Installing Ceramic Tile Yourself - Is It Possible?

Installing ceramic tile yourself will save you money and keep strangers out of your house! You learn a new skill by doing it yourself too. Ceramic tile factory projects are tackled successfully by many home owners every year. No doubt there is an art to laying tile, but a handy someone who has abundance of time can unquestionably learn to lay tile. Just like many home revising projects, pros make money by doing work fast. If you aren't in a big hurry, your potential of work can be just as good as a professional...maybe better. So what are the main steps for a tile job?

Layout and Estimating

Carpentry Framing

What kind of factory is this? Will there be some plumbing or carpentry required? Plan for the completion of those tasks. quantum the area to be covered so you know how much tile you need. Allow for trim and breakage. After you know your area, you can best shop for tile. If you have a budget, knowing the area of tile to be covered lets you speculate your cost as you shop for tile. Do you need any trim pieces? Often edges, like ceramic tile counter tops, are trimmed with hardwood. Bathroom ceramic tile might include towel racks or soap dishes.

Ceramic Tile factory Tools

Hand tools for installing ceramic tile include trowels, cutters and measuring instruments. Trowels needed vary with the jobs. A basic trowel is the rectangular notched trowel. This tool is used to spread the adhesive. The trowel notches let the installer gauge the thickness of the adhesive. A smaller margin trowel is for information work. Tile cutting is a critical function. The basic cutter is a nipper, which is especially used for information work. A cutter board is often used for right cuts, The cutter board scores tile to make it easy to break. A circular wet saw is the real workhorse of a professional. Saws come in all separate grades and sizes. You can find an cheap saw that will be right for your job.

Adhesive

Tile is stuck to the floor using an adhesive. The material is either ready mixed or a wettable powder. Your provider can advise a grade for your project. Many adhesives are latex based and some are even stain proof and water proof epoxy. Epoxy grout is especially good for shower pans or bathroom ceramic tile.

Laying the Tile

Tile is always laid over a carport base that will not shift much. Often cement board is put down as a base, since cement board is water defiant and stable. Once the base is installed you can put down lines to help align the tile. Of course, no room is perfectly square, so allow for misalignment as you start your job. search the pieces that must be cut in the least visible areas. Sometimes, beginning at one wall or one side will look best. Sometimes beginning in the middle of a outside will be better. That's where the art of laying tile enters.

The alignment of the tile edges determines how the accomplished job looks. Beware that allowance tiles often vary in size more than superior material, production alignment tougher. Use a chalk line to give you as many guide lines as you need. Then you can space the tiles by eye or use regular plastic spacers in the middle of pieces to help you.

Grout

After the tile is in place including all the trim, you fill the spaces with a masonry grout. Grout for larger spacing includes sand. The sand makes the grout stronger and less likely to crack. Grout comes in colors too. Grout is installed and spread with a extra rubber faced trowel. After the grout is installed, you take off it from the tile faces before it wholly dries.