Does anyone know how to do tiling?

Question

My family just ripped up our living room carpet and want to put tiles down. I was planning to do it myself. I was wondering if anybody knew how that they could explain it to me. Thanx in advance.(-:

Answer 1

You didn't say whether you meant ceramic tile or vinyl tile, and you didn't say what your subfloor is.

Assuming you have a wood subfloor, both types of tile will require the use of an underlayment. Either can be installed directly on a smooth concrete floor.

Assuming your subfloor is wood, ceramic tile generally will require the installation of 1/2" cement board (Durrock or Permabond or other brand) first, in order to make the floor rigid enough so the tile won't crack or the grout pop out of the joints. Do not install ceramic tile directly on the subloor, as the installation will eventually fail if you do. You need a total thickness of subfloor and underlayment of 1 1/8", and 1 1/4" is recommended. As most subfloors are 3/4", 1/2" cement board gives you the 1 1/4". If you have a cement floor, the tile can be installed directly on the cement.

Vinyl tile requires a smooth surface, and usually the subfloor is unsuitable. Normally you will need to install a 1/4" plywood underlayment first, to give a smooth enough surface and a surface that is a good glue base. Particle board and waferboard subfloors are not a good surface to glue to, and if you had a warranty claim, most manufacturers would void the warranty if an underlayment was not used. You likely would not be happy with the installation if underlayment was not used, as any uneveness in the subfloor would show through your new floor. Vinyl tile can be installed directly on a cement floor. Float or level the floor as needed to make it as smooth as possible first. Always use a cement based leveling compound, never a gypsum based one, as the gypsum based type will draw moisture, turn yellow, and can stain up through a vinyl floor, not to mention break up under the floor.

I have not gone into all the details of either of the above installations, this is just a quick overview. If you can add some more details about your existing floor and what you want to do, I can get more specific about details. Although these are time consuming installations, a handy do-it-yourselfer can do them.

Answer 2

It's simple but it takes a while. make sure you have the right type of cement for the type of tiles you are laying. the instructions are on the cement package. you should also get one of those laser pointer things so you can ensure that the tiles are in a straight line. maybe a meter stick(yard stick). so basically you splat the cement on the floor that has been washed and thoroughly dried. and then lay the tiles on. wipe off the excess cement that squishes thru with a wet rag. make sure the area is well ventilated. the colder it is, the long it takes for the cement to dry. only put a small amount of cement down at a time though. you don't wanna waste it if it takes you a while to lay the tiles. it may also help you if you have a diagram of what you want it to look like (if you have a pattern or design you want) good luck. and if all else fails and you can't handle it anymore, you can always calla professional to finish the job.

Answer 3

well first clean your floor real good, if you are doing ceramic buy 25" spacers, since its your first time lay out your tiles on the floor with the spacers not every tile just in a row so you can see your cuts, if your cuts are to small on one side move your row layout to make it bigger after the layout part is finish mix your thin set and start sticking, here's the trick, don't buy the 15.00 dollar bag of thin-set buy more of the 5.00 bag of thin set and 1 or 2 bags of speed set. every bucket of thin set add 2 cups of quick set take your time and it will turn out beautiful