Whats the easiest way to lay tiles if I've never done it before
l need the easiest way to lay tiles, l have already pulled up the previous
floor and now i'm ready to tile. l have 4 x 4 ceramic tiles that need to
be laid down in my master bath. the room is small around 4 ft by 5ft.l
have already removed the toliet and sink, and l have all the needed
supplies, float, grout spacers, notched trowel, thin set, tile nippers,
etc. what is the easiest way to lay the tiles, like where do l start, how
much mortar do l use, etc. anything would be helpful, since this is my first time!
Get the video at home depot or a book
But I would reconsider the 4 x 4 for the floor
really outdated go with a 12 x 12
laying tile is a fairly simple task. The best thing for you to
do is go to your local Home Depot store and get a VHS or DVD on how to lay
tile. The cost is about $5 and it will not only tell you exactly how to,
but it will show you exactly how to lay tile.
Preperation is the key.
Did you include a tile cutter?
If you rent one, take a sample of tile with you, & have them show you how
to cut it. It is easy, but for a first timer, it could be tricky.
The mastic, & type of tile will tell you what size notched trowel you will
need to spread the thinset. Also, be sure to mix only enough thinset to use in the allotted time, as it sets up rather quickly. Lay out the floor to the exact location each row of tile will go. It is a small floor, & since this is ur first, you wish to lay out every other row in each direction, snapping a chalkline so you have a guide. Allow for grout joints. The mastic will cover the line, but you can lay the mastic right up to the line, & allow you to lay the tile in a straight line..the tile stores also sell small plastic spacers to allow for proper spacing. I prefer not to use them, but some installers do use them. You can start at a row furthest from the door. Starting in the middle eliminates too much access to the far corners. When you get a row adjacent to a wall, you can measure for all the cuts & cut the tiles in groups..that is, cut 4 or 5 at a time, to save time. when you get to the small pieces, you may wish to apply the thinset to the tile, not the floor to keep things neat. Keep a bucket of fresh water handy. Do not leave any thinset on the face of the tile, cuz it will be difficult to remove after it hardens.keep it clean. keep ur hands clean. 'thinset does not readily wash off the hands. Do not let the thinset squeeze to the top of the tile, as that will block the grout. the next day you can grout, again only mix a small amount to keep it fresh. You can always mix more, but you cant save what sets up before it is used. Apply the grout heavily, & work it into all the crevices..as you run the rubber trowel over the tile, you should see the grout squeezing out, then you know the joint is filled. Again, clean up with a fresh clean sponge.wiping off all the access grout. do not dig into the joints while cleaning.this is perhaps the hardest to do as it is the most laborious part of the job. Clean the sponge repeatedly, until the tile is fairly clean..it may be cloudy, but leave no grit on the surface. When dry, the cloudy part will wash off easily. Be patient, avoid sloppyness, & take time determining ur layout of tile...avoid narrow (less than 2 inches) cuts. as they are hard to do,,,,especially with a rental cutter.sometimes. When you layout the floor, you may wish to lay a 1/4 of the floor as a dry fit, to see all is what you expect. You can also do some of the cutting along one or two borders, this will save a lot of time, rather than place a tile, cut, place a tile, cut..this can lead to errors..its up to you, if many precut tiles are all different sizes, label them with tape on the top & remove the tape after placement. As you progress, check ur rows, & if a tile seems a bit out of square, you can carefullly fudge it into place..check you did not push any thinset up to the surface, if you did, remove or run ur finger through the joint removing the excess material.
make sure that the sub floor is not springy.if it is you may
want to lay down half inch plywood first,if theres any play in the floor
ur tile job will not last you will have either broken tile or cracked
grout lines.to lay down the tile you should start by snapping a chalk line
down the center of the floor just take a measuring tape & take a meas of
the length if its a 4by5 you should snapp a line at 24 & 36 & ahalf /first
do a dry fit lay out the tile from the 4 corners of ur 90 degree check to make sure that the end cuts are about the same.if not just adjust the center line.mix up the thin set to a paste like mix.start with only enough you can use in 20 min. if you really want to make it watertight lay down a rubber membrain so no water can ever leek through.///any problems you can email me me at hndyman2verizon.net/// good luck
i have put down a few tik]le floor in my house it very easy
.take your timri simply started at the fartest wall and worked my way out
.put enough mortar with a notched trowel then push the tile down to make
it even with the one next to it put ur pacers in as u go along,double
check ur height every so often and squish as needed .i invested in a
electric tile cutter from home depot about 80.00 buck ,well worth it
have faith and gl
good luck!! when i was 11 or 12 we laid our tile in the living
room, i heard you are supposed to start in the middle & work ur way to the
sides so it will be even, all we did was put a layer of mortar on the floor
spread it thin about 1/4-1/2 in thick lay the tile put 2 spacers between
each tile & when its set (the bag should tell you how long it takes to
set) take the spacers out & spread the thin set, then clean the tiles
voila! hope this helps this is what we did & it still looks good, it wasn't easy but hey nothing in life is easy right! good luck & God Bless
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