After deciding to update the look of their bathroom and drawing up an appropriate estimate, many begin to look for ways to save money. High-quality ceramic tiles for floors and walls have always been expensive, but the renovation of bathrooms does not end there. Often pipes and plumbing require replacement. And the cost of labor is equal to the cost of material. It is becoming more and more difficult to meet your budget without losing the quality of materials, and you don’t want to save on the appearance of your home! In addition, the tiles are very practical and decorative. Sometimes, to update the design in any room or add decor, it is enough to tile a very small area. In this case, you can do without the help of specialists and do the laying work yourself. Next, we will take a closer look at how to lay tiles on the floor, and deal with all the nuances of obtaining a high-quality coating.
Tile Marking
A new ceramic floor starts with choosing the right tile. Today, there are a lot of suggestions for choosing floor tiles for the bathroom, hallway, kitchen, dining room and even the bedroom. The design of the floor tile is so diverse and unique that it can surprisingly harmoniously fit intointerior for every taste. But there are some points that you should pay special attention to when choosing a floor tile.
The right choice depends primarily on the purpose of the room in which the tile floor will be laid. Its main characteristics are contained in the marking of the tiles located on the package.
For example, if floor tiles are needed in an office space, then you should pay attention to their durability. On the packaging, it is marked with a foot on a shaded background. If the tile is planned to be laid out on the street at the entrance to the building, then in addition to wear resistance, frost resistance of the tile, marked on the package with a snowflake, should also be provided. The thickness of the tiles on the floor is also important for the strength of the material. But if hands are depicted on the package, then such a tile is only suitable for walls.
Also, tiles differ in grades and are marked on the packaging with the appropriate colors. So, red color corresponds to the first grade, blue - to the second, green - to the third. The quality of the tiles can be judged based on these indicators.
Of course, do not forget to check the tiles for elementary manufacturing defects or damage during transportation, from which no one is insured.
Choosing a tile design
In terms of design, it is difficult for the buyer to advise anything, since everyone has their own interior and idea of beauty, and consultants at the points of sale will always prompt, based on the specific wishes of the client. But still there are some criteria that are the basis of any interior. So, if the room is smallarea, then you should use light colors that visually increase the space. For tiles, imitation of marble or natural stone will be successful. In the corridor, dark shades with parquet modeling will look better. And in the kitchen, the floor looks great, supporting the style of the furniture and its color shades.
Tools for the job
First of all, you need to decide on the tool that will be needed for styling:
- building level;
- trowel;
- crosses;
- notched trowel;
- tile cutting tool;
- rubber spatula.
Tile cutting
Usually, when laying tiles, they need to be trimmed. To do this, it is recommended to use a special tool - a tile cutter. It is enough to draw a soft pencil along the glossy side of the tile, place the wheel of the tile cutter on the drawn line and draw once, as a high-quality tile trimming will be done. But when laying tiles on the floor with their own hands, not everyone has such a tool at their disposal. You can replace it with a grinder. If it wasn’t at hand either, then you can use a glass cutter or even an ordinary drill from a perforator with a victorious tip, which, using a ruler, is drawn several times along the marked cut mark. Then, tapping a little on this place, we break off the tile. But for thick tiles, this method is hardly acceptable.
Preparation for laying tiles on the floor
Before laying, the surface should be thoroughly prepared.
Need to achieve a level base of the floor. Only minor unevenness can be smoothed out with a layer of adhesive on the floor. All protrusions should be eliminated, and damaged places should be corrected. If cracks or crevices are found on the surface, they are filled with a solution. There are also special mixes for cracks that work well.
It is worth paying attention to the height of the floor after installation. After all, if the tile is laid on that part of the floor where it was not there before, then the base will rise to the height of the tile along with the adhesive layer. Such changes in floor level are often accompanied by uncomfortable thresholds or become an obstacle to opening doors. Solving this issue is not easy, since you will either need to raise the level of the doors, or cut off the screed and bring the tiles to the floor level. But here, too, there may be nuances, since it is not always known what the base of the floor will be. In many of these cases, the best solution is to forego the tiling and replace it with another floor covering.
It happens that the old screed becomes completely unsuitable for further use. It may have deep cracks that spread over a large area. The floor becomes unstable and must be completely dismantled, as any coating will not serve on such a basis.
Laying is done only on a clean base. Even particles of dust and sand canworsen the adhesion of the tile to the surface. Any stains should also be removed.
Laying tiles on the finished floor
There are times when tiles are laid on a finished coating that was impossible to remove. This may be linoleum, tile or other base. Of course, the best base for tiles will be a cleaned concrete floor, but in difficult situations, it is possible to apply a notch to the old floor, and you can start laying. The only unambiguous requirement is a clean, solid and immovable surface.
