Laying tiles

Are you thinking of laying tiles in your house?

It doesn’t matter if you want to do just your kitchen or your entire home, it is quite possible that you will do it yourself. Some of the best things about a ceramic tile floor are its durability, longevity, and ease of maintenance. It is also one of the most waterproof floor coverings, which means it is less prone to mold problems.

Assuming you’ve chosen and purchased your materials, the first thing to do is prepare the underlayment for your tile. Remove any floor covering that may already be there. Scrape and then sweep to clean the floor. If your subfloor is particularly stubborn, consider using a backer board.

Now you want to decide how you want your tiles to be arranged. Do you want the lines between them to be diagonal or square with the walls? Do you want to have tiles of equal cut on each side, or just fill one side?

Use a notched trowel and adhesive mortar to glue the ceramic tile to the floor. Do not spread more thin layer than you can comfortably reach from the knees. Start in the middle and work your way out.

Let the tile dry for a day. Then it is time to apply grout. Push the grout between the tiles with a rubber float, continuing to wipe off excess grout with a sponge. Then let the grout dry for another day before walking around or moving furniture on the new floor.

So laying tiles is not that difficult. Hard work? Yes. But it is a simple process that anyone can access.