Did you pay Mi Feng IQ tax after the socket?

Beautiful sewing is special in decoration. Obviously, materials and construction are needed, but they are always classified as land reclamation and cleaning. Even the small cards received when visiting the building materials market were printed together. Coupled with the chaotic concept of product names in the market, Xiaobai is really easy to appear embarrassed.

Can tiles be laid like wooden floors?

When I knew that the beautification of ceramic tile joints was not under the control of the decoration company and needed to find someone to spend thousands of dollars, my first reaction was why there was this joint. Can you put it together one by one like a wooden floor, leaving no seams?

Of course, this is just a brain hole, which is impossible at present.

Even if there is a so-called "seamless brick" in the market now, there is still a need to leave a gap when paving. On the one hand, the tiles themselves expand when heated and contract when cooled. On the other hand, when paving, whether using tile glue or cement mortar, this interface will exert force on the tile after drying. If there is no gap, it is easy to crack and collapse porcelain.

It is normal to leave 1mm-3mm for normal bricklaying, and the most common ones are 1mm, 1.5mm, 2 mm. When bricklaying, the tile positioning cross card will be used as an auxiliary tool, and if necessary, the cross card of corresponding specifications will be bought.

▲ In the middle of the picture below, there is a cross card in the brick seam. Source: photo by Zhu Faner.

Sometimes, considering the special needs or decoration needs, a large brick seam will be reserved, such as the bricks in the swimming pool.

▲ The brick seam of the pool brick is about the width of a gel pen. Source: live fans take selfies.

Since brick joints are inevitable, the question is:

White cement, caulking agent, caulking agent, porcelain caulking agent or epoxy colored sand for jointing?

Do it yourself or find someone to do it?

How much is reasonable?

What kinds of materials are there?

First of all, we should know that every product name and new concept introduced by a merchant does not necessarily mean technological progress.

Secondly, the products born under each technology have their advantages and disadvantages, and we can only choose according to our own needs. The product itself is only a comparative performance, and there is no difference between good and bad.

Finally, the truth. The jointing agent/sewing agent is also a thing with little technical content. The domestic technology is as mature as that of foreign countries, so there is no need to be superstitious about imports.

material type

No matter how the name changes, we just strictly classify it from the composition.

▲ Click to view a larger image, source: live in the fans themselves.

Has been eliminated

White cement is actually no different from putty powder. It's powdery when you buy it back. After adding water and stirring into paste, it is filled in the joints of ceramic tiles.

Now it's almost gone, and the water resistance and wear resistance are almost zero, and it will fall off when touched.

The caulking agent, based on waterborne epoxy resin, can be added with various pigments to form different colors, which is the real symbol of entering the era of caulking from the era of caulking. The biggest reasons are two points: first, there are more colors to choose from; second, the waterproof and mildew-proof performance is improved, and the wear resistance is also improved, but it is easy to deform and not resistant to high temperature.

Brick joints completed with caulking agent are as soft as glass glue, and it is precisely because of its softness that it is easy to collapse. Generally, before using the sealant, it is necessary to use the sealant once, and then continue to fill the sealant on it.

▲ This is the wall brick of a building materials market model exhibition area in Beijing. After a year and a half of perfect sewing, it can be seen that there is obvious edge collapse. Source: photo by Zhu Faner.

Just a few years ago, because oily epoxy resin has higher wear resistance than water-based epoxy resin, it was quickly replaced by porcelain sewing agent, and now few people use it to sew.

▲ The floor tiles in the same building materials market exhibition area as the above picture have been perfectly spliced for one and a half years and have been seriously worn off. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

These two things have been eliminated by the market, because they have perfect substitutes with better performance, and the prices are not much different. The following three kinds are the mainstream products for making ceramic tile joints on the market at present.

Three mainstream materials

mortar

Features: moisture-proof, waterproof but not waterproof, mildew-proof and dirt-resistant, poor wear resistance, empty drum falling off, matte texture, mainly black, white and gray in color.

Construction: The construction is convenient, and the bricklayer can do it directly.

Price: the price is cheap.

▲ The picture above is the original appearance. You can see obvious white scratches after scratching with your nails, as shown below. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

Although the wear resistance of jointing agent can't stand the test, it is still one of the mainstream in the market because of its convenient construction and very cheap price.

If the decoration is all inclusive, then the decoration company will do it directly. If you choose half a package, you need to buy your own materials, which can be bought in the building materials market or Taobao. For specific dosage, please refer to the product details page of Taobao, or ask the bricklayer and Taobao customer service.

Generally speaking, the kitchen, bathroom and balcony can be repaired around 200 yuan.

▲ Take the B&Q price of Black & Decker and Gaode as an example. It's all 5kg. Source: Live among fans and take photos by yourself.

