Taking out ceramic tile is dirty process that sends broken chips and concrete dust flying throughout the house.
Is it hard to tile a floor.
If your tile floors are worn or chipped or you re simply ready for an upgrade follow this guide to learn how to install a tile floor yourself.
Strive for a layout that maximizes the number of whole tiles and the size of any cut tiles.
Diagonal tile cutting can be a frustrating experience for the novice tiler.
Constantly being on your knees on a hard surface can affect the quality of your work.
Break up the first tile with the blunt edge of a hammer image 1 and then use a chisel to pry up the remainder of the first tile.
Often the tool is useful for dislodging the flooring material from the adhesive.
Installed the right way using some basic tools and techniques a tile floor should last forever come hell or high water.
Ceramic tile is a tough flooring surface that is as hard to remove as it is to damage after it is in place.
How to install tile flooring.
For about 20 you can buy a floor scraper a broom size tool with an angled steel head used to strip off layers of flooring material.
Install ceramic tile over a subfloor that s no less than 1 1 8 inches thick.
A thinner subfloor will cause the floor to flex due to the weight of the tile.
For tiles that are 12 inches by 12 inches or larger it s a good idea to back butter or flat coat the backs of the tiles with thinset prior to setting the tiles.
A flexing subfloor results in cracked tiles and grout and a lot of headaches.
Be sure to use plastic tile spacers to impose the correct distance.
Adding interest to a tile floor is as simple as laying tiles diagonally instead of squared off with the wall.
While spacers are a pain to remove they ensure perfect spacing of tile seams.
Diagonally placing tiles is an easy project for any moderately skilled diyer.
It is set into a bed of thin set that hardens like concrete and the tile itself shatters like glass during removal.
When going from one room to another especially from tile to another type of flooring use transition strips to cover the flooring seams.
Tiling a floor overview illustration by gregory nemec.
Spacing tiles correctly is hard.
Installing a tile floor in any of these rooms will give you an easy to clean waterproof floor that holds up against weather and wear.
This guide details how to successfully complete this project in 6 easy steps including removing the grout and tile applying new mortar and setting the new tiles.
Tile floors are an attractive functional option for kitchens bathrooms laundry rooms and entryways.
Equipment for removing old tile.
Once this first tile is removed place the chisel against the bottom edge of adjacent tiles apply pressure with your hammer and the tiles should pop up easily image 2.