Guidelines

Congratulations! for your wise decision to use Fujairah Ceramics Tiles

We request you to read the following guidelines and instructions carefully and also to ensure that your mason handle the installation strictly as per these guidelines. From our 30 years experience we understood that 99% of the customer complaints were caused due to poor workmanship and thru this education process we are trying to ensure your satisfaction level to reach almost 100%.

Ceramic tile is manufactured and like any other manufactured product no two tiles can exactly match the other. Colour (shade / tone) and caliber (Dimensions) variations are inherent in the manufacturing process and this does not affect the quality, strength or durability of the tile and hence is not a manufacturing defect. No manufacturer can guarantee to produce tiles without any variation. However our classification standards ensure that the variation is negligible within each box.

Warranty
“Fujairah Ceramics” brand tiles carry “Limited Lifetime Replacement Warranty” against “manufacturing defects” that affect its quality, finish, strength or durability. This warranty is limited to free of cost supply of the exact quantity of tiles proved defective with tiles identical to the defective tiles if it is still in our production or is available in our ware house or with tiles of the client’s choice which is in the same price range of the defective tiles only and excludes reimbursement of costs of fixing and removing of defective tiles or fixing new tiles or any other direct and indirect expenses, costs or claims for damages or losses.

The term “manufacturing defects” means defects such as edge chipping, edge crack, pinholes, blisters, pitting, colour spots or patches visible with the naked eyes from a distance of 1(one)meter, layer peeling or crazing and includes warpage, centre & edge curvature, wedging, scratch hardness, dimensions, modulus of rupture of tiles etc; outside the tolerance level as stated in the technical specification data sheet provided in our current product catalogue printed and distributed but excludes shade/tone variation and calibre variation in different boxes or damages caused during transport or handling or problems caused in application due to mixing and fixing of tiles having different calibres or shades or due to poor workmanship. Slight variation from standard dimensions and colour is unavoidable in ceramic manufacturing process which can neither be avoided nor is a defect. To reduce the impact our ‘products’ are segregated into different shades and calibres and are packed in different boxes with the correct calibre and shade printed thereon.

Installation of Floor & Wall Tiles

Preparation of Floor / Wall

	1.	New floors / walls must be left to cure for 2-3 weeks before tiling.
	2.	The floor to be tiled must be even without ridges. If it is not, make the floor leveled before tiling. Even minor floor irregularities will give an ugly look to the floor. The wall to be tiled must be leveled, but with rough surface to facilitate strong bonding.
	3.	Oil or grease if any on the floor / wall to be tiled must be removed before tiling for strong bonding.

Matching of Tiles for each Area

	4.	Before starting laying work, open one carton from each pallet and make sure that it is the same tile you have ordered.
	5.	Colour (shade / tone) of the ceramic tiles are subject to variation from batch to batch and even in the same production batch. For best results it is advisable to use tiles from the same batch with same shade code and caliber code.
	6.	The beauty of the finished floor / wall depends to a great extent on the matching of the tiles done at the site before laying. This is done by spreading dry (before wetting) tiles from same batch with similar shade code on the floor and removing the odd one. Through this exercise, you can ensure that each room has tiles without any shade variation.

Soaking of Tiles

Immerse all the tiles in clean non saline water for at least 4 hours before laying. All tiles must be soaked for the same duration. Tiles soaked for different duration if used in same room may give the impression of shade variation until the tiles are completely dried. Drying process could take few days depending on fresh air circulation in the area and also the climate.

Use Cement Mix

	8.	Prepare a suitable cement mix and apply uniformly on the floor in the thickness of about 5mm (min) and for the wall the thickness of cement mix should be 5 – 8 mm.

How to Lay Tiles

	9.	Once the cement mix has been applied on the floor or on the wall, start installing the tiles on the floor working from the center outwards, and on the wall from one side to the other, completing one row at a time. For technical reasons ceramic tiles are to be fixed with space between tiles. For best results use ‘SPACERS’ while laying tiles unless the edges are squared. Ceramic tiles are not meant to be fixed “joint free” like porcelain or vitrified tiles unless edges are squared.
	10.	Apply a thin coat of cement mortar on the back of the tile. This will ensure a good bond. Start placing the tiles one after another by little twisting and pressing with rubber hammer. A straight edge or spacers, as per one’s own liking, may be used to align the tile. The tiles must be properly tapped with the rubber hammer until the mortar underneath is spread uniformly without leaving any cavity or air bubbles till the excess cement mortar comes out of the joints. A one meter long spirit level or a large leveling rod can be used to ensure proper level of the tiled floor. Allow the tiles to remain like that for at least 24-48 hours depending upon the weather conditions before applying grout and walking on it. After completing all the jobs, the floor / wall must be washed with clean water 2 to 3 times.

Colour Grout

	11.	For using special / coloured grouts follow the instructions given by the grout supplier / manufacturer. Once the grout has been applied on the tiles, wipe off the excess grout using wet sponge. After some time again wipe the tiles with the wet sponge to remove any residual grout. Clean the whole floor with water 2 to 3 times.
	12.	Leave the whole area unused for at least 24 hours and after that it is ready for use.

What You Should Not Do

	1.	Never push or pull heavy objects with hard or sharp metal strips at bottom or edges. This may cause ugly scratch marks on the tiles or even cracks.
	2.	Avoid walking on the tiled floor with shoes having steel spikes or with sand dust. It may cause scratches on the floor.

Maintenance

Floor Tiles

Our floor tiles are easy to maintain and remain beautiful for decades, provided we take proper care of floors. The general cleaning steps are mentioned as follows:

Remove all dirt form the tiles by sweeping with a soft broom or vaccum cleaner.
Any liquid spillage on the tiles should be wiped off as quickly as possible to avoid it penetrating into the tiles.
Apply multi purpose cleaner, in recommended dilution as given by the manufacturer, on to the tiles.
Rinse with water
Mild acid solution can be used to remove the stain. Do not allow the spillage to remain on floor for longer period which may cause difficulty in removing the stain. Before using any kind of stain remover or mild acid solution check its reaction with the grout used. Always follow safety precautions while using mild acid solution for stain removing.

All the ceramic tile floors are moderately shock proof.
Every effort should be made to prevent heavy objects falling on to the floor to avoid any damage of the tiles.

Wall Tiles

Tiled walls are an object of beauty and special care shall be taken to preserve that. Tiles must be cleaned from time to time. There is a possibility that some dirt may accumulate on the tile surface over a period of time but regular cleaning with mild soap solution or very mild acid solution will help to maintain the beauty of the tiles.

All safety precautions must be taken before using any mild acid solution.

Important

We advise you to keep in your store some tiles of all the designs used in your building. This will help you to replace any tile that may be damaged in the future due to any reason without any shade / caliber variations.