Tiling Floors

Intro

Ceramic tile is the most stable finished floor covering, but it's best to acclimate it to the room before setting it. Bring tile and other materials into the room at least a day in advance.

Sort tiles for consistent coloring and according to design or texture patterns. Stack tiles around the room near the sections in which you'll lay them, counting out enough to fill each section. Organizing your materials reduces trips to another room to get more tiles.

If you haven't done so already, verify the accuracy of your dimensional layout plan by setting a row of tiles in each direction in a dry run on the floor.

Leave outswinging doors in place. Remove inswinging doors as needed.

Checklist

Time
About 30 to 45 minutes per square yard to prepare and set tile

Tools
4-foot level, small sledge and cold chisel, right-angle grinder (slab) or belt sander (wood floor), chalk line, margin trowel, notched trowel, straightedge, utility knife, carbide scriber, snap cutter or wet saw, nippers, masonry stone, grout knife, caulk gun, grout float, hammer, cordless drill, putty knife, tape measure, china marker or felt-tip pen

Skills
Power sanding, snapping chalk lines, driving fasteners, troweling, laying tile, grouting

Prep
Repair structural defects

Materials
Bucket, thinset mortar, isolation membrane, roller, tile, spacers, caulk, grout, rags, sponge, water, backerboard, screws, tape, foam backer rod, tile base or bullnose tile, nylon wedges, threshold and fasteners

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Dimensional Kitchen Drawing

A dimensional drawing for a kitchen floor includes spaces that currently house appliances. When you note dimensions on the plan, add the thickness of any baseboard that you will remove. Measure up to the edge of toe-kicks under the cabinets.

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Dimensional Bathroom Drawing

To create a dimensional drawing of a bathroom tile installation, you will need to measure the location of the toilet flange as accurately as possible. Because the toilet will likely be in place when you draw the plan, you will not be able to see the flange. Estimate its location: Measure from the side wall to half the width of the toilet base and from the back wall to about one-fourth of its length.

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Installing Backerboard: Step 1

Examine the floor carefully and mark defects -- high spots, indentations and depressions, popped nails, and cracks. Fix all defects that could interfere with the adhesive, backerboard, or tile installation. Install a waterproofing membrane over the floor if necessary.

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Mark defects, Trowel thinset into depressions

Fix All Defects: Level High and Low Spots

Work in sections and use a 4-foot level. Place the level on the floor and rotate it within a section, noting and marking defects with a carpenter's pencil.

Although the floor shown here is wood, the techniques for fixing defects on a slab are essentially the same. First chip out and fill major cracks. Then pour self-leveling compound or trowel thinset into depressions and feather the edges level with the floor. Use a belt sander to remove high spots on a wood floor; use a right-angle grinder with a carbide abrasive wheel on a slab. Dewax surfaces and clean.

Installing Backerboard: Step 2

Mark floor joist locations on the walls. Cut the pieces of backerboard so the edges will be centered on the joists. Starting on a wall away from the door, trowel a section of thinset, lay the board, and fasten with screws. Continue the process, working toward the doorway.

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Installing Backerboard: Step 3

Starting again at a wall away from the door, tape each backerboard joint with 2-inch gummed fiberglass mesh tape. Use 4-inch tape at the corners if the backerboard goes up the wall. Trowel a thin coat of thinset over the tape, feathering for smooth edges.

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Marking layout lines: Step 1

Use the dimensional drawing to guide the placement of layout lines. From the midpoint of the walls or at a distance equal to several tiles and grout joints, mark the location of the lines where a grout joint will fall. Dry-lay tiles and spacers in both directions to locate the line precisely. Anchor one end of the chalkline or have a helper hold it and snap the lines. Adjust the first pair so they are perpendicular and snap lines in layout grids of a manageable size.

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Layout Lines: How to Lay Out Different Room Configurations

A room's configuration also dictates your approach to layout lines and grids. For small square or rectangular rooms, the number of lines will be minimal and you probably won't need a line at the edges to mark the location of cut tiles. In a large room with large handmade pavers (above left), add lines marking the location of the edge tiles and snap 3-foot grids to help keep tiles straight. In an L-shape room, position the lines along the longest walls so they fall in both sections. In all cases, snap the first pair of reference lines where a grout line will fall.

Marking Layout Lines: Step 2

If you have designed a border or accent pattern on your dimensional drawing, snap layout lines where the field tile ends and the border begins. Mark lines within the pattern where the tile changes shape or size. If the design is especially complicated, dry-lay the tiles on a piece of heavy cardboard, trace and cut out the pattern, and use the cardboard as a stencil to lightly spray-paint the pattern on the floor. (Tape the stencil down to avoid smudges when painting.)

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Laying the Tiles: Step 1

Mix enough thinset for the number of layout grids you will set at one time. Dump mortar in the first grid, spread it to the lines, and comb it. Lay the first tile in a corner of the grid, twisting it slightly as you embed it. Continue laying tile, inserting spacers as you go. Check each grid with a straightedge to make sure the joints are properly aligned. Clean excess thinset from the joints and surface. Cut tile for the edges and around obstructions and set it.

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Cut Tile: Working Around Pipes and Flanges

Cutting tile to accommodate pipes and flanges is easier after the field tile has been laid and you can make more precise cuts.

Set the tile to be cut on the field tile, with the cut edge against the pipe or flange. Make an allowance for the size of the grout joint. You can mark the width of the cut by eye or hold a small square against the pipe. Mark the dimensions of the cut with a felt-tip pen or china marker. Then mark the tile slightly wider than these lines, so the cut will allow for any expansion of the pipe.

If the arc of the cut is shallow, you can nibble it out with tile nippers. If not, use a wet saw to make relief cuts from the edge to the arc. Remove the relief cuts with tile nippers and snap out the remaining material to the arc. Remove just a little material at a time. Trying to nip out too much may crack the tile.

Laying the Tiles: Step 2

When the mortar has cured (usually overnight), mix enough grout to cover a section and apply it with a grout float. Let the grout set up until a damp sponge won't pull it from the joint, then scrape the excess off the tile surface with the float. Damp-sponge the residue from the surface, smoothing out the joints. Damp-sponge again. Let the surface dry. Wash the haze from the surface with a rag. Grout the next section. Caulk the perimeter joint.

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