A Primer : How to Install Ceramic Floor Tiles:
A beautifully-finished ceramic floor tile is elegant, easily maintained, and will last many years if installed carefully and correctly. Many colours, exotic finishes, and alternative sizes of ceramic tiles are now available. Tile sizes can be mixed if desired to create a custom design, and complementary colours can be chosen to complete a unique look. Ceramic floor tile is easily installed as a excellent do-it-yourself project a homeowner can be proud of for a lifetime.
A logical first step must be to obtain the tile . Tile type, size, thickness, colour, and any floor design must be decided in advance, as special order or tile selection may not be in stock, or take months to obtain. To complete a floor tile installation a floor plan sketch is a good idea. Draw the plan on squared paper to help simplify the design. Take extra care if you are planning a diagonal or unique, complicated layout.
Verify your requirements, place the tile order and have all materials on location before any work is started.
Assemble all supplies, materials and equipment needed :
A tape measure, pencil, and carpenter's square
Hammer and carpenter's saw
A tile cutter or ceramic wet saw (rent from your building center) (optional: a Glass cutter)
4" Grinder with diamond or ceramic cutting wheel (optional)
Carbide drill bits and drill (if required)
Tile nippers (for nipping off bits of tile where fit is unique, or cuts are defective )
Carpenter's chalk line and chalk
Rubber mallet
Pliers
Carpenter's level, preferably 4' in length.
Ceramic tiles. *Verify the number of tiles needed.
Tile spacers.( Used to set the tiles uniformly apart) Plastic spacers are available in several sizes
Ceramic tile adhesive , mastic, or "thin set", a type of mortar cement.
Notched trowels for the application of adhesive or thin set .
Grout: Usually coloured, and applied to fill the spaces between the tiles, grout is a dry, coloured cement powder that is mixed with water. Use a "sanded" grit for joints over 1/8" or non-sanded for smaller spacing.
A grout float
plastic scraper 6" wide
A putty knife
Dense sponges
Plastic pail and cleaning rags
Subfloor plywood, and 1/4" plywood underlayment if required
Anodized screws, ring-necked screws, or fasteners, as required
*NOTE: Do obtain and wear safety glasses, gloves and knee pads as necessary. Observe all safety protocol when operating power equipment. Wear a dust mask and safety glasses when mixing dry materials or employing any method for cutting tile.
Carefully determine how much tile is required by measuring the room. ( *Examples of measurement and calculations are included in the instructions for the first-time installer with no experience )
Measure the length and width of the floor, and determine the total area of the surface to be covered . (* For example, a room 12 feet long, by 10 feet wide would be 10x12 = 120 square feet, or work out to 120 - 12"x12" standard tiles. (* plus an allowance for breakage and cutting)
To mathematically determine the number of tiles required for custom, rectangular, smaller or larger tiles , convert the total area of the room to square inches and divide by the number of square inches represented by one tile, as for standard tiles.
If the room is odd-sized, do convert the measurements to inches to calculate the surface area.
(* For example, a room 12'-8" in length and 10'-3" in width would be 152" long x 123" in width. The total surface area would be 152 x 123 = 18, 696 square inches. Divided by 144 to obtain the number of square feet ( 129.83) square feet, the finished surface would require 130 individual 12"x12" tiles.)
* Important Note: Always allow extra tiles for cutting or breakage. This is particularly important if planning to install custom-ordered, end-of-production or exotic tiles. Ceramic tile is brittle and easily broken, even by the most skilled installer. If cutting is required to achieve a complicated layout, including odd measurements, angles, or other problems, determine carefully how many extra tiles may be required to achieve that pattern. If the room is not square, additional tiles may be required..
Preparation of the Floor Surface
Several steps must be taken to prepare the floor surface prior to installing ceramic tile. The floor must be in good condition, clean, rigid and straight.
1. Remove all impediments, baseboards and the old floor treatment. Do so carefully, removing all staples, carpet strips, raised nails and old, dried adhesive. Scrape the floor carefully to ensure the removal of all lumps and remove raised nails.
2. Inspect the floor for sagging, decayed, or damaged areas. If nails are loose, remove them. Replace with ring-necked flooring nails or anodized rust-proof screws. Remove loose slivers or loose layers of plywood, replace or fill as necessary, and verify the surface is straight, clean, and solid.
3. If the surface is springy and in poor condition, or if old, lumpy adhesive is too difficult to remove, remove and replace the plywood. Install 1/4" sub-floor plywood for a new surface, installing the plywood with anodized or rust-proof screws . The floor should be solid and not flex when stepped upon. Finally, vacuum or sweep away dust and trash carefully.
Alternative and Optional Products You can Install Prior to Installing the Tile:
Alternative and optional products may be installed under ceramic tile, for example Ditra, a specially-designed plastic waffle layer that acts as a decoupling, vapour pressure equalization, and waterproofing membrane. Installed directly upon the wooden floor using thin set cement, a decoupling product helps minimize future cracking from floor flexing or expansion forces and also prevents water damage. Thin-layered heating products such as NuHeat are with thermostat systems are also available for installation under tile. An under-tile heating system keep ceramic floors warm and more comfortable.
How To Cut Tile:
Some porcelain tiles may be cut with a glass-cutter, scoring once and snapping it cleanly away from the scoring mark. Tiles can also be cut using a ceramic cutter, or alternatively a "wet saw", which typically uses a diamond-dust coated metal blade or a special ceramic cutting blade. The generic tile cutter, usually rented, is the simplest solution.
