whats the easiest way to tile?

Question

whats the easist way to start tiling a floor or wall without calling the experts in? its the only thing ive not attempted myself but i want to give it a go

Answer 1

How To Tile
from Do It Yourself
One classic home-improvement project is to tile a room. Learn how to tile floor no matter what size tile or room you’re working with.

“Thinking outside the box” might be a popular mantra, but when it came time to redo their home’s only bathroom, Cathy and Mark Kramer started thinking inside the box—the local “big box” store. Instead of custom ordering, relying on professionals, or searching the city for remodeling supplies, they found most of what they needed at the home center.

A new pedestal sink and toilet in crisp white replaced the dated baby blue versions and an old boxy vanity. The Kramers also added a tile tub surround and floor, installed a shower, and replaced the window with a panel of glass block.

To regain the storage they lost when the vanity was removed, Cathy and Mark installed a recessed, mirrored medicine cabinet that fits snugly between two wall studs. Old flowered wallpaper got the boot in favor of cottagey beaded paneling, which is painted pale taupe. The walls above the wainscoting are painted light blue with a washed effect.


Tile a Floor
Careful measurement and preparation are key when tiling a floor.

First, remove old flooring down to the subfloor. Attach cement board to the subfloor with screws. Measure the width of the floor, halve that number, and pencil a line at that point across the floor. Repeat the process to find the halfway point of the room’s length, and pencil a mark across the floor from wall to wall. (You’ll end up with two lines that intersect at the room’s center).

Before applying adhesive, place the corner of the first tile at the point where the penciled lines intersect, and center other tiles along one line, leaving about 1/4-inch between them for grout lines. Arrange the tiles so the least amount of cutting is necessary. Mark their location with a pencil, then remove them. Apply adhesive, such as mastic, to a 3-foot section with the notched trowel recommended by the adhesive manufacturer (photo 1).


Following the pencil marks, lay the first tile in the adhesive. Use temporary spacers for even grout lines. Continue laying tile (photo 2), until you get to the walls; cut remaining tiles with a scorer to fit. If you need to tile around pipes or other items, use tile nippers or consider renting a wet saw to make cutting and shaping tiles easier. Let adhesive dry as recommended by the manufacturer.



Remove the spacers with needle-nose pliers, then apply grout with a float (photo 3). Let set about 15 minutes or for time recommended by the manufacturer. With a damp sponge, wipe grout residue from the faces of the tiles (photo 4). Rinse the sponge frequently and wipe tiles until all residue is removed. Let grout dry as recommended by the manufacturer.

http://www.diy4less.com/home_improvement/howto_tile.html

Ceramic Tile
Floor Underlayment


Because ceramic tile is rigid and somewhat brittle, a strong underlayment is the most important part of the tile installation. There are several options for achieving a sturdy floor underlayment.

To tile over an existing floor, it must be flat, solid, and well bonded to the sub-floor. The floor and subfloor should be at least 1 1/8" thick for good support.

If your existing flooring is cushioned vinyl or linoleum, you can either remove it or cover it with a proper underlayment. You can install tile over tile as long as it's level and in good condition. You may have to roughen the surface of tile if it's too glossy.

If you have more than one layer of flooring, or if it's damaged beyond repair, it must be removed and another underlayment installed.

WARNING: Some older resilient flooring may contain asbestos fibers. Do not try to remove or sand this type of flooring without having a trained asbestos inspector determine if asbestos is present. Resilient flooring with asbestos can be covered safely with plywood, or removed by a professional contractor.


Plywood Subfloor

Plywood may be used as an underlayment for tile floors if it meets certain standards.

Plywood must be installed over an adequate subfloor and be at least 1 1/8" thick when combined with the subfloor.

Interior-grade plywood and particleboard are not considered a strong enough floor underlayment.

Fasten the plywood with drywall screws every six inches on the edges and eight inches in the field. You can also use ring-shank nails. The heads of the screws or nails should be driven in below the surface of the plywood.

Leave a gap along the wall at least 1/2" wide to allow for expansion and contraction. If you install it tightly against the wall, the floor could bellow up in places. Also leave a gap between sheets of plywood about 1/8" wide for this same reason.

Stagger the joints of the plywood from those of the subfloor. Also, line the sheets so the edges can be screwed into the joists, not just the subfloor alone.

TIP: Before installing the plywood, snap chalklines where the joists fall below the subfloor. This will make it easier to line up the plywood and screw directly into the joists.

After the plywood is installed, use a taping knife and your tile setting adhesive to cover the nailheads and fill the seams and cracks. After it dries, sand the adhesive smooth.