Preparing the wooden base
It is believed that a wooden base is not a good solution for laying tiles on the floor. After all, as you know, the base must be strong and motionless, and wooden boards tend to bend. In addition, the laid tiles will have considerable weight. Considering also the weight of furniture and occupants, a wooden floor must be very strong to withstand such a load. If there is no doubt about the strength of the floor, then you can start preparing its surface.
First you need to fill all the gaps between the boards with mounting foam. After the base must be primed. Due to the specifics of the natural material, it is better to treat wood with a special mastic, which will protect it from moisture and prevent the expansion and contraction of the material when the temperature changes. After all, what tile on the floor will hold if the base changes in size?!
The next step will be a screed on a wooden surface. Foundation neededcover with reinforced mesh and fill with self-leveling mortar for wooden substrates. You can make the mixture yourself in the following proportion: add 2 parts of sand and the same amount of liquid glass to 1 part of water. After hardening, you can start laying the tiles.
Primer surface
Before laying, the base should be primed. The primer penetrates deep into the pores of the surface and strengthens it. After priming, the base has a crystal lattice, into which any material penetrates well: plaster, putty, and tile adhesive. It also helps to reduce the amount of glue used when laying tiles on the floor. Therefore, its use is absolutely advisable from any side. Also, the adhesion of tiles with adhesive will be better if the tiles are pre-wetted with water.
How to lay tiles on the floor: laying technology
Before laying, it is recommended to lay the first few tiles on the floor in order to see the laying area and foresee possible nuances. This is especially important if the floor has a tile pattern. Next, laying begins from the corner of the room. It should be taken into account that if the corner from which the laying of the tiles begins is lower than the other corners, then it will not be possible to lay a flat surface according to its level in the future, and the protruding places will have to be combed off. Such significant differences in the base should be removed at the stage of preparation for laying. But even after its completion, it is possible to achieve a perfectly flat surface only with the help of self-leveling mixtures. With a slight difference in the level of the base, startlaying should be from a corner that is higher than the rest in the room.
In this corner, several laid out tiles are removed, and glue is applied in their place with a trowel. A large area should not be covered, but limited to about 3 floor tiles. Next, using a notched trowel, excess glue is removed and the first tile is laid in the corner of the room. The tile needs to be slightly pressed down, scrolling a little to shrink and fill the entire area with glue, and level it. It is very important to set the first tile extremely accurately, as it will serve as a guide for setting the level throughout the floor. Then the next tile is laid in a similar way, but its level is set based on the level of the first tile. Check the building level should be along the length, width and diagonal of both tiles. The level should lie evenly and without gaps on both tiles in all directions. Below is a photo of the tiles on the floor at the beginning of laying.
To form the same distance between the tiles, special building crosses are used, which help to monitor the even laying of tiles. After reaching the desired level, the crosses are inserted between the tiles and remain there until the glue dries.
Further, glue is also applied to the surface near the laid tiles. Excess glue is also removed with a notched trowel, and the tiles are set with a building level, taking into account the adjacent laid tiles. If glue gets on the surface of the tile, it should be wiped off immediately with a cloth, preventing drying. Otherwise, it will be removedmuch more difficult. And on rough surfaces, this often becomes impossible, and the tile initially loses its appearance.
After 8-10 hours, it is recommended to pull out the crosses and clean the seams between the tiles, otherwise it will be impossible to do after. Clean seams should go through a quality grout.
Grouting tiles
Grout is sold in dry powder form. It is carefully diluted with water until a plastic pasty state is obtained. The best tool for grouting joints is considered to be a rubber spatula, rubbing the finished grout into them 2-3 times until the joint is completely clogged. It is desirable that after rubbing there are no voids left between the tiles. The further reliability and durability of the grout during operation depends on this, especially with tiles on the floor. It is very important to remove excess grout shortly before hardening. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to wipe it off, and sometimes impossible due to the texture of the tile.
Styling Tips
For better adhesion between the tile and the surface, experts advise to make a notch, which will help hold the tile.
At the stage of preparing the glue, it is recommended to first pour water, and then add the mixture to it. It is possible to use cement mortar instead of glue in order to save money, but the quality will certainly suffer. Not worth the risk with flooring.
2 mm thick crosses are considered optimal.
When cutting tiles with a grinder, it is recommended to use circles with diamond grit to get light andthe highest quality cuts.
Tile really belongs to one of the most practical, reliable and unpretentious coatings, but only if the laying rules are followed. Keep in mind the above tips and guidelines, and floor tiles will be able to show all their advantages for a very long time even when they are laid by themselves.
