Whether you are replacing a bathroom tile floor or installing a new one, you can not find a type of bathroom tile that can defeat bathroom ceramic tile or stone tile in the durability and appearance field. when laid properly, they almost are a forever floor tiling and don't require almost care and maintenance. But how to tile the great bathroom floor on our own? Fortunately, this post would step by step to guide you to tile the bathroom floor.
Materials & Tool Require
As an old saying “ a handy tool makes a handyman”. It is necessary to make full preparation for tiling the bathroom floor.
| Materials | Tools | |
| #12x2" stainless steel screws | 4-in. diamond blade | Scoring knife |
| 1/4-in. tile backer board | Angle grinder | T-square |
| 1x4 guide boards | Bucket | Tape measure |
| 2-1/2- galvanized screws | Caulk gun | Tile cutter |
| Acrylic additive | Chalk line | Utility knife |
| Alkali-resistant mesh tape | Cordless drill | Wet saw |
| Backer board screws | Drill mixer | |
| Backer rod | Drywall saw | |
| Construction adhesive | Dust mask | |
| Duct tape | Grout float | |
| Sanded caulk | Knee pads | |
| Sanded grout | Margin trowel | |
| Silicone caulk | Nippers | |
| Thin-set mortar | Notched trowel | |
| Toilet extension ring | Offset saw | |
| Transition threshold | Putty knife | |
| Wax ring | Safety glasses | |
Step 1: Prep the Floor
In this step, you need to determine whether the toilet should keep its place and whether need to change the vanity. If your home only has one toilet, you can keep it until you install the backer board. And you also should prepare the wax rings on hand if you plan to reinstall the toilet at the end of each day. If you are not to keep the toilet, you need to stuff a rag in the hole to block the sewer after disassembling the toilet.
As for the vanity, if you want to keep the vanity for later years, you can leave it and tile around it. If not, you can remove the old vanity and reinstall the old vanity or put in a new one.
Pull off the baseboard or plan to add base shoe molding. It would make the job neater because the edge of the tiles can be covered. In other words, the cut edge of the tiles and slightly measuring mistakes are hidden.
As for the vanity, if you want to keep the vanity for later years, you can leave it and tile around it. If not, you can remove the old vanity and reinstall the old vanity or put in a new one.
Pull off the baseboard or plan to add base shoe molding. It would make the job neater because the edge of the tiles can be covered. In other words, the cut edge of the tiles and slightly measuring mistakes are hidden.
Step 2: Install the Uncoupling Bathroom Tiles Membrane
In this step, you need to transfer the size of the bathroom flooring porcelain tile to the off-size uncoupling tile membrane by tape measure and marker on the membrane with an indelible marker. After that, you should cut the membrane and prepare the subfloor by skimming out unmodified thin-set grout. When the membrane is pressed into the still-wet thinset. Then, you need to wait FOR 24 hours for full bonding of the membrane.
Step 3: Design the Tile Layout
This is the most important part to determine the style of your bathroom. According to the size and style of the bathroom, you need to use the chalk to strike a line down the center of the room and determine the center point with a tape measure.
Step 4: Dry Layout
This step is to make sure the following job is right and exact. You need to lay out the tile from the centerline outward. Ideally, the most visible sections of the floor should be covered by full-size and uncut tiles. Firstly, in order to have equal spaces along walls that face each other, you need to center rows of bathroom floor tiles between walls. Second, set the two rows parallel to the two most prominent walls.
In this step, you should manage to complete the following goals:
Step 4: Dry Layout
This step is to make sure the following job is right and exact. You need to lay out the tile from the centerline outward. Ideally, the most visible sections of the floor should be covered by full-size and uncut tiles. Firstly, in order to have equal spaces along walls that face each other, you need to center rows of bathroom floor tiles between walls. Second, set the two rows parallel to the two most prominent walls.
In this step, you should manage to complete the following goals:
1. Can use full-size tiles at doorways and along with the bathtub or shower
2. Avoid using narrow tiles along walls. In ideal, you just cut the tile to half size or larger.
3. Minimize cutting and try to avoid difficult cuts. For example, when an "L" shaped gap is less than 2-inch in width. It is difficult for you to cut. The L-shaped tiles usually tend to break off as you cut.
Step 5: Cut the Door Jambs
If you expect to leave the door jambs in place, you need to stack a piece of backer board, tile, and two layers of cardboard and raise the saw to the correct height above the door, and cut the door jambs. The cardboard should be above the tiles.
Tip: The height of cardboard space is equivalent to the height of the thinset mortar.
Tip: The height of cardboard space is equivalent to the height of the thinset mortar.
Step 6: Fill the Tile Membrane Cavities
Mix up the thinset in a bucket. Then, you can use the trowel to fill the membrane of the bathroom floor tiles. In this step, you should use the straight, un-notch side of the trowel, which could fill the membrane very well.
Step 7: Install the Bathroom Tiles with Thinset
In this step, you also need to spread mortar across a small section of the floor with the notched side of the trowel. This spreading is about 2 feet by 2 feet. After that, you also need to spread the thinset on the back of the tiles, like spreading the butter. After that, you should press the tiles onto the floor. You need to confirm the tiles for the floor bathroom are firmly stuck onto the floor. As you plan to progress to adjacent tiles, you should insert tile spacers.
Step 8: Apply Tile Grout
After the full set of the bathroom tile(about 24 to 48 hours), you need to mix the tile grout and apply it with the rubber grout float.
Step 9: Remove the Grout Haze
After the grout has cured, add grout haze remover to the bucket with cool water. Clean the grout haze from the tile surface with the tile sponge.
Step 10: Seal the Grout
After the tile has dried, apply grout sealer. This will prevent water from percolating through the tile seams and under the tiles.
Frequently Questions Asked
Q: Is Tiling Floor And Decor Bathroom Tile Easy to Do Yourself?
A: The tiling is a time-intensive DIY project. For the beginner, they are easy to be trapped by the multiple steps. Furthermore, if you make a mistake during the tiling, it is impossible to reverse the result. If you don't want to spend too much time and energy on tiling, you can consult bathroom tile contractors.
Q: How Long Does It Take To Tile A Bathroom Floor?
A: It depends on the tiling operators and the size of the bathroom. For the average DIYers, they may take two to three days(about 6-8 hours per day) to do the tiling job. And, the larger the bathroom, the longer the tiling takes.
Q: How Long Does it Take for A Tile Floor to Cure?
A: It takes about 24 to 48 hours to fully cure. During the curing time, you can not step on the bathroom floor tiles. If you step on them early, the floor may become uneven and your modern bathroom floor tile will move around.
Q: Can You Lay Tile And Grout on the Same Day?
A: If you use the standard thinset, you have to wait 24 to48 hours between tiling and grouting.
Q: Can You Walk On The Tile Floor Before Grouting?
A: It is not recommended that walk on the bathroom tiles before grouting. It is because walking on a tile floor before grouting may cause some dirt and debris to get between the tiles. It is hard to clean them out before you grout. Therefore, you had better grout first before walking on the porcelain bathroom flooring.
Conclusion
All in all, floor tiling is a delicated and complicated job for most people. You need to be careful with each step of the tiling job. And if you want to find a popular bathroom floor tile, you could find KITO, which could offer best tile for bathroom floor.