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Help, Tips and Advice For Tiling a Floor
If you are going to tile a floor then there are a few things you should know before you start, we have outlined a few good practices to help you along
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If you are going to tile a floor then there are a few things you should know before you start, we have outlined a few good practices to help you along in the form of five do`s and dont`s.
- When laying floor tiles, the quality of the sub floor can be all important, If the floor is uneven then you will find the job takes longer, will be more difficult and you will use more adhesive, use a level and decide whether you could benefit by using some self levelling floor compound to even out the floor.
- Next make sure the sub base is clean and dust free, if the concrete is particularly porous it is a good idea to treat it with a bonding substance such as PVA.
- Before sticking any tiles to the floor you should plan and lay out the tiles, first centralise the floor and lay out the tiles working from the centre to the edges, this allows you to keep the floor as symmetrical as possible and avoid any issues with placing such as tiny slithers of tile in awkward places. This is the part that many amateur tillers miss out but is important for a quality finish, fail to prepare, prepare to fail!
- While you are tiling, keep a wet sponge close at all times, wherever you drop adhesive or grout mop it up as you go or you could find yourself spending hours scraping off rock solid chunks once it has dried.
- Quick drying adhesive can be really useful, not only will it allow you to grout the same day but it allows you to walk on the tiles much quicker and help you avoid accidental movement.
There are also a few pitfalls to be avoided if possible.
- When you start tiling the floor you should always start from the centre, never start from the corner of the room or your floor will be unsymmetrical and will likely have lots of thin slithers of tile all over the place.
- Never trust that the floor is flat or level, always use a spirit level as you are tiling to make sure you don’t lay the tiles on a slant.
- Don’t rush to get the tiles laid, be careful and methodical, mistakes are easy to make but hard to correct.
- Once you have laid the tiles you will need to grout, but don’t mix your grout too thin, if you do you will find it not gripping to the tile and falling through the gaps. Be careful when mixing the grout too as you will be surprised as to how little water is required.
- Seems an obvious one but do not under any circumstance walk on recently laid tiles, putting it right will mean leaving the floor to dry and smashing the affected tiles back out and relaying.