Use a 4" circular diamond blade mounted on a small 4" hand grinder for cutting curves or notches. Use carbide drill bits where holes are required. A large hole may be cut by drilling a series of small holes along the circumference of the marked hole using carbide drill bits, then laying the tile on a hard surface, and tapping smartly inside the line of perforations. A tile nipper can be used to correct, shape, or reduce tile as required.
Laying out the tile for your Project:
4. Divide the room in half both ways and snap a chalk line in both directions. At doorways, dry fit tile back from the centre line and check to ensure a row of complete tiles will be visible at the center of the entrance to the room for optimal appearance. Adjust if necessary by moving the line. Verify the chalk lines intersect at right angles. If they do not, the room is not square and adjustments must be made.
5. Dry fit one row of tiles starting at the intersection of the center lines, allowing for spaces between the tiles. Use spacers chosen. Observe any pattern you wish to develop at this time, and be prepared to adjust individual tile choices as desired. (*To simplify pattern setting, draw a plan clearly identifying where any variation in size, colour or alternative tile is to occur.)
6. At the wall, the last tile may have to be cut. Install a straight temporary edger or " board stop" on the floor at the wall side of the last full tile using screws. *NOTE: ensure the stop is secure and parallel to the wall. Mark the position of the last tile clearly.
For a small room, you can use that point as the starting point to lay tiles in both directions.
* Note: Move the centre chalk lines as required to ensure the last tiles at the walls are equal width if possible, and avoid installing extremely narrow *strips which are subject to breakage.
(* For example: if there is only a 1" strip left on both sides of the room, you may prefer to simply move the centre line over. The second side would now require a 2" strip which is not ideal, but by placing the 2" strip on the side of the room closest to the main room entrance, it will be the least noticeable. Also remember to allow for a minimum 3/8" space along the walls to allow for expansion.)
7. Install and adjust chalk lines if necessary and verify your final layout. Numbering tiles on a paper plan can help ensure a pattern is correct . Be sure to line up any existing pattern joints on adjacent, permanent flooring if possible for optimal appearance.
Installing and Setting the Tile:
8. Mix Thin-set uniformly as per instructions. Using a 3/8 " or 1/4" notched trowel, spread the adhesive uniformly over an area about 2' square, starting at the centre line at the temporary stops installed close to the wall. Work in both directions from the stop, or in a large room, divide the room and work in one direction from the centre line. Spread adhesive wider than the tile. Press and wiggle the tile firmly into the adhesive or thin-set, and tap gently as necessary with the rubber mallet to ensure it is seated and level. Install adjacent tiles, remembering to install necessary plastic spacers.
9. With three or more tiles in place, and using a long 2x4 or level, tap the tiles gently with the rubber mallet to ensure they are uniformly bedded in the adhesive and level. Place a straight-edge along the edge of the tiles to ensure they are aligned perfectly and tap over carefully if necessary.
*Hints: Ensure there are no lumps under the tiles, as unstable seating or stress points and breakage of the tiles can occur. Work cleanly and carefully. Add minimal amounts of water to Thin-set if required. If doing the room in two or more sections, do clean away adhesive or thin set at the inactive edge of the initially- installed area while wet, to avoid having to chip it away later to add the second area.)
10. To continue, spread adhesive, always overlapping any wet cement, to ensure uniform and wet coverage is achieved. Install tiles and repeat. Score and cut tile edging to fit as you progress, or do cut strips and edging the following day. Clean excessive adhesive from the floor surface carefully to accommodate later placement of narrow pieces or edging.
11. Repeat the process until the room is completed. Work carefully and methodically to ensure you do not have to walk on tiles un-set, which could shift them out of position.
12. To accommodate adjacent but alternative types of surfaces such as hardwood , allow a uniform and equivalent space between the ceramic and the adjacent flooring using spacers. The space will be filled later.
13. Allow the installation to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
14. In preparation to grout the surface, carefully remove all of the plastic spacers from between the tiles. Do not pry against the tiles as it may dislodge them. If tile is thick and spacers are deep and cannot be removed, grout over them.
15. Mix grouting compound as per instructions, to the consistency of very thick cream.
16. Using the grout float or plastic trowel or scraper to avoid scratching the tile, force grout firmly into the spaces between the tiles. Force the grout in and finish it with a rounded wooden tool if desired, or scrape it off flush with the tile surface, depending upon the appearance you desire. Ensure the grout surface is perfect with no air gaps or bubbles remaining, and work as cleanly as possible.
17. After the grout has set firmly, clean up the tile surface with water and sponge. Wipe off all excess grout and clean up as you go to make it easier to clean up. Avoid denting, marking, or gouging any grout of the spaces. Change water often and clean the floor several times if necessary to get rid of all grout from the surface of the tiles. Wet mop the ceramic surface several times over two or three days to ensure the grout is optimally hardened and cured.
18. To fill the gap between a ceramic tile floor and an adjacent flooring surface such as hardwood, you can use grout alone, but to avoid cracking later due to different rates of expansion, for cracks smaller than 1/8", use a colourless silicone sealant. Fill the space uniformly and sprinkle powdered grout on the wet silicon surface, pressing it into the silicone. Allow the silicone to set. Brush off the excess grout powder. Use grout for larger spaces, and seal any drying cracks along the hardwood with silicone that develop later, using the same colouring procedure.
19. Seal all grout joints carefully with grout sealer as per product instructions.
20. Allow the sealer to dry 24 hours before the room is put back into service.
Reinstall the baseboards, move the family back in and admire your handiwork. Congratulations, now you know how to install a ceramic tile floor ! How about the next room?