Tile laying is a simple task but requires careful planning and near perfect execution. Because of the required planning and skills to complete this task, skilled workers are often tasked to work in laying tiles which could end up with a large bill. But on your own, you can easily lay tile in your floor even with little to no experience. You just need to have the right tools for the task to lay tiles like a professional.

Tools for Laying Tiles

• Scrapers
• Prybar
• Spacers
• Level
• Sandpaper
• Chalk
• Tile Cutter or Wet Saw Note: Wet Saw is expensive equipment. Renting the equipment is highly recommended for better savings
• Grout
• Gloves
• Safety Glass
• Rubber Float
• Kneepads
• Measuring Tape
• Sponge
• Buckets
• Tiles
• Tile Cement

Planning

Figuring out how to install tiles could be costly if there is no proper planning involved. Accurate measurements have to be done before any installation is made. After the floor has been measured, the tiles have to be measured to determine how many tiles will be used. This is often done before any tile is purchased to avoid overspending on tiles. Contact the hardware store of the available sizes of the tiles to have a good estimate of the tiles that will be used.

The floor has to be marked with chalk or any type of marker after cleaning to determine the actual placement of tiles if possible. This is highly recommended if there are any designs to be created based on tile arrangements.

You are going to want to do a Search for all types of floor tile, from ceramic to oceanside glass tile at wholesale prices to get the best deal for your home tiling project.

Floor Preparation

Preparing the floor where the tiles will be installed is a very important step. Without careful floor preparation, the tiles could slip off and end up cracked. In a brand new house where no tiles have been installed before, only three things have to be considered: cleanliness, dryness and the floor consistency. The floor should be clean from dust and dirt. The floor should also be dry so that the cement should work as expected. Floor consistency is also important to protect the tiles from cracking. An uneven floor will make tile installation really difficult. A level has to be used determine if the floor is even.

If tiles have to be installed as replacement for the old tiles, the floor has to be scraped completely of floor cements and other debris. As previously indicated, floor cleanliness is very essential to ensure that tiles are properly installed. After cleaning the floor, chalk could be used to outline the placement of the tiles. This has to be accurate to ensure that the floor plan is followed. This could be done by first marking the center point of the room. By measuring the center point, the center of the floor will never have to be applied with uneven tile designs just because the uniformed tiles were first installed at the side. As soon as everything has been planned out, mix the tile adhesive as directed for the floor tile installation.

Floor Installation

You’ll be surprised that the easiest part of installation is actually on how to lay tiles. The challenge is on how to lay a tile fast enough, as soon as the adhesive is placed. You start at the center and you continue the following process until you cover the entire floor:

• Starting at the center, cover one part of the floor with an adhesive enough for a quadrant of tile.
• Place a tile in the floor carefully laying them out based on the floor plan.
• As soon as you placed the first tile, attach the tile spacer so that it will serve as a guide for other tiles.
• Based on the spacer, place the other tiles (with an adhesive below them) until you reach the end. After the spacer has done its job, remove the spacer.

Usually a floor will not be a perfect fit with the tiles. The tile has to be customized based on the size needed by the floor. You can use the wet saw to do this job or a tile cutter. A wet saw could be used even for uneven edges. After cutting, be sure to clean the rough edges with sandpaper.

Tips in Applying Tiles:

• Figuring out how to install ceramic tile floor could be really difficult even for professionals. It’s best to work with one quadrant at a time.
• Never twist the tile. To lay a tile floor properly, the only movement the tile has to make is downward – when they are pushed for better adhesion.
• Use the level after each tile to ensure that the tiles are even.
• Do not disrupt the arrangement of the tiles; leave them overnight for the adhesive to properly stick.

Grouting

The next day after tile installation, grouting is required. The first and second stages on how to lay ceramic tile floor deals with preparation and installation but grouting is the stage wherein the tiles are locked in their places for good. The grout that has to be used is a type specifically made for ceramic tiles.

Grout has to be applied to the middle of tiles one quadrant at a time. Use rubber floats for proper application and any excess grout could be removed by the same rubber grout. Expect some excess grouts so be ready with a wet sponge to clean them as soon as possible to prevent the grout from drying on top of the tile.

As soon as you’re done grouting the whole floor, clean the entire area with a sponge or a damp towel to clean all tiles. Let the tiles stay as they are for one week, only to be cleaned with a damp towel every other day. Learning how to install floor tile doesn’t really require a lot of experience. Knowing how to lay tile on any floor is very easy if the proper tools are available coupled with great planning.