How To Install A Tile Bathroom Floor

How to Tile a Bathroom, Shower Walls, Floor, Materials 1. Pro Tips. May 1. Ethan email Welcome back to our latest Pro Follow update. Last time we left off, Steve Wartman and his crew had finished installing the bathroom fan, and the previous day they had hung concrete board in the shower and Fir plywood over the subfloor. At this point, the bathroom is ready for tile, and Steve called in Rick Smith and his crew to tile the shower and bathroom floor. Windows Embedded 2009 Posready Multiple. Rick brings over 3. Rick is the contractor that tiled my master bathroom several years ago. If you enjoy our Pro Follows and learning how professional contractors complete home improvement jobs, subscribe to our email or RSS feeds and never miss an update. Every Pro Follow comes to you from a real job site, chock full of real pro tips. Check out our Project Guides to see all the completed how tos. Subfloor. Its very important to have a properly prepared subfloor because otherwise, the tile will crack and come loose in no time. The goal is to provide a flat surface with minimal deflection bounciness. Lima Ceramic Tile LLC is the place to visit for a variety of kitchen bathroom floor tile options in the greater Stamford, CT area. Visit our showroom today Give your old, worn out vinyl floor a new look with elegant tile. Well show you how to lay tile and save money on the project. Tiles are an extremely common feature in bathrooms. Theyre easy to clean, fairly straightforward to install, and they look nice. Installing large bathroom tiles. Welcome back to our latest ProFollow update. Last time we left off, Steve Wartman and his crew had finished installing the bathroom fan, and the previous day they. The experts at DIYNetwork. You can reduce deflection by adding extra layers of underlayment like plywood or installing additional supports under the floor. Many professional tilers like Rick can judge a floors deflection by feel alone. For the rest of us, the Tile Council of America offers a standard formula called L3. L3. 60. Divide the total span of the floor joists in inches by 3. For example, the maximum deflection for a joist span of 1. This formula is useful for most ceramic, porcelain, and hard stone. For soft stone tile, such as limestone or light marble, the L 7. When possible, Rick likes to verify the subfloor framing, and for joists spaced more than 1. Schluter Ditra which is a waterproof, uncoupling membrane. He also targets at least a 1 18 thick subfloor. Steves crew achieved that by installing the Fir plywood which is an acceptable underlayment even though Rick prefers concrete board. Plan Layout. Before starting, Steve spoke with the homeowner about various tile layouts. With that input, Steve can approximate the location of features like the shower shelves and glass listello. Pro Talk A listello is a narrow, decorative tile that add visual interest to a wall. Pro Tip Shower heads are roughly 8. How To Install A Tile Bathroom Floor' title='How To Install A Tile Bathroom Floor' />The FloorElf describes the method to install completely flat floor tile to ensure a professional installation. Your Guide to Ceramic Tile and Stone for Floors and Walls. From beautiful flooring tile design galleries to ceramic backsplash tile pictures, you can use our site to. For the floor, installers often center a tile in the doorway. Steve maps out the floor and finds that a staggered layout works well because it avoids thin, small tiles around the perimeter. If that hadnt been the case, they would have shifted the layout perhaps centering a grout line in the doorway. Materials. Thinset mortar see belowTile mastic see belowMesh cement board tape see belowTile shims. Un sanded grout. Sanded grout. Caulk see belowTile see belowThinset mortar. For this install, Rick and his crew are using a modified thinset mortar which has a latex additive that makes it stickier and stronger. Modified thinset is often used for tiling walls, over plywood for better adhesion, high traffic areas and spaces that will get wet like a shower. Thinset comes in a powder form and is usually mixed with water. Mastic. Mastic is an organic adhesive, and its not suitable for direct contact with water. For that reason, Rick and his crew only use it on the top most courses in the shower. Mastic comes premixed in a tub. Pro Tip Rick and his crew say that using mastic for floor tile is one of the most common do it yourselfer mistakes. Mesh cement board tape. The mesh tape used for drywall will deteriorate in contact with concrete board so its important to use an alkali resistant tape. Plus, concrete board tape is stronger and mold resistant. Caulk. Rick is using an un sanded siliconized acrylic caulk that matches the color of the grout. Tile. Porcelain and ceramic are the two most popular options for tile. Porcelain is denser and heavier which makes it tougher to cut and more difficult for wall installations. Regardless of the type, tiles can vary in size up to 11. Tools. Tile cutter see belowNippers see belowLevel. Grinder. Utility knife. Buckets. Mixing Paddle. Corded drill. Sponges. Diamond hand pad. Saw or multitool. Tile cutter. This is a relatively straight forward tile job, and Rick and his crew used a tile cutter to score and snap all the tiles. They didnt need to break out a tile saw. Nippers. Nippers are used to chew off pieces of tile, and they are especially useful for making curved cuts. A good pair of nippers is indispensable, and some of these guys have been using the same pair of nippers for 2. Diamond hand pad. My Downloads Are Running Slow Windows 7. A diamond hand pad is used for cleaning up a cut edge, and they used it after every cut. Check Walls. Rick started the day by checking all the walls. Rarely are walls and corners square, and Rick wanted to know where the problem areas would be. He found that some of the walls were as much as a 14 off plumb. Mark Wall Center. Starting on the side wall, he marked a center line, and this is where he will start laying tile. Tape Joints. Rick covered all the joints with mesh concrete board tape including the joint between the concrete board and shower pan. Mix Thinset. Next, he mixed the thinset in a bucket with a mixing paddle, and he mixed it thick enough that it wouldnt slide down the wall. Cover Joints. Rick covered all the joints with a layer of thinset, and he covered the drywall mud to ensure good adhesion. Mark Spread Line. Starting from the shower pan and measuring up the height of two tiles, Rick marked a level, spread line that will serve as a guide for spreading thinset and laying tile. Spread Thinset. Rick spread the thinset using a 38 notched trowel right up to but not covering the spread line. Lay Tile. Starting at his center line and working into the corners, Rick laid two rows of tile. Beginning in the center is important because it allows him to better conceal cut edges in the corners and it ensures a symmetrical layout. Rick pushed each tile firmly into the thinset, ensuring good coverage. He lined up all the corners and was mindful to keep all the tiles at the same depth. Pro Tip Check each tile for chips or defects, and clearly mark the defect before setting the tile aside. Since Rick knew the areas where the walls were not square, he cheated a little by opening up the joints slightly to account for the difference. Add Shims. Rick used the red shims to align the tiles and make sure each row stayed level. At times he would remove a tile to add extra thinset to keep everything nice and even. Cut to Size. To cut tiles Rick would scribe a line with his pencil and either use nippers or the cutter to trim the tile. The tile cutter has a small blade that scores the front of the tile. The wings on either side of the cutter pivot allowing you to press down until the tile snaps. After each cut with the cutter or nippers, the guys would clean up the cut edge with the diamond pad. Check For Level. Rick would check on last time for level before moving on to the next section. If he found anything out of line, he would shift the tiles andor place more shims. Move to Next Section. This picture shows how Rick continued that same spread line to the next section. Pro Talk Back buttering refers to the process of using the flat side of a trowel to skim coat the backside of a tile, and this is another technique to ensure good coverage. For the front and back of the shower Rick started at the corner and worked toward the inside corner to better conceal cut edges.