence of other works should be arranged so that after the final polishing coat is complete, the final painting work can be done. After cleaning the stains of paint, lock the unit. No other works e.g., plumbing, fixing of W.C. pan, W.H. basins, kitchen otta fixing, etc. should be done.

3. MARBLE FLOORING

1. The procedure of marble flooring fixing is almost the same as the mosaic tile fixing except for machan work.
2. In marble flooring, bedding (machan) is prepared from cement mortar in the ratio of 1:6 instead of lime mortar. This is because of the variation in the thickness of marble pieces.
3. The bedding (machan) of cement mortar should be laid in the required level and marble pieces should be fitted immediately using a thick paste of cement slurry (thicker than what is used for mosaic tile fixing).
4. Marble flooring can also be fixed in lime mortar if marble of the same thickness is available.

1. For marble, either emery stones or stones specially manufactured for marble polishing work should be used.
2. After two coats of polishing, marble flooring achieves it’s natural appearance.
3. In the end, wax should be applied to the entire flooring.

1. The following criteria should be considered before selecting the stone tiles.
2. Ensure that the stone tiles do not have any cracks. Strike the stone tile with a metal piece. The clear ringing sound indicates that there are no cracks in the tile. Reject any cracked stone pieces.
3. Ensure that the stone tiles have an intact structure. Reject any tiles with loose layers.
4. Color variation is common. As far as possible, select one color material and avoid mixing light and dark-colored tiles.
5. Apart from these criteria, differences are observed in Kotah, Tandoor, and polished Shahabad.
6. As there is very little difference in the texture of Kotah and Tandoor, the possibilities of mixing are more. Kotah is more expensive than blue Tandoor and polished Shahabad. Hence, precautions should be taken to select the proper material.

replacing broken tiles

PROCEDURE OF FIXING KOTAH TANDOOR POLISHED SHAHABAD FLOORING TILES

1. Before fixing the Kotah or Tandoor stones, they should be chiselled in the required shape at the edge using a farma (template).
2. The procedure of fixing is the same as that of marble.
3. The sides of the stones are dressed (chiselled) and moulded for minimum joints and maintaining a proper level, where a number of tiles are joined together.
4. Joints between the stones are filled with grey cement the next day. The joint should not exceed 1.5mm.
5. The pattern of the flooring can be adjusted in a break joint manner or in continuous joints.
6. Curing of the flooring is done for at least 14 days, by sprinkling water on the floor at least 4 times a day.

1. Polishing of the Kotah and Tandoor flooring should be done very carefully.
2. If improper stones are used for polishing, the flooring can get scratched. To avoid this, polishing should be done with emery stones only.
3. The sides of the flooring immediately near the skirting should be hand-polished with emery stone, along with the skirting.
4. For a mirror finish polishing, apply a mixture of 50% wax polish, 25% coconut oil + 25% kerosene to the stone flooring with a white flat brush (namada). Then clear this layer using Deodar sawdust.

 5. STAIRCASE FLOORING 

1. The landing should be kept 12mm (1/2″) below F.F.L. of each floor.
2. Treads should be fixed with 12 mm (1/2″) bearing in the staircase plaster.
3. Treads should be fixed equally in horizontal distance between two landings.
4. Individual-level of the tread should be maintained.
5. Nosing should be kept to treads with rounding.
6. Risers should be fixed according to the required size, after considering the total landing to landing height, divided by the number of risers.
7. Risers should be fixed truly vertically.
8. Risers and treads should be polished with emery stone only.

PROCEDURE FOR FIXING CRAZY (TUKDA) MOSAIC FLOORING TILES

Floor Tile Installation Process – 60×60 cm polished tiles – building technology

PROCEDURE FOR FIXING ROUGH SHAHABAD TILES

1. Machan work is done with lime mortar in the required slope.
2. The next day, 60cm x 60cm (2′.0″ x 2′.0″) size rough Shahabad stones are fixed over this machan , in level. The joint width between two adjacent stones is kept up to 12mm, (“), as stones are not exactly in size, and edges can be irregular.
3. Rough Shahabad stones are arranged so that the joints between the stones achieve an exact straight line over a longer area.
4. The joints are filled with 1:1 cement-sand- mortar and the line dori impression is kept on the joints for a better appearance.
5. The joints are cured for at least 14 days to prevent cracking.

