Adorning your bathroom floor with ceramic tile flooring is a great way of enhancing the beauty of your bathroom decor as well as keeping it gleaming for years. Ceramic tiles are cheap and if you decide upon laying bathroom tile yourself then, you can cut down the labor cost as well. In short, you can give your bathroom an instant makeover at a very little cost. Although, laying bathroom tile is not a very complicated job, it is always wise to get your basics in place before proceeding.
How to Lay a Bathroom Tile
Tools and Materials Tile Cutter Tile Saw Grout Spreader Spirit Level Tile Nibblers Adhesive Spreader Tile-Cutting Jig Homemade Gauge Stick Preparation
The most important prerequisite for laying bathroom tiles is that the surface of the bathroom flooring has to be extremely smooth. Hence, the first step would be to create an even surface for your job. Get rid of all the old wallpapers, flaked paint or anything else that's creating an uneven surface. Apply a coat of stabilizing primer to equalize the surface. Use the homemade gauge stick to plot the position of tiles for laying purpose.
Setting Out the Tiles
Take all the floor and wall measurements correctly. The wall measurements should be taken from the left most bottom row. Cut the tiles as per the measurements. Use a tile cutter for cutting small tiles and a tile saw for cutting large tiles.
Applying the Adhesive
It is imperative to use a waterproof tile adhesive, since the tiles in bathroom will constantly come in contact with water. Most adhesives are available in the form of ready-to-use mixtures, however you may need to add water to a few of them. Apply this mixture of adhesive evenly on the surface of the wall.
Laying Bathroom Tile
Tiles should be laid from the middle of the room, if you are laying tiles on floor. You need to begin from the leftmost corner, when laying tiles on the wall. If the tiles are to be laid around the window, then laying tiles in that area should be completed first. Also make sure that all the tiles surrounding the window are of the same size. Measurements around the fixtures should be taken properly so that laying tiles around these structures becomes easy.
Finishing Touches
Apply the sealant and fill the spaces between the tiles with grout. However, grout should be applied only after 24 hours of applying adhesive or when it hardens completely. Remove the excess grout with a putty knife or a rag cloth. Clean the tiles before the grout hardens.
Laying bathroom tile is easy if you are laying it first hand. However, if you need to remove the previous tiles, then your task might become a bit tedious. If you are an amateur in this job, you can always rely on the labor to do the job for you.