In high-moisture areas, such as a bathroom floor, it's a good idea to apply an isolation membrane over a wood underlayment. This is a thin rubber-like material that will protect the tile from the expansion and contraction of the wood subfloor caused by temperature and humidity changes.




Concrete Backerboard

For do-it-yourselfers, the best substitute for a mud bed underlayment is concrete backerboard.

Backerboard has a solid concrete core and is faced on both sides with fiberglass. It can't be damaged by water which makes it ideal for bathroom and kitchen installations.

Cutting backerboard is a lot like cutting drywall, except that backerboard is much harder.

Using a framing square, score your cut line a few times. You can use a regular utility knife for this, but you'll go through a lot of blades. A special carbide-blade cutter works better.

TIP: If you're using a utility knife, shorten the blade to keep it from breaking easily.

Break the board by applying pressure until it snaps apart along the score line. You'll probably have to cut through the fiberglass on the back also.

Backerboard is installed much like a plywood subfloor except that you also need to "set" it on to the subfloor using the same type of thinset adhesive (See Choosing Adhesives) that you use to set tiles.

Use the flat side of a notched trowel to spread the thinset out where the sheet of backerboard will be set. Then use the notched side of the trowel to comb out the adhesive. Secure the sheets with galvanized nails about every 8 inches.

Stagger the joints of the backerboard so they don't line up with one another or fall directly over the joints of the subfloor. Leave about 1/8" space between the sheets of backerboard.

Fill these gaps with tile adhesive using a taping knife. Embed fiberglass joint tape into the adhesive to cover the seams, then cover that with more adhesive. The idea here is to make the joint resemble the material as closely as possible.



Mortar Bed

Professional tile contractors often put down what they call a mortar, or "mud" bed. It consists of a layer of roofing felt, then a wire mesh, then mortar.

A mortar bed is by far the best underlayment for floor tile, but it takes a lot of skill to finish it off level and at just the right thickness. This is the only type of underlayment not recommended for do-it-yourselfers.

If you're having a new floor poured, have it finished with a float that will leave a coarse surface. This is best for a tiling surface. If you already have a smooth-finished floor, rough it up before installing tile.

Check to be sure an existing concrete floor is flat. Move a straightedge over the surface and mark high and low spots. Low spots can be filled in with a leveling compound and high spots can be ground down with a rubbing stone or grinder.

TIP: Small cracks in concrete could be caused by the seasonal movement of the slab. To keep these movements from cracking your tile have an isolation membrane installed over the concrete. This is a thin rubber-like material that will protect the tile from the movements of the floor.

If you plan on having a tile floor in your shower, you will need to have a shower pan installed. A shower pan is a waterproof membrane designed to hold water, not just shed it.

This membrane is secured to the mortar bed of a shower with adhesive. It is creased at the corners and is run up the sides of the shower to form a pan. The center of the membrane is cut out for the drain. Another layer of mortar goes over the membrane and is sloped down to the drain.


http://www.hometime.com/Howto/projects/ctile/tile_4.htm

Answer 2

Any fool can do it but it's one off those things that practise improves .

The main thing is planning , set out the tiles dry and make sure that wherever they stop your not going to end up with a stupid little gap anywhere that is to small for a cut and to big for grout , better a reasonably sized cut at both ends of the room .

Use a straight edge to keep them flat and guide you but use your judgement to keep them in line.

Don't start alongside the wall , create a square in the centre of the room and work outwards from there .

And as with anything else DIY prepare to look at it afterwards and think i could have done that better , Good Luck .

Answer 3

on the floor self levelling compound the start tiling making sure that you start with it looking even to the eye from the doorway ie dont always start from one corner as you might on the ceiling so when you get to the light fitting you have it on the corner of the tile.walls a wooden batten at the bottom to stop them all sliding down then tile upwards match sticks as spacers,keep from bulging out with a battern over the tile area.go for it

Answer 4

measure the tiles out , use adhesive to level the floor and use a tile cutter. but measure lots cos once its down it aint so easy to come up, using a slow setting grout helps! (and tile towards the door or you'll be climbing around the skirting in a bit for freedom )once its set grout remove any excess as soon as it starrts to harden dont leave it too late or you'll be scaping forever!

Answer 5

I'd reccomend buying those tiles that are already spaced out beforehand on a string mesh. They come in bog sheets which you stick to the wall with tile adhesive, and everything is already in place for you.

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Answer 8

Find someone that can tile, look in yellow pages!

Answer 9

First you have to find the center of the room and go out from there. Good luck!

Answer 10

set a level line and work out your cuts to make it even or easy, but if ya anything like ya pic experts will flock to doit for ya