Ceramic Tile Flooring Installation - How to Get it Right by Yourself

Before you can begin your ceramic tile flooring installation, you must make sure that the tiles you have chosen are well-suited for the section of the house you are going to use them for. Ceramic tile flooring is resistant to moisture, water spillage and sudden extreme changes in temperature and are usually used in bathrooms or kitchens, and sometimes in other areas of the house as well. Once you have made sure of the section of flooring that you will use ceramic tiling for and also the tiles that you want to use - you are ready to begin.

Keep Your Tools Ready

The first thing to do is to make sure that the tools you will use are ready at hand. These tools should include basic carpentry tools like an accurate measuring tape, a carpenter's square and a bubble level. You should also be prepared with the tiles and all you need to space them and put them together: tile spaces, a tile cutter, a trowel, and a putty knife. Then you must get your adhesives ready: tile bonding material, thin set mortar or tile adhesive, the sealant, the grout and a rubber grout float. Also you must make sure that you are wearing work clothes or overalls, glasses and heavy-duty gloves for safety.

Prepare the Sub-Floor for the Tiling Process

After you are ready with your tools and before you begin tile flooring installation, you must first prepare the sub-floor for the ceramic tile flooring installation. This involves cleaning the sub-floor thoroughly and checking it for cracks. If you do find cracks, you must repair them. If any crack is too large to repair, that section of the floor must be replaced completely. If your floors are wooden make sure that they are supported well and are at least two inches thick so that they are able to withstand the weight of the tiles you are about to install on them. Once you have checked for cracks and cleaned all the debris off the sub-floor you are ready to begin with your ceramic tile flooring installation.

Measure Everything

The next step of your ceramic tile flooring installation is the accurate measuring of your floor and your tiles. This is necessary for you to be able to calculate exactly how many tiles you will need. You must measure the length and width of the section of floor you are going to tile and also the length and width of each tile. Then you must calculate, using these numbers, exactly how many tiles you are going to use, which will depend on the orientation of each tile as you have decided to place it on the floor, as well. Then you must find the mid-points of the length and the width of the floor you want to carry out your ceramic tile flooring installation process on; connect these midpoints to form a plus across the floor space. The intersection of the two lines of the plus is the center of your floor space; it is here that you must begin your ceramic tile flooring installation.

Install the Ceramic Tiles
Start with the center and move outwards with each ceramic tile. Use thin set mortar or tile adhesive to set the tiles, make sure that the bond between the tile and the sub-floor sets by applying pressure on each tile. After the tiles have set, complete the process by applying the grout. Remember that the grout must be of the same color as the tiles you have chosen. Remember that each step requires twenty-four hours to set and dry before allowing yourself to proceed to the next step of your ceramic tile flooring installation.

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