HOW TO TILE

"Anytime I approach a new job, I make sure the area about to be tiled is stiff enough so it won't flex when someone walks on it and that it can stand up to wet-and-dry cycles," says Ferrante. Installed the right way, using some basic tools and techniques, a tile floor should last forever, come hell or high water.

For an elegant look that is durable, rugged, and even waterproof, many people turn to ceramic tile. Ceramic Tile can be put to many uses, patios, kitchen floors, bathroom floors and walls, even more. Learning to tile is not the formidable task some would lead you to believe. At this website we try take some of the mystery out of ceramic floor tiling, to give you the confidence and instruction to create your own beautiful home improvement project.

Preparing Your Floor for Ceramic Tile

The subfloor must be sound enough to support tile. Tile can be heavy and must be installed on a flat, rigid surface. Subfloors under tile should be no less than 1" thick. A flexing floor will cause cracks to show up in the grout later and may cause tiles to break.

If your floor "bounces" when you walk over it, try adding rigidity by renailing the subfloor to the floor joists. Add bridging between the joists, and/or shim the subfloor with wooden shims driven between the top edge of the joists and the bottom face of the subfloor.

Uneven or damaged floors are best covered first with an underlayment as the tile base. Cement-fiber board is often recommended by tile manufacturers for use on floors in a moist environment.

If the floor is concrete, repair any holes or cracks. You can sometimes lower high spots using a coarse-grit abrasive on a belt or disc sander. Any minor bumps can be removed with a cold chisel driven by a baby sledge hammer. (Be sure to wear safety glasses.)

Cutting The Border Tiles

Choose a vapor barrier to install and install according to manufacturer directions

Tile the top half of the bathroom

Start laying your tile one row at a time, you can start on the middle and spread out on both side because you still may end up cutting the tiles on all corners.

After laying your first row right on the chalk line, on the end of each row use your measuring tape and measure from the tile edge to the wall, mark it on the tile and cut it with your tile cutter.

Finish laying all the tiles then you let the glue set 24 hour and its time to grout the grout lines.

Grouting is the second to last step in the process of do-it-yourself tiling. It is also the messiest part of the job. Grout is the material that is visible between tiles on a floor, backsplash, in a bathroom, etc. It fills the space between the tiles and supports them-almost like glue.

If you are reading this and trying to decide whether to make floor tiling a do-it-yourself job or instead seek the help of a flooring expert, I'd suggest checking out the local flooring pros in your area and getting some free price quotes.

As for painting the grout, that is a personal decision. There is no doubt it will make the job easier if you paint the grout the same color as the tile. If you do want a contrast in color, then you will be painstakingly taping off the grout lines with the special acrylic masking tape that will not stick to fresh paint.