Laying Tile

Are you thinking about laying tile in your home?

No matter whether you want to do just your kitchen or your whole house, it’s quite possible to do it yourself. Some of the great things about a ceramic tile floor are it’s durability, longevity, and ease of maintenance. It’s one of the most waterproof floor coverings as well, which means it’s less prone to mold problems.

Assuming you’ve got your materials picked out and purchased, the first thing to do is get the subfloor ready for your tile. Take up any floor covering that might already be there. Scrape, and then sweep, the floor clean. If you’re subfloor is particularly unruly, think about using a backerboard.

Now you’ll want to decide on how you want your tiles to be laid out. Do you want the lines between them to be diagonal, or square with the walls? Do you want to have equal cut tiles on each side, or just fill in one side?

Use a notched trowel and thinset mortar to glue the ceramic tiles to the floor. Don’t spread more thinset than you can comfortably reach from your knees. Start in the middle and work outwards.

Let the tile dry for a day. Then it’s time to grout. Push the grout between the tiles with a rubber float, while constantly keeping up with wiping off the excess grout with a sponge. Then let the grout dry for another day before walking or moving furniture on the new floor.

So, laying tile is not that difficult. Hard work? Yes. But it’s a simple process that anybody can get a hold of.