• The surface on which I.P.S. is to be done should be cleaned.
• All the level lines should be marked on door frames and walls.
• Thiyyas are made on the floor with the help of cement-concrete 1:2:4 at, every 6′.0″ (2m) interval.

detail staircase flooring work

• These levels should be checked by the site engineer for clearance for further work.
• Machan of cement-concrete, of proportion 1:2:4, is laid throughout the room and then immediately, cement paste of thickness 2 to 3 mm approx. is applied over this machan, to form a uniform layer of cement. The thickness of I.P.S. flooring should not exceed 50mm (2″) and the maximum size of metal (aggregates) shall be 12mm (“) in machan concrete.
• This work is done by a skilled mason with a metal float. After finishing, square checks are made on the surface with a line Dori. These square checks are normally of size 30cm x 30cm (12″ x 12″).
• The flooring is then allowed to cure for at least 15 days.

PREPARATION & PROCEDURE OF CLADDING DADO TILES WORK

1. The vertical surface for cladding work should be rough, fairly in plumb, and in right angles with each other in case of toilet walls.
2. Concealed plumbing and electric conducting should be completed before the execution of cladding work.
3. Check all the right angles of the corners of bath/W.C., toilet, and kitchen otta area. Also, ensure that the plaster is in plumb. If not,
4. then get it adjusted by chiseling or plastering the area.
5. Now the line of base tile should be set.
6. Set the reference wooden batten (patti) from the nahani trap area by keeping a full tile margin from the bottom.
7. Check the level of the patti, with a spirit level, before allowing the contractor to do the tiles work.

• First, check the corners with the right angle and the plaster with plumb.
• Finalize the minimum thickness of thiyya’.
• With this thickness, first, take the thiyya by fixing a tile on the top of the wall, and with the help of this tile and plumb, take the bottom thiyya.
• Also, take some samples of thiyya on the other corner. 
• After checking and completing of the thiyya’, the contractor can proceed with the tiles work.
• Ensure that the tiles are well soaked in water for a minimum of 2 hours. Cover the back of the tiles with cement paste and then press it against the roughened wall surface. Tap gently against the wall with a mallet.

thiyya dado work

• Always take a full tile line (vertical) in one side, to avoid wastage. In W.C., take it on the opening side of the door (Refer to Figure 30.33) for dado and floor. For dado, it is advisable to do tiles up to a height of 1m every day, and the next day, cement slurry should be filled through the top, for better bonding and void filling.
• After fixing the tiles, ask the mason to fill the gap on the top side of the tile with cement paste. Press the cement paste manually, so that it is filled properly. It may otherwise sound hollow from the corners. The hollow sound in the tiles shows bad workmanship.
• Always match the lines of the tiles vertically and horizontally and check if any corner juts out of the line Dori. If it does, adjust it with the help of a wooden mallet.
• In case of a window portion, if the sill is not provided on the bottom side, ensure that the tiles Hasan an equal slope and overlap on the vertical tile. 
• Overlapping is important as it prevents water from entering through the gap, causing leakage.
• The joints between two tiles should be kept a minimum. Clean these joints, remove the excess cement from joints and refill these joints with white cement.
• Curing should be done for a period of 14 days, 6 times a day.

1. After a certain height, space should be provided for the expansion and contraction of the tiles. Without it, the dado might come out from its original position, due to alternate expansion and contraction.
2. A special type of non-corrosive clamping system (e.g. brass clamps) should be provided in the dado and the parent wall for rigid fixity in case of high-rise dados.
3. The other procedures for fixing the dado is the same as that of normal glazed tile dados.

PROCEDURE FOR KITCHEN OTTA WORK

• Ensure that the position of the kitchen, otta is as per the drawings and also confirm any extra amenities e.g., L’ shape otta and it’s position.
• Kitchen otta work should start after the completion of the mosaic tile fixing.
• Polishing of mosaic tiles below the kitchen otta should be done before starting kitchen otta work because afterward polishing with the machine is not possible and the quality of hand polishing will not match the room polish.
• Mark the position of the sink and ‘L’ shape, on the wall with chalk.
• Tiles mason will take the levels of the sink bottom, top, shelf, and verticals. Check these according to the drawings. Check the height required. Allow him to chasing the required grooves on the wall.
• Fix all vertical pieces with the shelf and sink bottom piece. Check the plumb of all verticals and the level of the sink and shelf.
• Conventionally, a cuddappa kitchen otta is erected by making full-length 12mm deep grooves to vertical pieces, to accommodate and support horizontal pieces.

