Ceramic tile is a great choice for Kitchens, bathrooms and entry halls. It’s beautiful, durable and easy to clean. It is easier to install than you might think.
Let’s start simple. You want to install ceramic tile over concrete or plywood floors. If your floors have carpet, linoleum or vinyl, it will need to be removed. Make sure before you begin that the floor surface is clean, smooth and free of any imperfections that may cause the tile to not lie flat. If you’re tiling over plywood it is best to use concrete backer board, it helps with adhesion, however, I have installed it directly on plywood with no problems.
Decide which direction you want your tile to be placed. Straight or on the diagonal? Straight is easier but I love it on the diagonal because it makes the room seem wider and I just think it is beautiful that way so the added effort and cuts are worth it to me.
Start at the most visible spot in the room, the dead center, and work your way out across the room allowing your beginning tiles to be the guide for the rest of the tiles. Apply an even layer of thinset to a small area of the floor where you want to begin. Apply it with the smooth side of a notched trowel then go over it with the grooved side to make grooves in the thinset. Butter each tile with thinset, yes just like you butter bread, all over and groove it as well. Place your first tile. Position how you want it and press firmly with a slight wiggle motion to adhere the thinset on the floor to the thinset on the tile and work out any bubbles that might be trapped.
After lying the second tile arrange the space desired between by placing tiling spacers at each corner to insure proper and uniform spacing. Continue on throughout the room placing full tiles and cut tiles to finish to the edges. Wipe clean and let dry 24 hours.
After allowing the thinset to dry, you are now ready to grout. Grout does come in different colors so be sure to chose the one that you are satisfied with alongside your tile. Using a float apply the grout to the spaces between the tile, pushing it down in as you go and wiping excess from the tile. When finished, wipe over it until you have as clean as possible. It will still dry with a haze. Once dry, you can clean it to a shine.
Some people prefer not to seal their grout as they claim it discolors it. I never really noticed it doing that but either way, I feel it’s best to seal it especially in the kitchen and bath areas.
This has been a very basic description of do it yourself tiling on the simplest of cases as there are so many techniques and issues that may arise I couldn’t possible go over everyone of them in a blog. However, you CAN do this. If you don’t have the answers you need, please keep checking as you can find answers to any question you could possibly have on the internet. Just don’t let it discourage you from doing it. Once I took on my first tiling project I didn’t hesitate to do it again. I never regretted it or was unhappy with the results. See my website for before and after pictures of tiling and other projects I’ve done at www.reutershomedesigns.com
Next Monday: Replacing those old outdated light fixtures. See you then.
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