Articles By Syndicated Columnist
Dan Thomas
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Improvement Inside And Out
Installing Ceramic Tile Flooring
In today's world ceramic tile can be found in any room. The most common
rooms are the kitchen
and bathroom. Ceramic tile is great in entryways going
from the outside to the inside of carpet or hardwood floored rooms. They are
easy to clean and resistant to water damage.There are 2 basic types of ceramic tile. One type is glaze. Glazed is great
for heavy traffic areas. The other type is porcelain which is more expensive
and works great in bathrooms. You can find ceramic tile in may shapes and
sizes. For use as flooring I would suggest the 12" x 12" larger
ceramic tiles.
When laying ceramic tile your base foundation is very important. usually it
consists of 3/4" to 1 1/4" plywood. It is recommended that the
foundation be solid. If you are laying ceramic tile over vinyl you should
first apply ring nails or screws 6" on center over the entire area.
Concrete is also a a good foundation for ceramic tiles. If your floor is not
level try using leveling compound.
It is recommended that you lay out your ceramic tiles so that you can not
only see how it looks but you will be able to see how it runs out towards the
walls, in corners and along cabinets.
Once you are satisfied and there are no stubby tiles displayed in highly
visible places take a pencil and make several marks to outline the center
ceramic tile. The next step is to draw a line perpendicular to the most
visible wall in line with the marks you made for the center tile.
Be sure to clean your area so it is free of any dust or dirt. Apply your
ceramic tile adhesive to the flooring, be sure to start in the center and work
out. Cover an area approx. 6 - 10 sq feet, providing there are no cuts to be
made. If you have to make some cuts to the ceramic tile then limit the space
to about 2 - 4 sq ft. When laying on the adhesive you want to spread it with
the the flat end of the trowel and get it approx. 1/8" to 3?16"
thick. Once this is completed take your trowel and run it with the notched
edge over it . You want to create ridges to help hold the ceramic tile down
securely. Rule of thumb is the larger the tile the larger the notches.
consider using a 1/4" notched trowel for the 12" x 12" ceramic
tiles.
Ceramic tile adhesive has a tendency to harden quickly so don't mix more
than 30 minutes worth.
