Tile Installation Advice

 

Installation Guidance for DoodlePippin Tiles

DoodlePippin finish tiles are heat-printed here in the studio, and they're designed for low heat / low abrasion / internal applications only.

The tiles are fully glazed ceramic wall tiles with a special coating on the surface of the glaze; this coating holds the design.

They are very durable once installed; and can cope with any amount of day-to-day cleaning, including use of cleaning sprays, bleaches, cloths and nylon pads.

However, they need to be treated gently during installation. If you 'treat them with kid gloves' during installation, they will give you decades of faithful service.

Here are some dos and don'ts - and if you're using a professional installer, please draw their attention to this advice.

  • Don't stack them; leave them wrapped in their protective sleeve / foam sheet until you're ready to install them. 
  • Don't knock their corners together, or drag them over each other. 
  • Don't let the sharp raw ceramic back of one tile touch the decorated front of another.
  • Please try not to get adhesive on the front of the tile; if you do, wipe off gently with a soft damp cloth.
  • Press grout gently into the tile gaps, and don't drag tiling tools, or gritty cloths, down the face of the tile.

    • We are very careful with our quality control; every single tile is inspected for scratches and chips before it gets packed and shipped (which is why we end up with so many seconds in our sale department!). 

    If you find scratches or chips after installation, talk to your installer.

    Installation Advice for Fired Ink tiles.

    Fired Ink tiles have been re-fired in a kiln at 1100 degrees C, which melts the design into the glaze of the tile.

    This makes them suitable for high abrasion / high UV / high temperature areas, but does tend to change colours.

    By their nature, these tiles are harder wearing than the DP version, but they still need care during installation. Try to keep grout and adhesive off the front of the tile, don't slide them around over each other, and avoid knocking corners against each other.

    Can these tiles be cut? 

    Yes! They're normal ceramic tiles and can be cut with any tile cutter.

    I've used both the 'score and snap' version and wet tile cutters with excellent results.

    The only thing to bear in mind is that cutting doesn't always go to plan, and having some spares in case of breakages is a good idea.

    This is particularly true of Fired Ink tiles, and tiles where there are several different designs that make up the entire design (eg Large Scale Ocean Shoal).

    Fired Ink tiles are often made of porcelain and are therefore harder - and harder to cut. They also take weeks from order to delivery - so if you break a crucial one during cutting, you'll have a wait of several weeks before you can complete your project.

    The DoodlePippin finish tiles are normal wall tiles and cut easily, so breakages are rare.

    BUT if you have a complex design, Sod's Law states that you will break the one design that you don't have a duplicate for. Which means you'll end up with a delay, and also possibly a slightly different colour replacement (as tile colours do change between batches).