anyone installed their own ceramic floors ????

Question

If you have, how was your experience ????? would you do it again ???

Answer 1

Yes, and with the right tools and instruction, can be fairly easy and very rewarding. You will most likely need a wet saw to custom cut your tile. This can be rented from Home Depot or Lowes. Once you master how to cut the tile, the rest is fairly easy. Just make sure you use the proper adhesive, and use spacers to make sure your tiles are even. The chain store that you rent your saw from will more than likely offer a workshop that can assist you. Personally, I would definately do it again. It's a job that requires instruction, attention to detail, and patience.

Answer 2

Use a grinder with a diamond blade , you can cut anything with that , faster than a wet saw but lots of dust , If the joints were to end up in the center of the vent you can use the wet saw to cut half of a rectangle , Imagine a square U , cut the two ends first then continue cutting towards the same direction until they look like shreded paper, then just knock them off and then slowly grind against the wet saw blade until you get a straight line , that's if you don't have a grinder and you don't want to have to buy one but a grinder with a diamond blade beats everything, a roto-zip tool with a tile bit can cut tiles in any direction but way too slow , are you taking off the covers for the vents before you tile ? you may need longer screws to put them back but you'll have a better finish look ,

Answer 3

Yes I have installed ceramic tile floor with no experience and would definitely do it again. They have a new product out now by Snap Stone. You don't have to put the blue board down, no mortar and no need for spacers as they are already built right in with the product. I know it sounds like laminate floating floor but it is an actual 12 x 12 piece of porcelain tile. It's easy to install and you can start and finish whenever you want to because you aren't mixing up mortar. You do need to use there grout but it is pre mixed and the reason is it is flexible. The cost is higher per tile square but...you don't have to put down the board, mortar in, etc. and less labor intense and I feel I'm worth it :)
I purchased an inexpensive wet saw (under $100) thought it may not last but its has worked on 2 tile floors and 2 counter back splashes and getting ready to use it again on the 3rd set. Make sure you have a good diamond tipped blade. Have fun and good luck!!!

Answer 4

i installed 600sq ft in our living-dinning room , and 2 bath rooms 45 sq ft each, the biggest problem i encountered was making sure the tile was level with the other tile, the premix thin set works better than mixing it yourself, i did it both ways and the premix sticks better, also if you have a sub floor instead of a concrete slab you need to put down backer broad, you can buy a cheap title saw from lowes or home deport for around $88, on floor tile do not use any tile smaller than 12x12, large area better to use 18x18 tile , the smaller the grout line the better the floor will look,

Answer 5

don't let it scare you.
buy/rent a tile cutter saw
choose your tile
choose your grout and glue
get more than enough glue (better to return then stop mid project to return)
get a trowel with big teeth to spread the glue
get a float to smoosh the grout into the cracks
have plenty of sponges and a bucket for water to wipe down the grout
no solid floor? get wonder board ceramic backer board
small room? just lay out a T to see how many tiles fit this way and that. (i never measure from the middle - keep it simple. no room is square anyway)
i never use the spacers - waste of money and time
EYEBALL!!
lay tile 1 day, grout the next day

don't stress it - it will look beautiful!

Answer 6

MY husband & I have installed ceramic tiles on the wall in our kitchen and the floor. I would do it again, as long as my back is strong enough. It is a great sense of accomplishment to be able to complete a task like this...but if you don't have the muscles and you DO have lots of money... it is easier to hire a professional to do the job.
There are a great number of books & websites that will give you accurate instructions for the tools you need and the methods you want/need to know.

If you have a big job that you are wanting to tackle, I would suggest start with a smaller one... use it to learn your lessons and methods that will transfer over to the big one.

Yes I would do it again. Use the methods that are laid out in the instructions and you will have fewer problems overall.

Good luck
Gina
Ottawa

Answer 7

it is well worth the time, paying $10/sqft for installation is outrageous. The hard parts are mixing the thinset, cutting the tile, and sponging after grouting. I managed to stress my rotator cuff the doing a 130sqft room. My fault of course, I would have got a mixing bit for my drill.

I plan on doing it again when the carpet in my hall starts to look bad. $1/sqft tile at Home depot or Lowes works pretty well as long as the clay isn't red or the finish looks painted on.

Get a 10% coupon from Home Depot by filling out a change of address form on their website and use it at Lowes to by some American Olean Sandyridge taupe or similar for about $1.05/sqft after discount.

installing tile yourself costs the same as paying someone to install sheet vinyl. Tile is better

Answer 8

it is easy but time consuming, you need to find the center of your room etc.or decide to start with full tile in certain spot on floor, is nice to dry fit with out mortar and see how you like the tile before actually putting down,

Answer 9

It is a time consuming job but worth the money that was saved. Do really good prep before laying the tile. Buy bagged mastic/adhesive and mix it yourself. It is better quality. Make sure your subfloor will handle the weight of the tiles. Use spacers and the proper grout.

Answer 10

Yes, one word of advise would be to never use spacers. Professional tile layers don't. You have to eyeball it. The area you are covering is never exact.