There are also popular terrazzo bricks, which look good with white jointing agent.

▲ Living in Fan's Yan value revolution 2.0 S is a real shot between models. Source: Living in Fan's Self-portrait

Porcelain seam agent

Features: The upgraded products of this sewing agent are waterproof, mildew-proof, scrub-resistant, good in stain resistance, high in hardness, reflective and rich in colors, mainly white, gray, gold, silver and black.

Construction: The construction needs a third party, or experts do their own diy (not recommended).

Price: The price is relatively high, and the average market price is about 30-40 yuan/㎡. If the area is large, we can talk about it around 25 yuan.

▲ There are many brands, and the colors of each family are basically these. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

As a substitute for cosmetic sewing agent, porcelain sewing agent mainly upgrades the resin base in its composition and uses oily epoxy resin with higher wear resistance.

Some brands (without naming names) will take "water-based = environmental protection" as a gimmick, and give names to things like "water-based porcelain binder" and "water-based porcelain glue", claiming that they are more advanced than ordinary porcelain binders, so as to sell high prices.

Be careful not to pay IQ tax at this time! The porcelain bonding agent with higher hardness must be mainly oily resin. Oiliness does mean the volatilization of VOC, but regardless of the dosage, talking about toxicity is hooliganism. As long as you pass the product inspection, you can use it with confidence, and you don't need to smell formaldehyde.

Are there any defects in porcelain bonding agent?

Yes, the biggest drawback is that the texture of porcelain cement itself has a reflective effect, especially for people like me who don't like Biling Biling. The tiles should be matte tiles, and if the tiles have reflective effects, it will be unbearable!

Choose an ivory enamel sealant and a silver enamel sealant without sequins as reference:

▲ The reflection of tooth white porcelain sewing agent in the above image is within the acceptable range, and the following picture is a matter of opinion. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

These are ordinary brick faces. Imagine if they were antique bricks.

Another disadvantage of porcelain cement is that it is not suitable for too wide brick joints. For brick joints exceeding 3 mm, uneven filling will generally occur when ceramic cement is used. ..

In order to meet this demand, the third mainstream material appeared on the market, which is also the most expensive one.

Epoxy colored sand

Features: It makes up for the market vacancy of porcelain sewing agent, with matte texture, comparable to the super color of eye shadow color wheel, good filling, waterproof, mildew-proof, scrub-resistant, excellent anti-pollution performance and high hardness.

Construction: Construction needs a third party.

Price: the price is expensive, and the difference between imported brands and domestic brands is large.

▲ Feel the price difference between the same brand caulking agent and epoxy colored sand. More than 2kg of caulking agent and less than 0.35 kg of epoxy colored sand/kloc-0. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

▲ Epoxy colored sand for swimming pool bricks can see the grain texture. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

The biggest highlight of epoxy colored sand is its super rich color. There is no brick that can't be built. If you want the effect of Bi Ling Bi Ling, just add sequins to the quartz sand.

▲ Both imported brands and domestic brands have many colors. Source: Living among fans and taking photos.

The routine of epoxy colored sand merchants has changed again, not to mention oil and water, but only to import.

But in fact, epoxy resin is not a profound thing, it is just a polymer, and its chemistry will not change just because it is imported. Domestic pigments do not mean that they are inferior to imported pigments, so there is no need to blindly believe in imported epoxy colored sand.

"Lies" about Beautiful Sewers

Cement-based jointing agent is simple and transparent, so I won't go into details. Here, I mainly talk about the "lies" of sewing agents (sewing agents, porcelain sewing agents, epoxy colored sand).

Two-component and one-component

The most intuitive two-component packaging is in the shape of a bottle. Two bottles are glued together, using one outlet. If it is a bucket, it will be marked on the bucket.

▲ The single bottle above is one component and the following are two components. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

Merchants say that two components are better than one component. The most direct manifestation is that two components are more expensive than one component.

▲ One-component and two-component caulking agents with the same brand and specifications. Source: Zhu Faner selfie

However! Knock on the blackboard and underline the key points! !

The so-called two-component only packages the curing agent separately from other things, and the single component is mixed in advance.

When in use, if it is bottled two-component, the curing agent and the epoxy resin with pigment come out from two ports at the same time; If it is a two-component barrel, it needs to be unpacked and stirred by itself. ...

As for why it is expensive, it is probably because the packaging cost of the two components is higher.

Floor heating can't make beautiful seams.

The manufacturer of epoxy colored sand told me that neither beauty sewing agent nor porcelain sewing agent is suitable for floor heating, and the manufacturer of porcelain sewing agent told me that porcelain sewing agent can be used for floor heating.

I tend to believe the latter, because the merchants are responsible for after-sales.

