How To Properly Lay Tile Floor

If you find hollows and valleys you must fill them with a self leveling underlayment.

How to properly lay tile floor.

Place the first tile at the corner nearest the center point. Starting at the center rehearse your tile pattern by simply laying them on the floor without any adhesive or glue. You are only going to work in one quadrant at a time. Set the rest of the tiles in the quadrant.

The line crossing at the room s center are the starting point of the tile. Some tiles have directional arrows on the back. Begin placing tiles in a straight line towards either wall leaving a small space in between the tiles. Put some tile adhesive on the bottom of the concrete board and then nail it down to the floor.

Use tile spacers to make sure tiles are square and evenly spaced. Lay a single half row of floor tiles in both directions without mortar starting at the center point and working outward. A successful tile installation project requires a level surface. Find the midpoint of each wall and snap chalk lines on the floor.

Check for dips in the floor by sliding a 4 foot to 6 foot straight edge in different directions all around the room. Lay a row of tiles along a straightedge more than halfway across the room. Tile the floor one quadrant at a time beginning at the center point. 12 x 24 tile floor being laid across the narrow width of the room to make the room appear wider.

Determine tile layout if using a contrasting trim lay edge tile first. If you have a wood subfloor you are going to need to install concrete board. Lay the first tile square at the crossing of the reference lines. Peel off the backing sheet from the first tile and set it into the corner formed by the intersecting chalk lines.

Press the tile to the floor. Then lay tile in a configuration that will use the most whole tiles and best fits the space. This also helps to set the tile in the mortar. You need to get down to the subfloor.

Sometimes the layout has to do with how you would look at the room or where the main focus is in room not where the entrance is. For best results lightly press and twist the tiles to get full contact between the mortar and the tile. For consistent joints use tile spacers.