How to Install Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tile evokes an elegant and clean look to any interior space. They’re durable, very affordable and require less maintenance the reason why they’re widely used in homes and commercial structures today.

Installing ceramic tile is not very hard to do especially for people who have acquired some masonry skills. If you know how to tile the right way, you can enjoy big savings for you and your family.

If you’re installing ceramic tile on a new floor, the area should be in rough finish. This is to ensure that the tile will bond well with the thinset mortar coating. Even when installing the tile over existing tile flooring, sanding is still essential for the same reason.

Keep the floor area clean and free from grease, wax, dust, old paint and sealer before you begin. If it’s concrete you’ll be laying the tiles, you can mop it first with water and then let it dry. If it has a smooth finish, you can roughen it by using an acid based solution.

Once the floor is all set, look for the center area and then dry fit the tiles to make sure that they’re consistent and to see if you need to cut some at the wall or door area. This step will also guide you especially if you’re following a pattern. Always use a pencil or chalk to mark your vertical and horizontal lines and to ensure that they’re all straight.

Next is to prepare the adhesive or bonding material. For this, you can choose to use cement mixed with water, a special tile adhesive or a thinset mortar skim coat.

At this point, you can start installing the ceramic tile by applying the adhesive first at the center of the floor area. Lay the ceramic tiles one at a time in the adhesive making sure to put the spacers in between the tiles. As you lay each tile, press it slightly just to let it bond well with the adhesive. Wipe off the adhesive that comes out of the edges as you press down the tiles. From time to time, check as well that the tiles are at level using the level.

As you reach the edge, you may need to cut tiles to ensure a good fit. After cutting, use sand paper to smoothen the tile edges before laying them.

Allow then the ceramic tiles to dry completely overnight before stepping on the floor. You can then remove the tile spacers and start with putting grout on the spaces between each tile. Follow the directions provided by the manufacturer.

When applying the grout, use a rubber float. The right way of using the rubber float is to angle it at 45 degrees. Then with a wet sponge, wipe off excess grout from the tiles. If haze appears on the tiles say after an hour of putting the grout, just wipe it using the wet sponge.

Finally, seal off the edges by applying caulk. This is recommended for areas that can easily get wet such as the kitchen and bathroom. The purpose of this is to prevent the occurrence of mildew.