Zellige, bejmat and cement tiles
What each one is, where it can go, how it is laid and how to keep it for decades.
Moroccan tiles are made by hand and are never perfectly flat or identical. That is their charm, and the reason they are laid and cleaned differently from factory tiles.
In short
- Zellige is glazed terracotta cut by hand, made mostly in Fès. Small differences in colour and surface are normal.
- Bejmat is a thicker, rectangular terracotta tile, often used on floors.
- Cement tiles are not fired: they are porous and must be sealed before use.
- Clean all three with neutral soap or Moroccan black soap. No acid, no bleach, no vinegar.
Three materials
- Zellige
- Glazed terracotta, about 10 x 10 cm and 1 cm thick, with edges cut on a slant. Shiny and uneven, with tiny chips and fine cracks in the glaze. For walls, splashbacks, showers, fountains and table tops.
- Bejmat
- Terracotta bricks of about 5 x 15 cm and 2 cm thick, glazed or natural. For floors, steps and terraces in mild climates, laid in herringbone or in straight rows.
- Cement tiles
- Pressed cement with a coloured pattern layer, usually 20 x 20 cm and about 1.6 cm thick. Matt and soft underfoot. For floors and walls indoors.
Where they work, and where they do not
- Zellige on a kitchen splashback or a bathroom wall: yes. The wall behind a shower must be waterproofed first; the tiles themselves do not make it waterproof.
- Zellige on a floor: only the thicker floor quality, and expect it to mark in a busy hall.
- Outdoors where it freezes: avoid terracotta. Water enters the clay and frost breaks it. Ask for frost-resistant tiles.
- Cement tiles in a shower or behind a hob: possible if they are sealed well and sealed again regularly, but they stain more easily than glazed tiles.
- Underfloor heating: all three work. The bed must dry slowly before the heating is turned on.
Ordering
- Order 10 to 15% more than the surface. Hand-cut tiles break in transport and in cutting, and a later batch will not match.
- Ask for a photo of your batch laid out in daylight. Colours vary from one firing to the next.
- Zellige is sold loose by the square metre, or as panels already assembled face down. Panels are faster to lay.
- Zellige weighs about 20 kg per square metre. Check the cost of transport before the price of the tile.
Laying
- Open all the boxes and mix the tiles before starting, so the shades are spread over the whole surface.
- If the maker advises it, soak terracotta tiles in clean water for a few minutes so they do not drink the adhesive.
- Zellige is laid edge to edge, with almost no joint. Do not use spacers as for factory tiles.
- Accept the unevenness. Trying to level every tile removes what makes zellige beautiful.
- Grout with a fine grout in a colour close to the tile, pushed into the gaps, and wipe quickly: grout sticks in the chips of the glaze.
- Cement tiles: seal once before grouting and once after. Grout pigment stains unsealed cement for good.
- Find a tiler who has laid them before, or give him the maker's instructions. Most problems come from laying them like ordinary tiles.
Cleaning and care
- Every week: warm water with a little neutral soap or black soap.
- Never: acid descalers, vinegar, bleach or abrasive powder. They dull the glaze and eat into cement.
- Limescale on zellige in a shower: wipe the wall dry after use. It is easier than removing scale.
- Cement tiles: seal or wax them again once a year in busy rooms. A drop of water should stay on the surface as a bead.
- A chipped tile can be cut out and replaced. Keep the spare tiles from your order.
Mistakes to avoid
- Ordering the exact surface, with no spare.
- Wide joints and spacers on zellige.
- Grouting cement tiles before sealing them.
- Vinegar and anti-limescale sprays.
- Terracotta outdoors in a climate with frost.