RevoTile by Daltile: Buying Guide

Everyone loves the look and feel of tile flooring, with so many different designs and textures to choose from, and the built-in bonus of easy maintenance and unmatched durability. The installation of tile floors, however, is much less popular than the finished product and often discourages homeowners from choosing tile flooring when they update their homes. RevoTile™ by Daltile provides the solution to the installation worries of traditional tile flooring.

Similar in concept design to click lock vinyl tile flooring, RevoTile offers the reliability of certified porcelain tile floor in a range of styles, installed in just a few steps. The tiles float over the base floor and click together to form a secure and sturdy tile floor in half the time as traditional installation methods. With the addition of a RevoTile floor, homeowners can sidestep the hassles and delays of learning how to install tile floor in favor of click tile flooring made from real porcelain.

What Is RevoTile?

Rather than look into how to install click vinyl floor tiles in your home, choose the convenience of click lock vinyl tile flooring with the advantages of real, certified porcelain tile instead. RevoTile offers a variety of colors, patterns, and texture styles to choose from, whether the classics or more modern looks. 

RevoTile uses a specifically designed locking core that attaches each tile to the other and leaves enough space for the grout channel in between, without the need for placing spacer pieces between tiles. The core is laminated to the tile and offers padding, stability, and helps minimize sound echo in the room. The click locks ensure consistent alignment as the floor is being laid out, with no uneven overlap along the tracks. 

The unique look of these different types of flooring are created in part by the design of the tiles. For a timeless take on traditional tile, marble look tile provides a splash of color and a smooth surface with the easy care of porcelain. To capture a more modern style, RevoTile flooring offers stone look tile or concrete look tile, replicating the styles without the installation or maintenance hassles of flagstones or setting concrete floors. Another modern advantage of RevoTile is wood look tile, which offers the waterproof, scratch resistant surface of tile with the look and feel of plank wood flooring under the feet.

To get the tile to look like other types of flooring, such as wood, or stone, choose the best size and shape of the tile to achieve the closest look. Wood flooring can be mimicked with longer, narrower plank shaped tiles, while marble and stone looks can be obtained with large square or rectangular tile shapes. All RevoTile tiles can be customized on site with a tile cutter, in order to customize corners and to most effectively offset the installation patterns.

The Benefits of RevoTile

With RevoTile, any home can have a tile floor in half the time with a more streamlined installation process. However, the most important consideration when choosing a floor isn't simply how to install tile flooring, as it is to choose a floor that will withstand the demands of the household traffic. Real tile flooring with RevoTile provides all the same benefits of traditional tiling, thanks to the porcelain floor surface.

Tile floors installed with the RevoTile system have built-in benefits, such as:

• Waterproof
• Stain Proof
• Dent Proof
• Scratch resistant
• Slip resistant surfaces

This makes the floor easy to clean and maintain, as well as safer for everyone to enjoy. RevoTile floors installed with the complete RevoTile system offer durable wear-resistance and are rated to handle all residential floor traffic, as well as light commercial. It includes a Limited Lifetime Residential Warranty against damage.   

The unique design of the RevoTile tiles have a core backing that reduces sound transfer within and below the room where the flooring is installed. This is particularly useful when investigating how to install tile floor on a second level of a home, as an option to help make the whole home quieter. RevoTile floors are very design-friendly, with their quick installation and pull up, it’s easy to replace when it’s time for an updated look.

RevoTile Installation Requirements

In order to get the best advantage from the click lock design when planning how to install tile flooring, it is best to use the recommended RevoTile accessories and products at each step of the installation. The required materials include the underlayment, the click lock tile for the flooring surface, and their rapid-dry grout selection to make sure the floor is protected from damage or uneven wear and tear.

What Is Underlayment?

With RevoTile, the underlayment layer replaces the need for mortar to lock the tiles to the subfloor and cuts time from the installation project. Flooring underlayment is used instead as a moisture barrier, and to prevent friction between a floor surface and the subfloor, adding padding and a smooth, flat surface on which to install the floor. It provides thermal insulation and acts as a shock absorber, as well as insulates against sound transference. 

Underlayment is usually made of foam, but can be found as textured paper or thick plastic. For RevoTile installation, it’s recommended to use the RapidPrep™ underlayment, which provides 1.35mm thick padding beneath the flooring tiles. The underlayment is easily cut to fit the floor and should be taped down at the seams to hold it in place without overlap.

What Is Click Lock Tile?

RevoTile relies on a click lock core base to create a “floating” tile that is connected and installed above the subfloor. This composite core, called RevoCore, allows the tile floor to be installed over any existing, solid subfloor, to increase the opportunities for tile floor throughout the house. A RevoTile floor is no longer restricted to the first floor, and can be used on other levels as a floating floor.

The porcelain tile is laminated onto the RevoCore base as the floor surface, with the click lock system hidden. The base utilizes the patented ClicFit™ system to fit the tiles together while maintaining an even space between them to create the grouting channels without the need of spacers. 

ClicFit can consistently and securely attach one core to the neighboring tile base with no overlap or breaks. The ClicFit edge of one tile must be inserted into the track of the others and hammered into place for a secure hold.

What Is RapidGrout™?

To finish off the three-step process of how to install tile flooring with RevoTile, a rapid-dry grout is needed to compress and cement the tiles into place. Unlike with how to install click vinyl floor tiles, RevoTile installation requires applying the grout to the spaces between the tiles and allowing it to dry and harden the tiles together.

RapidGrout is specifically designed to be used with RevoTile’s ClicFit system. It is a pre-mixed, water-based grout that is ready to use right out of the resealable container. The resealable containers that the RapidGrout arrives in can keep the grout fresh and ready to use for up to three days, when stored properly, if working on more than one room at once. It is available in multiple colors to match the floor and finished room design.

How to Install RevoTile™

RevoTile makes how to install tile flooring a simple three-step DIY friendly project. You can easily install a new tile floor and be walking on it in twenty-four hours, with no extra drying or curing time. It can be installed over an existing solid floor with a sound subfloor. 

RevoTile’s Three-step installation:

1. Install the underlayment - Roll the RapidPrep underlayment out on a clean floor. The RapidPrep comes in rolls of foam that are easy to cut to fit the size of the room. Tape down the edges of the seams and avoid gathered or overlapped layers.
2. Install the tiles - Starting at the walls, offset the tiles and tap each tile into the next, using a tapping block and mallet. Offsetting the grid layout of the tiles adds to the strength of the floor.
3. Grout between the tiles - Spread the grout between the tiles immediately after finishing the tile layout, with no need to wait for acclimation or curing. There is no sealing required with RapidGrout, and the floor is ready to be walked on in as few as 24 hours after application.