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| The tiles, complete with neat diagonals! |
When I looked for ideas to make the loft conversion greener, I didn't know there was such a thing as eco-friendly tiles. But, it turns out some tiles are greener than others. We found ones that are made in the UK, in a very environmentally conscious factory, partly from recycled ceramic materials.
Gecco Interiors creative director and eco interiors consultant Angie Kraft directed us towards its range of dozens of different tiles with excellent green credentials. We looked at a few free samples and then chose the Sahara tiles for both wall and floor (around £30 per square metre, but it's such a small wetroom that the bill didn't come to much!). They have a lovely matte finish, and although they're not officially wetroom tiles they're not in the least bit slippery underfoot.
Visit the Gecco Interiors blog to get the full story of the tiles' eco credentials from Angie’s factory visit. But put simply, they're made in England, 30% from ceramics recycled from local potteries, using a process that has been improved to save water and energy as well as materials. Packaging is recycled, palates are reused. The whole process saves an impressive amount of landfill and CO2.
As for laying the wetroom tiles, our builder had to first build a plywood floor in four sections, with “envelope” falls sloping towards a drain in the middle of the room. He clad the walls in waterproof panels and then sealed the floor using a tanking membrane – making it (hopefully) 100% waterproof. Only then could he start tiling! The large format tiles were easy to work with and came up beautifully. Our only teething trouble was getting a smooth diagonal cut across some floor tiles for the lines where the falls meet each other. They kept coming out too rough until we persuaded our builder that his wet tile cutter would do an even smoother job if he used the water bath with it! Bingo, a smooth cut and a very professional job.
As for laying the wetroom tiles, our builder had to first build a plywood floor in four sections, with “envelope” falls sloping towards a drain in the middle of the room. He clad the walls in waterproof panels and then sealed the floor using a tanking membrane – making it (hopefully) 100% waterproof. Only then could he start tiling! The large format tiles were easy to work with and came up beautifully. Our only teething trouble was getting a smooth diagonal cut across some floor tiles for the lines where the falls meet each other. They kept coming out too rough until we persuaded our builder that his wet tile cutter would do an even smoother job if he used the water bath with it! Bingo, a smooth cut and a very professional job.
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