Installation Tips and Techniques

Decra's Training Officer Peter Gibsons Installation Tips and Techniques

Decra Installation Tips & Techniques

Rember Safety First Never leave a guillotine unattended with the blade up. Always wear a safety helmet. Always wear soft-soled safety shoes. Always work from a safe platform or use a safety harness. Always ensure tools are set up correctly and are regularly maintained. Use tools safely. It is advisable to wear gloves to protect hands from any sharp edges.
(A) Using The Guillotine (applies to all Decra tile profiles except Decra Plus) Operation 1. Stand facing guillotine & operate by pulling handle downward. 2. Always place tile face up (i.e. granulated side) in guillotine. 3. Cross-tile cuts should always be made with lowest point of tile pan to operator’s left of guillotine blade. If necessary turn tile around to achieve this (see below). 4. Nip edge of tile closest to blade hinge flat before commencing cut. 5. Cross-tile cuts should be made before bending tile. Longitudinal (full width) cuts should be made after bending. Do not use the guillotine for cutting small pieces where the hands could be to close to the blade. Always ensure that the work piece is firmly held when cutting and bending Decra products. Only one person should use the equipment so that risk of finger entrapment or injury is minimised.
(B) Cutting Tips If the guillotine does not have a smooth cutting action Decra’s guillotine should have any easy, smooth cutting action when cutting a tile. If it feels like you are having to make too much effort while cutting, or if it feels like the guillotine blade is dragging, there is an easy solution to improving performance. Just wipe and clean the blade with an oily rag (3 in 1 oil or any other light oil will do as long as you do not leave to much oil residue on the blade). If the guillotine has been left out in the rain on site you may find light corrosion marks on the blade. Clean these off with a wire brush or wire wool and once again wipe and clean the blade with an oily rag.		Dealing with tile scuff while using a reciprocating saw If you find the sole plate of your reciprocating saw is making undesirable scuff marks on the top face of the tile. Flip the tile over and using a black marker pen mark your cut line on the back of the tile and the cut from the back.
(C) Forming A Top Course of Tiles (applies to all Decra tile profiles except Decra Plus)
Insert and locate the tile 1. Position tile into the bender attachment.
2. Tile should be offered into locating tabs of bender attachment.
3. Ensure you locate other end of tile to adjustable tab. Tile located in position within the adjustable tab (see black arrow). Lift lever arm up to lock jaws of bender attachment (see grey arrow).
Bending technique 4. Set the Bender by tilting the bender away from operators body, whilst supporting with left arm (for right handed people). With other hand take hold of handle ready to control bending process.
5. Lock lever arm to operator’s side and allow bender to rotate gently towards operator.
6. As the bender comes to ground level extend sweep of arm controlling the lever. Raise lever to extent of sweep action to create full upturn bend. Operators arm is extending to control unit and bend of tile. Lever in full sweep position of bent tile.
Unlock the tile 7. Carefully grip tile and pull tile out of locating tab. Slide tile to right and lift bent tile out and away from bender.
(D) Forming A Side Upstand (applies to all Decra tile profiles)
Bending preparation 1. First, flatten downturn of tile at front corner. Some distortion will occur with flattening process, this is normal. Repeat process for rear corner of tile.
Bending 2. Offer tile into jaws of bender using fingers as stop guide for size of upturn.
3. Keeping fingers clear of vice jaws apply controlled pressure foot to peddle bar. Jaws will then clamp tile.
4. With tile held by jaws of bender hold pressure on peddle and prepare to bend tile.
5. Keeping foot pressed fully on peddle, bend tile in upward direction a full 90°, thus forming upturn. If you are installing Decra Oberon Tiles please also read the section “Bending Tips For Oberon Tiles” later in this guide
(E) Forming A Raking Cut & An Upstand Edges At Hips (applies to all Decra tile profiles except Decra Plus) (Valleys carried out in similar procedure) Marking out.
1. Once measurements taken for hip tile transfer measurements and mark onto tile with scriber using a batten as a guide (if using Decra Elegance DO NOT scribe, use a pencil, chino graph pen or wax crayon).
2. Allow for upturn distance to suit requirements. Remember continuous line is cutting line two short lines are bending reference lines.
Cutting 3. Tilt tile to suit bed of guillotine as shown. (Don’t put fingers close to cutting blade).
