Tiling can be fun!
Tips from your Nuts 'N Bolts Handyman, Jason Beal

aaaaor my second foray into online home improvement, I am going to tackle a big project that can be fun and makes a big difference with how your house looks -- tiling! Tiling a kitchen, entryway or bathroom gives a room a feeling of clean permanence. Tile is easy to clean, very durable and decorative. There are great books on how to tile and tiling designs at your local Home Depot, Lowes or other hardware store. Before you begin I recommend you get one of these books and study it carefully. While tiling is a pretty easy job that can be tackled even by a novice, if you mess up the results are set in concrete -- literally!
aaaaSo for this edition I am going to just walk you through the major steps to tiling and try to include some tips to help you along the way.

The Project - My Mother-In-Law's Master Bath
The Problem - It was carpeted and the toilet flooded (Tip #1 - Carpets & Bathrooms don't mix)
The Solution - Rip up the carpet, let the floor dry and lay down some tile.

My mother-in-law's bathroom before tiling
My mother-in-law's bathroom after tiling

 

Project Outline
1. Design
2. Prepare Floor & Room
3. Lay Backer Board
4. Lay tile
5. Grout tile
6. Replace Fixtures and Caulk

What you'll need
Tile
Mortar (get premixed)
Grout (get premixed & cured)
Backer board
Backer board screws
Concrete scoring tool??
Caulk
Notched trowel
Tile cutter (electric or hand cutter)
Plastic Spacers
Grout float
Sponge

a

  
aaaaStep 1 - Design your floor - Pick a tile or tiles and a design that works for the room - for this project we chose green border tiles and white 12" x 12" center tiles.
aaaaTip #2 - Bring a few different tiles home (4-5 of each type) from the store and lay them on the floor to see how they look. We had chosen one tile and when I laid about 6 tiles on the floor it looked awful! I would even try looking at the floor different times of the day in different light. You can always return the tile - until you've cemented it to your floor.
aaaaStep 2 - Prepare the floor and room - You need a clean working surface and should strip your floor to the wooden subflooring (see right). This entailed cutting the carpet at the doorway and ripping carpet and padding out. For the bathroom we also had to turn off and remove the toilet. Additionally, we had to wait about 24 hours to let the wet subflooring dry.
aaaaStep 3 - Lay Backer Board - Your tile needs a clean surface to adhere to; for our floor that meant concrete backer board. It comes in
3' x 5' sheets that can be scored and cut like dry wall, but it takes a special tool (it would ruin your utility knife).
aaaaApply a layer of mortar on a clean dry surface using the notched trowel. The trowel gives you grooves and leaves your mortar a
a consistent depth. Spread to the size of one sheet of backer board then lay the sheet.
aaaaAfter laying the board, tap the screws in with a hammer and screw them down - do this after each board so that your board is firmly in the mortar as the mortar dries (see left). The screws should be every 8-12 inches (there are marks on the board).
aaaaAfter all the boards are down (you may need to make small pieces to fit awkward spaces) use fiber glass tape (typical for drywall) to tape the edges and apply mortar to seal the edges. You don't need to sand, just make sure your final surface is not too rough.
aaaaStep 4 - Lay the Tile - Start in your most noticeable area and begin laying your tile. You will have to cut your tiles as you get to the

edges but you want to have whole tiles in the most prominent view. You should probably snap a chalk line to give you a point of reference, to make sure you are laying your tiles in straight rows.
aaaaPut down about 4 square feet of mortar or less using the notched trowel (see right). Then put a thin layer of mortar on the back of the tile and put in place (see below). I usually push on the tile and wiggle it a little to settle it. To check adhesion use the edge of your trowel to try and pry the tile up - if it comes up easily your mortar is too dry or you aren't getting enough mortar. I would put a little more on your tile before placing it. If the tile sticks you are doing well.
 aaaaBetween tiles use the little plastic spacers - for sizing use the chart on the bag, but roughly for a 12" x 12" tile typically use the ¼ inch

spacers and smaller spacers for smaller tiles.
aaaaTip #3 - I also use the spacers to clean the grooves between the tiles so there isn't mortar sticking up.
aaaaTip #4 - Make sure you clean up as you go. The mortar will come off the tile but it will be hard to do later. I set 3 or 4 tiles then use a wet cloth to wipe any mortar on the surface of the tiles or near the edges - be careful not to wiggle the tiles out of place. aaaaWhen you get to places where you can't use whole tiles you will need a tile cutter to make the cuts. See a guide book for how to mark the tiles before cutting and be careful with the electric cutters that you don't cut your fingers and that the blade stays wet and sharp.
aaaaOnce the tile is laid, let the tile cure (meaning let it sit) for about 24

hours or as directed by the packaging (see right).
aaaaStep 5 - Grout Tile - First remove all the spacers and make sure that you don't have any mortar on the tiles where it shouldn't be - clean your surface thoroughly! Now take your grout float and apply the grout. You want to get the grout into the edges so push down hard on the edge of the float and drag it at a 45-degree angle to the floor. You should sweep the float in a circular motion, always keeping the edge at an angle to the grooves. DON'T drag the edge straight through the gap between the tiles - this will remove the grout. Once the grout is in the grooves, use your sponge to clean off the tiles. Wipe the tile, rinse the sponge and wipe again till the tiles are mostly clean (there will be a slight residue). Again, use a circular motion as wiping with the grooves will remove the grout.
After about 30 minutes use a clean sponge and wipe the film away. Let the grout cure for 24 hours or as directed on the box.
aaaaTip #5- DO NOT wait to clean up for when the grout is dry. The grout is made to stick to even the shiny tile surfaces. The first time I tiled I spent about 3 hours scrubbing the tiles, which even removed a bit of the finish.
aaaaStep 6 - Replace Fixtures and Caulk - After letting the grout cure, go back and rinse everything one last time with a clean sponge. If you didn't get the "cured" grout you should add a sealant to the grout - it protects it from stains that can get into the porous grout. I recommend just getting the presealed grout so you can skip this step. For our bathroom we then had to replace the toilet. Always be sure if you move a toilet that you get a new wax ring to ensure you have a tight seal.

aaaaAfter fixtures are in place and the surface has dried again, use the appropriate latex caulk - we used a bright white tub and tile caulk - and seal any edges between the tile and another surface like wood or porcelain. I personally like the bright white because it gives a nice sharp line, but others like the clear which protects without being noticeable.
aaaaAnd that's it - you have a beautiful new floor! Again, I recommend getting a 1-2-3 book to show you step-by-step instructions with pictures, but tiling is a very manageable project that can make a world of difference in your home - just ask my mother-in-law!

 

Acknowledgements - For this tiling project I had a lot of assistance from others, including my wife and an old roommate, but most especially I would like to thank my brother-in-law Marshall who did the tile cutting and the finishing work.