FOCUS ON JULY/AUGUST 2011

JOINTS IN
CERAMIC TILING OTTOSEAL®
Experience teaches us that, during Therefore we would like to provide
the planning phase, in the realiza- indications for a correct execution
S U M M AR Y : tion of ceramic tiling it is very im- of the joints in ceramic tiling and
portant to assess the installation of illustrate the products which Litokol
the dilatation joints. To guarantee proposes to satisfy both needs.
Introduction 1
the durability of the ceramic sur-
What is a face, suggesting with the term du-
2
joint? rability the capacity of the ceramics
to maintain in time its initial fea-
Construction tures, the technical function and
2-3-4
type of joints
aesthetics must find the right bal-
ance.
Field mounted
5-6
joints
OTTOSEAL S100 and S105
are two silicon sealing
Applications 6 products with matching col-
ours for cement sealing Li-
Prefabricated
7 tochrom 1-6 and 3-15 and
joints
the entire series of colours
of epoxy sealing Litochrom
Starlike®. Used for sealing
joints connecting coatings
and bathroom fittings and
to seal of dilatation joints.

What is a joint?
A joint can be considered a cushion for the
movement of ceramics, which supports the
dilatations, contractions and various stimu-
lus which the material is subjected to due
to the variation of temperature, structural
movement, dynamical stimulus, traffic vi-
brations, etc…
In the sector of ceramic laying, there are
four different types of joints identified:
Structural joints
A structural joint represents the interruption of
the continuity of the work.
This detachment is sometimes necessary to:
● avoid that the variation of temperature caus-
es tension;
● allow free dilatation of the pavement;
● avoid earthquake damage.
Type of construction joints
Joints are divided into two categories: field mounted joints and prefabricated joints.
OTTOSEAL®
Field mounted elastic joint with silicone
sealing of the same colour of gap.
FOCUS ON JOINTS IN CERAMIC TILING
Fraction joints
Fraction joints must be made to support every
20-25 m² by the means of a mechanical cut
which must concern 1/3 of the depth. To these
joints the continuation of other tiling joints must
correspond.
Dilatation joints
Dilatation joints must be predisposed to subdi-
vide extended tiling into smaller sections which
in average must not exceed 9m² (3x3 linear
meters) in the case of external area and 25m²
( 5x5 linear meters) in case of internal areas.
Perimetric joints – Perimetric joints must al-
ways be predisposed along the perimeter of
the tiling, where the tiling confines with walls or
other elevations from the plane such as col-
umns and stairs, and interest the width of the
support and of the ceramic covering.
Prefabricated movement joints available in dif-
ferent materials such as PVC, brass, aluminium,
steel and different internal finishing's.

Sizing of the fractionation and dilation joints
For correct sizing of the joints in exam, the
greatest possible size variations of the tiling will
have to be considered. In particular we must
consider :
● materials dilation coefficient (support and tile)
● tile type and format;
● lay out design;
● adhesives and leak materials used for the lay
out ;
● environmental conditions (thermal variation,
humidity conditions) ;
 distance between fractionation and dilation
joints.
Thermal dilation means the length variation of
an element caused by a variation of its tempe-
rature. The lengthening entity of a material de-
pends on a specific constant of the material,
also called linear dilation coefficient or thermal
dilation coefficient. To calculate the lengthe-
ning of a material based on a certain tempera-
ture variation, it is necessary to know the linear
dilation coefficient which is indicated with the
letter α. This dilation coefficient describes in
which measure a solid body lengthens or shor-
tens in ratio to the overall length, following a 1°
C temperature variation (normally it is expres-
sed in 1K when a 1K thermal variation corre-
sponds to a 1°C thermal variation). In case of
ceramic tiles, the movement between the joint
borders can be calculated as follows:
ΔL = LxαxΔt where:
ΔL : movement between the joint borders
L : distance between the joints
α : dilation coefficient
Δt : expected temperature range
Example: in an exterior flooring mad up of a
cement based screed with thermal dilation
coefficient α=0.012 mm/m/K and porcelain grès
tiles with α=0.007 mm/m/K where the distance
between the joints is 5 meters and with Δt
expected thermal variation of 50°C, one
FOCUS ON JOINTS IN CERAMIC TILING
will have a ΔL lengthening respectively
of:
ΔL cement support = 0.012x5x50 = 3
mm
ΔL porcelain grès = 0.007x5x50 = 1.75
mm
Obviously the contractor will have to ac-
count for the maximum possible move-
ment meaning that of the cement sup-
port.
Once the maximum possible movement
is known, it is now possible to calculate
the width between the joint borders with
the following formula:
L = ΔL/m where:
L : minimum width of the joint which al-
lows the sealant to deform in elastic field
ΔL : movement between the joint bor-
ders
m : operational lengthening of the sea-
lant
by looking at the previous example and
considering use of an elastomeric sealant
with a 25% operational lengthening, the
minimum width of the joint will be:
L = 3/0.25 = 12 mm
The following graph allows to simply and
quickly determine both the movement of
the joints and the minimum width
between the borders of the joint when
distance between the joints, foreseen
temperature range and percentage of
sealant movement are known. This graph
can be used for structures made up of
concrete or for materials with similar di-
lation coefficients (α = 0.010 mm/m/K).
 FOCUS ON JOINTS IN CERAMIC TILING

GRAPHIC METHOD FOR QUICK JOINT SIZING

PERCENTAGE
OF OPERATIONAL
SEALANT
LENGTHENING

Movement of joint in mm.

Necessary joints width in mm.

Distance between joints in m.

 FOCUS ON JOINTS IN CERAMIC TILING
5

Field mounted joints

Fig. 1/A Field mounted fraction, dilatation and
Permetric joint
perimetric joints, are prepared directly on
Fig. 1/B site and are made of a spacing filled by
Fraction joint
a compressible material and on surface
SUPPORT

TILE

CEMENT by a elastomer sealing which can dilate

ELASTOMER
OR EPOXY
ELASTOMER and compress itself (fig.1/A - 1/B):
SEALING SEALING SEALING

TILE

SUPPORT

For the realization of this type of joint

COMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL
(LITOSIDE) Litokol proposes:
Litogap: compressible cord in closed
Photo 1 cell polyethylene available in 6, 15, 15,
Fraction joint 20, 25, 30 mm diameters.
Litoside: band of expanded polyeth-
ylene for the realization of perimeter
separating joints.

SUPPORT

Elastomer sealing These silicone sealers can be used internally,

Collaborating with leading company OTTO-
CHEMIE, Litokol can supply silicone sealing
with matching colours to the cement Litochrom
1-6 sealers and the entire epoxy Litochrom
Starlike® sealing series (Photo 2,3), obtaining
elastic joints in the same colours as the gaps.
on pavements and walls, in bathrooms, on
bathtubs, sinks and showers. To seal natural
rock use neutral reticule sealers instead such
as Litosil Neutro.

Elastic joint realized with

silicone sealing
OTTOSEAL®
Of the same colour of the
gaps

Elastic joint realized with sili-

cone sealing
OTTOSEAL®
Of the same colour of the gap
photo 2 photo 3
 FOCUS ON JOINTS IN CERAMIC TILING

6
Water-resistant joints on balconies
Photo 4
and terraces.
5
In this case the Litoband Maxy sealing
band must be entered by reversed
Omega inside the joint and drowned at
FIELD MOUNTED JOINTS

the extremities between the two hands 1 1

of the water-resistant membranes Elas- 4
2 3
tocem e Coverflex (photo 4). In this 3 2
case use a low modulus polyurethane
sealing product such as Polyurethane
Litosil. SUPPORT

4 - LITOGAP 2 - FIBER-
GLASS NET

1 - COVERFLEX
5 - Elastic joint
realized with
silicone sealing
POLURETHANE
LITOSIL

3 - LITOBAND MAXI

1- ELASTOCEM

Application
First of all clean the joint and the side of the tiles from
dust, small rubble, etc. If the joint is humid you must dry it
or wait until it is completely dry. Then the ceramics or
natural rock positioned on the side of the joint, must be
protected by applying a tape band along the corners of
the joint. At this point you may expel the sealer from the
cartridge using a special pistol with the correct angle and
with a continuous application. The surface finishing can
be executed with special metal or plastic spatulas.
 JOINTS IN CERAMIC TILING
7

Prefabricated joints are profiles industrially produced and composed of different materials
(PVC, aluminium, steel, brass) according to its use. Generally for light weight traffic, joints in
PREFABRICATED

PVC are used, whilst in intense heavy weight traffic, aluminium profiles or steel profiles are
used. All these types of prefabricated joints are composed of two internally L shaped an-
chorage elements in which a compressible material is inserted, available in different col-
ours. Litokol has been distributing Genesis profiles for many years, all the types of prefabri-
cated joints with different widths according to the materials used, if ceramic or stoned, are
comprised in the series.

The Genesis movement joints are classified in three categories, light, medium, heavy ac-
cording to the level of resistance needed and level of protection that they can offer.
The Genesis movement joints are available in different materials such as pvc, brass, alu-
minium and steel and with different finishing's inside.
MLC
Compression joint PVC
MLB
Compression joint PVC - Light traffic
MSA - MSI
Movement joint Aluminium
Optimax line - Intense traffic
MMA
Movement joint Aluminium
MHB
Movement joint Brass - Intense traffic
MHS
Movement joint Steel - Intense traffic

LITOKOL S.p.A. Tel: +39 0522 622811

Via G. Falcone 13/1 Fax: +39 0522 620150
42048 Rubiera (RE) Italy info@litokol.it www.litokol.it