After that, I asked my friend to check with a chemical professional. In terms of chemical composition, only water-based epoxy resin sealant is not suitable for floor heating, and there is a risk of deformation and collapse. Other cheap caulking agents, porcelain caulking agents and epoxy colored sand can all be used for floor heating.

Imported products are better than domestic ones.

There is no difference between imported products and domestic products in terms of technical difficulty and technical maturity. The advantage of imported products may be stricter standards, but the national standard has already reached the basic use standards. If there is a big price difference between imported products and domestic products, there is no need to use imported products seriously.

As far as service is concerned, imported products are also provided by domestic distributors, and there will be no crooked nuts coming to your door to make beautiful seams, so the quality of service provided by regular domestic distributors is not much different.

As for the small advertisements on the street, it is necessary to take a chance, and the construction quality is uneven.

Where can I do beautiful sewing?

Choose to do jointing, there are decoration companies or bricklayers, so choose to do beautiful sewing?

At present, there are four channels: find a ceramic tile shop to recommend, find a large building materials supermarket to buy materials directly, there will be people with brands to do it, small advertising telephone contact, DIY.

Find any tile brand store (whether you buy their tiles or not), and the dealer has a cooperative team to provide beautiful sewing services. Just ask the contact information directly.

The service process is to make an appointment to measure and select colors after the tiles are laid, and the construction personnel of the United States will bring a color plate, which can be compared with the tiles at home.

▲ It is such a color sample that can be compared one by one. Source: Living in a selfie of a fan

After choosing the right color, you will receive a detailed quotation. Generally, there are two quotation methods. One is to charge by the meter, and the other is to charge by the number of seams. The other is to charge by square meters, and give a quotation after measuring the wall and ground area.

Both charging methods are reliable. Generally speaking, there are more small bricks (300*300 and below) at home, and there are more joints. You will be more cost-effective if the merchants charge by the square meter.

On the other hand, if there are many bricks at home and the merchants charge by the meter, you are more cost-effective.

Of course, these two pricing methods give the prices of contractors and materials. Generally speaking, the ratio of material money to wages is about 1: 1.

Finding such a service provider is the most reliable, because after-sales service is guaranteed, which is more reassuring than the small advertisements received on the street.

Another equally reliable channel is to go to a large building materials market to buy materials. There will be a special person to do the brand of materials, but the wages will be calculated separately, which is also charged by meters and square meters.

If it is unopened, the excess materials can be returned.

The disadvantage is that there is no color card comparison and color selection. You can only choose through experience and mobile phone photos, or it is not bad to let the shopping guide recommend it.

Another channel is the small card that you will receive when you visit the building materials market, which reads "cleaning, professional sewing" and so on. This service process is similar to the above.

The pricing method is similar, but the difference is that this kind of service provider has another pricing method, that is, charging by group (two components are called a group), that is, charging according to the actual materials used.

In fact, this pricing is very unscientific. If I were a worker, I would waste materials desperately, and then I could charge a high price.

The last channel is DIY, not recommended. It's like seeing beauty bloggers make up on the internet. It feels so easy! Just like I had an accident as soon as I learned, beautiful sewing is more talented than makeup. If the makeup is not good, I can take it off and start over. If the beautiful sewing is not done well, it will be even more tragic to pry it down and start over.

Other questions about beautiful sewing.

When will it be finished?

If it is jointing, bricklayers can do it directly after 1-2 days of bricklaying.

If it is a beautiful joint, it is more appropriate to do it 3-7 days after tiling, because the cement mortar is completely dry at this time, and the filling of the beautiful joint will be more full and uniform.

After sewing, you need to wait for the next day to remove the excess parts, so the semi-finished product just finished sewing should look like this.

▲ Semi-finished products that have just been sewn with porcelain sewing agent. Source: Live in a fan and take a selfie.

The latest time to make beautiful joints is before the main materials enter the site, because the installation of cabinets and the like will block some brick surfaces and cannot work.

Do you have any cost-effective recommendations?

If only matte effect is needed, then jointing agent >: epoxy colored sand;

If the matte effect is not pursued, then porcelain joint agent is the best choice.

Brand recommendation?

Again, we don't force imported brands, but there are also great ones made in China.

Basically, brands that can be seen in large building materials markets such as Yiju and B&Q can be bought. My personal suggestion is which brand has a discount. After all, the decoration is already poor, so don't miss it when you can go to bonus hunter.

In order to avoid advertising suspicion, no specific brand recommendation is made. If you have a brand of beautician who wants to plant grass, please leave a message ~

If you have any decoration problems, remember to click on my account for consultation.

This answer comes from a user who lives in Faner Shanghai. For more decoration strategies and home experience, welcome to visit the Good Life APP.