• In modern techniques, fixing of the shelf and sink bottom is done on the hard metal round piece (like one rupee coin) or clip fixed horizontally in a vertical piece by making half groove and fixing with adhesive epoxy (such as Araldite).
• Ensure proper fixing of the clip.
• Fill all joints with cement and clean the surface.
• The next day, allow the plumber to fix nahani trap in the sink with slope and ensure that it is in the center, after the complete finishing of the sink.
• Nahani Trap outlets of all the floors should be vertically in a plumb line from the outside. 
• Seal the hole in the wall around the nahani trap with rich cement mortar and concrete.
• Curing should be done for at least 3 days.
• Now, start the other works of kitchen otta like fixing top, front facial Patti, sink side, sink bottom finished with cutting in four pieces and sloping towards nahani trap etc.
• Slope to top of the kitchen otta should be given towards the sink.
• The front facial patti level should be (6mm) above the top level of the kitchen otta.
• Dado of the kitchen otta should be done in glazed tile or as per the requirements.
• Through-hole for gas pipe should be kept in dado tile with 25mm (1″) dia. P.V.C. bend or 25mm (1″) dia. P.V.C flexible pipe and the finishing around it should be done properly.
• All joints in the sink bottom should be sealed by epoxy (such as M-Seal), to avoid leakages. 
• All edges of the cuddappa should be rounded by polishing with emery stone.
• Clean the kitchen otta properly.
• Paint the cuddappa with black oil paint except for the top of the kitchen otta and the sink portion.
• For granite or marble kitchen otta, fix plastic paper or apply a layer of plaster of Paris on the complete kitchen otta till the time of possession, to prevent any damages.

PREPARATION OF SURFACE FOR WINDOW SILL 

• The space under the window bottom from the inside is dressed for accommodating the window sill, considering a side projection of 20mm (3/4″) on either side.
• The Cuddappa/Kotah sill is dressed from the front side to face uniform 20mm (3/4 “) thickness all over its length.

1. The window sill is fixed in line and level for equal projection from all sides.
2. After fixing, the edges of the sill are rounded with a polishing stone for a better appearance.
3. The cuddappa sill is painted with black oil paint for a better appearance.

PROCEDURE FOR FIXING THRESHOLD (UMBRA PATTI)

1. A threshold (umbra patti) of the exact length between the two legs of the door frame is cut with a tile-cutting machine. The width of this patti should be equal to the distance between the shutter and the outer face of the door frame.
2. It is fixed with cement mortar and at both ends, the cement slurry is grouted for firm anchorage.
3. The edges are rounded with a polished stone.
4. Never fix the umbra patti directly on the finished flooring, as cement and smooth surface do not bond properly. It should be fixed after roughening of the surface or application epoxy as Araldite) for bonding and tight fixing.

details of threshold umbra fixing

INFORMATION AT A GLANCE FOR FLOORING & DADO TILES WORK

1. Do not accept any material on the site without checking.
2. Do not allow the mason to do the machan work without surface preparation.
3. Do not allow hand mixing of lime mortar, as it leads to poor mixing and more cement consumption.
4. Do not allow machan work and tile fixing work without marking of level the line on all the walls and thiyyas.
5. Set the right angle before starting the tiles work.
6. Do not allow anyone to walk over newly fixed floors for at least 24 hours.
7. Fill the tile joints with cement slurry immediately the next day.
8. Do not allow skirting fixing without a wooden farma (template).
9. Do not allow any cut-pieces with hand dressing. Insist on cutting the tiles with a cutting machine, since it considerably reduces wastage.
10. Provide 12mm thick skirting over the R.C.C. column for skirting fixing.
11. Insist on brand-new polishing stones for each building.
12. Strictly follow the polishing procedures.
13. Use oxalic acid in powder form for the final coat of polishing Do not use liquid acid.
14. Ensure that the balcony flooring is given a sufficient slope towards the balcony spout.
15. Polish the flooring under the kitchen platform before erecting the kitchen platform, vertical pieces.
16. Complete all G.I. plumbing and P.V.C. conducting work before dado fixing.
17. Always take full tile on the opening side of the door for the W.C. floor.
18. Carefully seal the gap between the C.I. nahani trap and the cuddappa piece of the kitchen platform sink.
19. Check the slopes of bottom cut-pieces of a sink, towards the nahani trap.
20. Ensure that the edges of the kitchen platform and sills are properly rounded.
21. The procedure of ceramic tile dado work is the same as the glazed tile.
22. Glazed tile should be cut done with a diamond point cutter and ceramic tile should be cut with a hand-cutting machine. (ceramic tile cutter)

DETAILS OF CHART FOR UPDATING THE MOSAIC TILES WORK ACTIVITY

• At the site, when the tiles work is in full swing, it is very difficult to check each and every activity.
• To achieve proper control over this, prepare one register at the site as shown in Format No. 30.1. With the help of this register, one can control flooring work very easily.

How do I repair floor tiles?