Grouts: the first step to ensure durability of flooring

Installations designed with grouts of the correct dimensions are very important in order to obtain flooring which is?even,?strong,?resistant,?and?durable.

Calculating the correct width for Tile grouts

According to?current standards, tiling should be installed with?grouts at least 2 mm wide?and their width must be increased according to the type of use and the design loads and stresses when in service. For?architectural stone paving, according to?UNI 11714-1?standard, when installed in external surroundings,?grouts must be at least 5 mm wide?and their width must be increased according to the dimensional tolerances and morphology of the stone tiles or slabs, the type of use and the design loads and stresses when in service.

Butting adjacent slabs or tiles or leaving no gap is not permitted.

Ceramic or stone flooring, particularly large?format tiles or slabs installed on external surfaces

??Tile joints reduce the modulus of elasticity and, therefore, the stiffness of the tiling.?The tiling installed by butting the tiles together is comparable to a stiff, seamless surface as if it were a single tile. When tiles are installed with “open” joints, each of the tiles has a certain degree of movement. This characteristic helps the tiling withstand the possible movement of the substrate (due to movements in the floor or dimensional instability in the substrate) and, therefore, provides?protection against the risk of cracking, tiles lifting or becoming?detached from the floor.

??Any steps between tiles have less of an impact. The?maximum acceptable step?between tiles is 1 mm for joints up to 6 mm wide for ceramics and 3 mm for stone material, and 2 mm for joints wider than 6 mm. As the width of the joint increases, the maximum acceptable step also increases.

??Installing tiles with large joints?allows the amount of?filler, or grout, in the joints to be calibrated correctly. This leads to?advantages, such as the?durability of the grout?and its?aesthetic,?mechanical and functional characteristics.

Architectural stone paving

??Grouts are required to tie the stone elements?to each other and to the installation bed, so they form a monolithic architectural paving (for compact bedding installations) or an elastic, pervious paving (for loose bedding installations).

??The width and depth of grouts?determine the effectiveness of grouting products, which must fill them completely in order for them to reach the?aesthetic, mechanical and functional properties required when in service.

??The width of grouts?must be such that they allow both the aesthetic and functional requirements to be achieved.

??In the case of movements in tiling, or if access is required to plant equipment under the tiling, a large grout?allows the grout to be removed?and to?preserve?the condition of the flooring element. In fact, grouts may be filled quite easily with fresh grouting material without compromising the overall appearance of the flooring.

For these and many other reasons, installing tiles with a wide joint is a requirement of current standards.