Leanr to tile your own bathroom walls and floor.
Installing tile and grout in a bathroom is the last construction process before you install all the plumbing and lighting fixtures, making the bathroom ready for use. Tile should always go over a properly prepared substrate, including a waterproof membrane in bathrooms, over which you lay a cement backerboard to create an even, flat surface for tiling. Once you or your contractor has finished the substrate, you can tile the bathroom and grout it, starting on the walls first and finishing with the floor.
Instructions
1. Measure the dimensions of the tiles, then use a snap chalk line to snap a grid over the bathroom walls with each grid square the size of a tile.
2. Tack on 1-by-2-inch lumber strips right on the horizontal line representing where the second tiles from the floor will go, using finishing nails and a hammer. This allows the tiles to be laid with a ledge for support and ensures straight lines. You will lay the first row of tiles between the wall and the floor last.
3. Mix thinset mortar using the directions on the mortar package and apply a 1/8-inch-thick layer to the wall, around 4 tiles worth. Comb the thinset mortar with the notched side of the trowel to create furrows in the thinset.
4. Press the first tile in position, slightly twisting it as you put it in place to ensure even contact with the mortar. Space the tile with and apply the other tiles in the same manner. Apply more thinset and continue laying tiles and spacing them with tile spacers.
5. Continue in this manner until your cover the walls. Remove the 1-by-2-inch ledge and lay the first row of tiles and then the only tiles left are those that need cutting to fit. Use tile nippers to cut tiles needing a curved line and tile cutters to cut those only requiring a straight cut. Wear safety goggles while resizing tiles.
6. Spread the thinset onto the backs of the cut tiles and set them into position on the wall one-by-one. Leave the wall overnight to let the thinset mortar dry and then remove the tile spacers before beginning work again.
7. Mix grout per the directions on the grout package. Work in small sections at a time, sweeping the grout into the joints between the tiles with a grout float. As you go, wipe off excess grout from the faces of the tiles with a grout sponge. Do not apply grout to the corners joins of the wall, between the wall and the floor or around tiles cut to fit holes for lighting or plumbing fixtures.
8. Wait half an hour and then go over the tiles once more with a very slightly damp grout sponge to get the last remnants of grout off the tiles. Squeeze caulk into the joints you left without grout. Use a damp index finger to smooth the caulk over and create a seal.
9. Snap a chalk line grid over the floor, where one square equals one tile. Apply the tiles to the floor in the same manner as you did the wall, applying and combing the thinset, twisting the tiles into the mortar, spacing with tiles spacers then grouting and caulking the tiles after leaving them overnight to dry.
10. Wait three days for the grout to cure and apply grout and tile sealer to the walls and floor, following the sealer manufacturer's instructions, recommended coats and drying times.
Tags: thinset mortar, tile spacers, apply grout, around tiles, bathroom walls, between wall, between wall floor