Step by step on how to lay ceramic tile?
Question:i have never done this before
Answers:
without a lot more info there is no perfect way to answer your question... but lets assume a few things... you are laying the tile on your floor not a wall. you have a wood sub-floor not a concrete one. and the floor is sound (meaning there is no give or rot in it).
1) Rip up the existing layer of vinyl and underlayment to get to your sub-floor.
2) Set a piece of concrete backer-board with tile next to the jamb of your door and cut out your jamb to allow tile to fit under it.
3) Mortar and set backer-board with screws per manufacture recommendations **note** you don't have to mortar under the backer-board I just find it eliminates any squeaks later as well as helping keep the floor extra rigid.
4) Draw your center and guide lines (I would draw them from the center of the door out to the edges, not the center of the room)
5) Mortar and set tile off guide lines using appropriate spacers.
6) Grout and clean (take the extra time to clean two or three times...what you clean now will be an easier #7... each pass over the tile clean out the sponge)
7) Clean off any leftover residue
8) 20/30 days after install I would acid wash the floor then seal it.
9) Enjoy how much money you saved!
Also between 3,5 and six I would wait 24 hour each... do number seven as quickly as possible. Good luck
Although I can't answer your question for you, I can point you in the right direction.
You can just do a search of do-it-yourself forums, and most of these will have everything you want to know about your particular trade.
The site I personally like is contractortalk. Here is a link to their forum.
www.contractortalk.com
If you scroll down the page, there is a separate forum that has everything to do with flooring. If you post a question, Im most certain that someone will be able to help you out.
Good luck!
On the floor or a wall? When you go to buy the tiles, ask a salesperson which adhesive to use. There should be directions on the thinset mortar bag or tub. It tells you which trowel to buy and how to lay the tiles. It is very easy to have them come out looking good. The most important thing is starting with a close-to-level surface and draw the guide lines on the floor. If you are laying them on a floor that has a little give to it, don't waste your money. They will end up cracking and eventually crumbling. Last, don't forget spacers and use good quality grout (more directions on the box) and sealer. Good luck!
floor or walls?
Concrete or wood subfloor
since you have never done this then I would dry set the tile first, meaning lay out all of your tile using the size of spacers you would like your grout lines to be.and make all of your cuts so that once you start you can finish setting all of the tile without having to make a bunch of mud up(mortar) because depending on the weather it can start to harden. You will need to cut door jambs to make sure the tile fits underneath, it will give you a cleaner look.
If the floor is concrete and you have vinyl down you can leave it down because if the concrete ever cracks in the future the vinyl will help in preventing the tile from popping loose and the grout cracking.
if you have a wood floor then you will have to buy hardipanels at home depot to screw into the wood floor prior to setting the tile.
when you are ready to set the tile mix up your batch of mud(mortar) it will have a cake mix texture, spread out only what you will be laying into, firmly press the tile into the mortar don't press to hard or you will press all of the mortar out from under the tile, continue on until you are done, as you get further along in setting the tile you can tap on them and check to see if they are hollow sounding if they are then you can either reset it out push down on it and move it a little and it might grab and get rid of the hollow sound, or you can wait until the tile has completely set up and pop that tile out and reset it. after the tile has competely set up(24 hours or more depending on temperature) remove all of the spacers, make sure that you don't have any mortar that sticks up higher than the tile, if you do you can use a grout saw to sand it away so that it doesn't show through the grout, vacuum the joints and grout the tile cleaning off the tile as you go.(grout sets up in about 12 hours) When buying your grout do not go with a POLYBLEND, they have a tendency to leave a white flim on the top that is hard to get rid of, it happens when there is to much moisture.
If you are doing a small area like an entry or bathroom and you feel confident they you can buy a quickset mortar that will set up in as little as four hours so that you can set, clean and grout in 1 day. Do not buy the tile adhesive that they sell premixed in a bucket, it takes days to set up and I mean days like 3 or 4 . Hope this helps
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