There is nothing quite like a tile floor. They look nice, they're pretty easy to maintain and they are reasonably easy to install. You need only a basic amount of do it yourself experience to lay your own floor and it can give you a great feeling of accomplishment when you're done. You will need a few tools and materials to get started. They include:
- caulk
- floor cement
- lathe
- scraper
- the tiles
- a wetsaw or tile snipper
- some gloves
After the essentials above you should also consider a couple of other items. Knee pads since you will be spending a lot of time kneeling on the floor and since tiles are hard, this can get pretty painful after awhile. DIY is fun and rewarding, but professional design can improve the outcome of your DIY project, for professional help with floor plans, try Donald Gardner
You'll need to decide whether to rip out your old floor or put your tile above it. We recommend completely removing the old floor for the best results. If it is an old tile floor, you'll need to spend some time chipping and chiseling away. For carpet, pull up the carpet and pad, to reveal the subfloor underneath. Sweep up any debris and sand down any rough spots. For floors with linoleum or peel and paste tiles, you'll need to rip all of these up. It's actually more work to remove the old flooring than it is to lay the new one, so don't worry, it gets easier from here.
Once you've got the floor bare and prepared (ie: sanded, scrubbed and swept) you're ready to start. Remember, you don't want to cement yourself in a corner. Don't get too carried away - just take it one row at a time. By taking your time and laying each tile carefully, you'll be a lot happier with the results. Measure off each row and determine how many tiles you'll be using. This will change since there will be some space in between, so don't cut any tiles to fit just yet.
Mix your cement and spread it on the subfloor for the first row. Take your first tile and carefully place it into the cement. Press down firmly and move to the next tile. You should leave a little room in between each, but no more than ½ an inch. Put this tile down and continue until you reach the end of row. Ideally, it will be a perfect fit, but this rarely happens. Measure off the space and then either cut the tile in the wetsaw or use your snipper. Place this piece in and move to the next row.
Keep going until you have the whole room finished. If you're going around curves or fixtures, you may want to get a template to make cutting the tile easier. Plan this out ahead of time so you don't end up with any surprises. The amount of time it takes for the tile to set will depend on your cement. Make sure that you follow the instructions and leave the floor alone to cure - no activity on it until it is done! Caulk any sides that may come into contact with water, and if necessary, caulk any gaps in between the tiles.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-11-12 02:50:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
What to Do in Household Emergencies pt 2 of 2 As we mentioned before, there are a number of household emergencies that are unfortunately common occurrences. Knowing what can be done to address them will be able to save money, manpower and even lives, believe it or not. In the last part of this series we touched on electricity, electric...... -
DIY Home Flooring Repairs Methods by which floors are repaired depend entirely on the type of floor you currently have. Factors like the type of floor, and damage severity are important points to consider for repairs. Repairing Ceramic Tile Nothing ruins a kitchen or bathroom floor like a chipped or cracked tile. Luckily, ceramic...... -
Repairing the Tiles in Your Bathroom In this day and age, people seem to spend an ample amount of money and time working on the decoration of their bathrooms and bathroom tiles and fixtures. They spend a lot of time searching the internet so that they can find the appropriate tiles, enhancing the beauty of their...... -
Kitchen Tile Ideas When you're ready to design your kitchen, you have many different kitchen tile ideas to choose from. We all our want our kitchens to be a beautiful and stylish place to gather, prepare food and eat. But despite all the snappy kitchen tile ideas found in home improvement books, it's...... -
Review of The Complete Guide to Ceramic and Stone Tile Black and Decker's The Complete Guide to Ceramic and Stone Tile is a must read for anyone that is considering renovating their home. This is a great guide that makes it very simple to understand how to do even complex tasks and the project section alone makes it worth......
Related Websites - Jaydens Constructive Advice To Follow If Installing Over Sub-Floors Some things you want to consider and do when adding over sub-floors include the following. make sure the sheetrock and tile are totally dry before laying the flooring. At that point, only the final woodwork and trim will need to be completed. The interior of the building should be dry......
- Four Tips to Saving Money on Home Improvements Home improvement projects can bring many hours of enjoyment for homeowners everywhere. In addition, a well-executed home improvement project can also add to the value of your home. It’s no wonder that so many people are ready to try their hands at a do-it-yourself project. While home improvement projects often......
-
Reading Romance in Public – Or How to Hide ‘Em in Style Whether you’re new to reading romances, tired of carrying the cheesy covers, embarrassed by the newer ones that look like the couple is doing it, or just want something to protect the book, I’ve got the solution for you! What you want and need is a book cover. Book covers...... - Efficiency of Hydronic Heating Hydronic heating is a technology that uses hot water or steam to move heat into a area. This is different from forced air heat in that heat is contained inside a pipe until it reaches the place to be heated. Because hydronic heat can be delivered to a precise place,......
-
Visit Turkey: The UN-Official Guide Istanbul is the city on which civilizations and empires have been built. It straddles Europe and Asia and its location on the Bosporus Strait has made it one of the most coveted cities in world history. The Bosporus Strait, after all, links the Black Sea to the Sea of......
- Wood Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement
- Carpet & Floor Sweepers Housekeeping & Organization Home Store
- Marble Tile Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement
- Laminate Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement
- Ceramic Tile Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement
Categories:
Flooring, Handy Man, Tile
Tags:
0 comments ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment