Tiling a Small Entryway

Intro

A small entryway is a good beginning tile project because it requires a straightforward application of basic skills. An entryway opens to many rooms; lay it out so it looks best from its most viewed perspective.

Checklist

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

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

Skills
Troweling, snapping with chalk line, setting tile, grouting with float

Prep
Repair structural defects

Materials
Bucket, thinset mortar, isolation membrane, tile, spacers, caulk, grout, rags, sponge, water, threshold and fasteners, backerboard and tape (for wood floor), foam backer rod

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Tiling an Entry With Wood Subflooring

Shore up the joists and the subfloor, if necessary, and prepare the surface with the same methods used for a slab. Mix enough thinset to allow you to use it within its working time (the time it takes to "skin" over) and trowel it on the floor, smoothing first with the straight edge of a trowel and combing it with the notched edge.

Screw down cement backerboard with the edges centered on the joists, offsetting subsequent joints and spacing the edges 1/8 inch apart. Drive screws into the backerboard on the edges and within the field.

Tape the backerboard joints with 2-inch pregummed tape and spread a thin coat of thinset over the tape.

Step 1

Examine the entryway slab for high spots, depressions, cracks, and other defects. Work in sections with a 4-foot level and mark the defects. Fill depressions, level high spots, and roughen slick surfaces.

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Press backer rod into joint, Press backer rod into gap

Don't Forget the Expansion Joint

Tile floors expand and contract with changes in temperature. Expansion joints cushion the expansion of tile against the wall and keep the tile from cracking.

An expansion joint is a gap filled with a compressible material and topped off with caulk. Foam backer rod is available in a variety of thicknesses. Purchase backer rod that fits snugly.

On a slab, insert foam backer rod into any control joints in the field of the slab and also along the perimeter at the wall. Push the backer rod into place with a wide putty knife.

On a wood subfloor, insert the backer rod into the 1/4-inch gap between the cement backerboard and the wall. Finish the joint with caulk colored to match the grout.

Step 2

"Bandage" each crack in the slab with an isolation membrane. Apply the adhesive with a roller, let it cure (follow the manufacturer's directions), and cover the adhesive with the membrane.

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Step 3

Dry-lay tiles to test your layout, keeping small cut tiles to a minimum. Then snap a reference and as many layout lines as the pattern needs. Starting at the first row of field tile near the door, trowel on thinset.

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Step 4

Set field tile first on the layout lines. Insert spacers as you go and check the sections with a straightedge to make certain they're straight. Clean excess mortar from the joints with a utility knife.

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Step 5

When the mortar under the field tiles is dry, cut and set the edge tile. Round the cut edges with a masonry stone to give them a finished appearance. Clean the joints and caulk the joint at the wall.

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Step 6

Let the edge tiles cure before you grout. Force grout into the joint with a grout float, let it set slightly, then scrape the excess off the surface. Clean the grout from the surface, and wipe off the haze with rags.

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Step 7

If the threshold didn't require installation before the tile, install it now. Cut the threshold to fit the doorway, if necessary, and install it with fasteners recommended by the manufacturer.

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