4. The portion of required tile is held by the left hand. Waste tile falls to the right of blade when viewed from operators position.
5. Apply controlled pressure to blade and with left hand control guide of tile against cutting blade.
Bending preparation 6. Offer tile to bender to flatten rear upturn and front downturn.
7. First, flatten front downturn of tile at front corner. By positioning front downturn into jaws of bender and applying pressure to peddle to flatten. Some distortion will occur with flattening process, this is normal.
8. Repeat the same flattening procedure for rear upturn.
Bending upturn 9. Then offer tile to scribed bending lines.
10. Apply pressure to bending jaws by foot peddle.
11. Start to bend tile in upward direction.
12. Bend tile upwards through full 90° to form upturn. If you are installing Decra Oberon Tiles please also read the section “Bending Tips For Oberon Tiles” later in this guide
(F) Bending Tips (General) How to bend very small bends in a small work piece It is possible to make very small bends or form bends in a small piece of tile or tile accessory. Tips how to do it 1. Tuck a bit of timber under your work piece and pinch it with your thumbs against the work piece (see image below). This will allow you to maintain sufficient grip and leverage when bending. 2. Don’t try to bend the full length of your work piece in one go. By bending a smaller bend than needed and then moving the work piece along in the bender and bending again its possible to bend very small bends at quite awkward angles.		Dealing with tile scuff while bending If you find the tile bender is making undesirable scuff marks on the top face of the tile, when bending the tiles at the valleys. Cut two thin strips of wood (50mm x 6mm or 2” x ¼”) and then tape them to the internal jaws of the bender. This will stop the tile slipping and causing scuffing when bending.
Tile slips whilst bending small work piece items for details See “How to bend very small bends in a small work piece” and “Dealing with tile scuff while bending”		Having problems bending and forming small work piece details? If you are new to Decra bending and forming small details (for example ridge hip intersection and mitres) can seem tricky to do. Rather than having several attempts using Decra’s steel components and wasting time and money, its often a good idea to use a piece of cardboard to have a go first. Cut lines, fold lines and tabs can easily be marked out and formed on cardboard and its much quicker to learn how to form your detail. Even better still this piece of cardboard can then be used as a template to mark out on the Decra components.
(G) Bending Tips For Oberon Tiles When forming an upstand or a downturn at the side of an Oberon Tile it is possible to cause unwanted distortion or damage in the centre step area of the tile (see image of tile in tile bender jaws below). To avoid this occuring the correct bending procedure must be carried out.
Step 1 Flatten out step in the centre of the tile using the Decra Bender (Flatten only in the area of the tile which is to have an upstand or downturn formed).
Step 2 Offer tile to bender to flatten rear upturn edge of tile and front downturned nose of tile. First, flatten front downturn of tile at front corner. By positioning front downturn into jaws of bender and applying pressure to peddle to flatten. Repeat the same flattening procedure for rear upturn.
Step 3 Now place the full width of the area of the tile to be bent in the jaws of the bender and form your upstand or downturn in the tile as required.
(H) Maintenance Procedures For Removal Of Tile Deformations Or Dents (Nail Fixed) 1. To remove light to medium dents without pronounced creasing in tile: Remove nails from front of deformed tile and to adjacent nails to tiles each side, allowing front edge of tile to be raised.
2. Tile nails are removed by using a carpenters nail puller or similar behind the nail head. When levering nails from front edge of tile, place a piece of batten between head of nail puller and tile surface, to enable maximum leverage to be applied and to prevent further damage or scuffing occurring.
3. Lift unfastened front edge of deformed tile and slide shaft of a hammer under location of dent (shaft of hammer will form a lever against underlying tile batten).
4. Push down on front edge of tile and hammer head until dent of tile pops back into correct position.
5. Install new Decra nails in the same positions as those removed earlier. In the event of nail holes in adjacent tiles being exposed, after fixing new tiles, these should have a Decra finishing kit applied to seal the holes, as should any scuff marks on tiles. NOTE: Heavily dented or creased tiles may need complete replacement.
(I) Lost Drill Screw Bit If you are screw fixing the tiles and have lost your drill screw bit a ¼” screw driver bit holder will fit the Decra screws