There are a number of reasons why split face tiles are a much sought after addition to any home makeover project...
We say that life is too short for bland walls and split face mosaic tiles can really help bring a touch of style to any space. Whatever colour or style you opt for, cladding a wall with split face mosaic tiles will bring a new dimension to a plain wall that you’re going to love.
Split face mosaic tiles are hand made from small strips of natural stone and made into a highly textural 3D undulating form. They are designed to interlock together, which makes them super easy to fit and create a seamless look on your walls. As they are made from natural stone, they are very easy to care for and really hard wearing. So to help you keep them looking fantastic, we’ve put together this in-depth guide on how to protect, clean and care for your split face tiles.
Read on to get all the information and insight you need and get the most out of your split face tiles.
Embracing Split Face Tiles In The Home
Split Face Mosaic Black Slate Tiles - outdoor wall cladding
One of the major draws of split face wall tiles is the dynamic visual effect they have. This dynamism makes them suitable for a host of different parts of the home, internal and external. If you are looking to clad an external wall, split face mosaic wall tiles are the perfect choice, as they offer a visual designer style and have very little on-going maintanence.
Take these sheera multicolour split face mosaic tiles. It’s hard to think of a room in the home that these wouldn’t work in. The real quality they have is the combination of warm Autumnal colours and undulating textures.
With any stone tile, putting the right level of thought and consideration into how you protect your tiles is a great place to start. Natural stone is unique. Each has distinctive characteristics and, when treated with the correct care, is virtually maintenance free. Sealants provide resistance to wear and tear and are also highly dirt and dust repellent.
Which split face stone you are looking to use and whether you are going to fit internally or externally dictates the sealing and cleaning products you need to us. So it’s worth finding out this information before you commence your project.
We also recommend you select your most preferred finish and protective requirement before purchasing your sealant.
We have a great range to choose from if you’re in need of tile sealers and cleaners.
Using Split Face In A Living Room
One of the most popular spaces for using stone tiles is the living room as they are perfect for getting right on-trend and bringing a touch of the outdoors indoors. You could clad around a widescreen TV for the ultimate cinema room media wall!
A very popular trend is to create or clad a fireplace with split face mosaic tiles. We get many customers asking if you can use split face mosaic in this area, and it’s actually one of the most popular places. If your fire conducts a lot of heat you need to fit to a heat proof backer board and use a heatproof adhesive in the immediate area around the fire. You still need to seal your stone to protect it from any future dirt.
Split face in a living room hardly requires much maintenance at all. Simply seal with the appropriate sealer and get your feather duster out every couple of months to keep them looking their best. As you are not likely to have any spills in the living room, you could keep them in their raw finish and just dust them when required.
Split Face Mosaic Tiles In A Bathroom
You could bring a luxurious spa feel to your home and with split face mosaic tiles. Perfect for cladding behind a bath or basin to bring some contrast to your walls. Split face tiles can work equally as well above a sink in a bathroom too.
Sometimes there can be some confusion and questions around how to use split face tiles in the bathroom. As they are not grouted, we don’t advise fitting to walls exposed to more intense and prolonged periods of water such as shower enclosures. This is because standard plasterboard walls are not waterproof and any strong jets of water will go through any small gaps in the stone, and cause issues with your substrate.
However, don't worry, we do have a solution! As split face tiles look great in as a feature in a shower area setting, we advise selecting a porcelain split face effect tile which you grout, so your substrate is protected from water.
Split face effect tiles have the appearance of the real thing, these tiles can be grouted and are designed for use in wet environments.
Take a look at our Alpes Cream, Alpes Grey and Sierra Black split face effect porcelain wall tiles. They are popular examples of what split face effect tiles can look like in your bathroom.
When fitting split face mosaic in a bathroom area, it is recommended to seal the stone with its appropriate sealer. This will ensure the surface of the stone is protected against any splashes of water which could stain the stone. You want to ensure you keep that beautiful look, so only clean the stone with neutral cleaners. This means you won’t strip the sealer from the surface of the stone.
Kitchens And Split Face Mosaic
Speaking of kitchens, how do split face tiles fare in this challenging space?
The kitchen is a zone of hustle and bustle. This means the choice of tiles here is vastly important, as you ideally need a tile that combines quality with robustness.
As split face mosaic tiles are so durable they are perfect for all areas of the kitchen. You can create a simple upstand, splash back or feature wall with ease.
Simply seal with the appropriate sealer to protect your stone and wipe away any spills easily.
Split Face Mosaic Outdoors
Don’t forget that you can continue split face mosaic outside and extend the interior design of your home to your external spaces. Split face mosaics can be used to clad a retaining wall, terrace, raised planters, BBQ areas, or even decorate the walls of your home and help you create an exterior space you’ll want to spend time in.
As split face mosaic tiles are made from natural stone, they are perfect for fitting externally. When fitting externally, as with all natural stone, we recommend you seal with an impregnating sealer three times. If creating a wall you just need to create a lip or ledge to the top of the tiled wall to ensure constant contact with water is not made, as you would with a rendered wall.
Outside you are more likely to have mould growth owing to our lovely British weather. However a good protection of sealer and a regular wash down will keep them looking fantastic.
Preventing Overall Wear And Tear
We understand the desire people have for protecting their tile choice and therefore keeping things clean and looking their best is a natural want.
When cleaning your tiles, we do recommend using a natural stone cleaner. Having a product that’s specifically designed for your sealer will ensure you don’t strip the sealer from the stone as standard cleaners will remove all of your protection.
Here are our three key pieces of advice when fitting split face tiles:
1 - Ensure you back butter the tiles when fitting and ensure your substrate is strong enough to hold the additional weight.
2 - Ensure you protect your beautiful stone with the appropriate sealer.
3 - Clean your split face with a simple dust or in wet areas clean with a neutral stone cleaner.
For more information on how and where to fit split face mosaic tiles, take a look at our dedicated fitting guide.
We hope you have found this guide to be a useful and handy resource. Stone Tile Company has a host of other guides to help you stay on top of your stone tile purchase.
Be sure to take a look at our general installation guide, as well as our general fitting guides and product guides.
And if you have any questions, contact the Stone Tile Company team.
