Installing Tile for Bathroom Projects
With the tile work of any room comes a lot of preparation, measuring and insurance that all things will go according to specifications. And when it comes to laying out the tile work in a bathroom, many different things can come into play that completely overwhelms a person if they do not necessarily have a lot of experience with laying out tile.
Your first step for any tile job will be taking the proper measurements of the areas where you want to lay down the tile. Calculate the surface area that you will need covered by tile, than calculate 10 percent of that area. Add the 10 percent number to the surface area number, and get enough tile to cover the area of the sum of both. The extra tile will be for trimming, ensuring a proper fit, and to give you some practice with cutting and forming tile.
Next, you will need to rent a professional grade wet saw tile cutter, and cut the tiles to fit the exact layout of your project. If it is a floor, make sure to account for the trim in all areas that go around fixtures and moldings.
Tools You Will Need
Cut and measured tiles
Sponge and soapy water
Trowel
Tile Cement
Grout
Caulk
Square
Fiberglass Tape
Bathroom Flooring
If you are laying down a floor in your bathroom, the process is pretty simple. Once the old floor is removed, take a look at the baseboards and see if they are in good shape. If they are not, you will need to lay down a new floor before you continue on with the tile work. If the floor is fine, then you will need to lay out the tiles, starting from the exact center of the room, and work your way outward toward each wall. This dry run will allow you to ensure that all of the tiles are cut properly and that everything is measured out. Be especially careful to ensure that all of the tile fits around the toilet, the cupboards and other fixtures.
Then, use the tile cement and carefully dollop on a bit to the bottom of each tile as you go, using tile nippers to cut any excess adhesive or material to ensure a tight fit between tiles. Then, let the adhesive dry for at least 24 hours before using the floor.
Bathtub Back Splash Area
If you are replacing the tile in a back splash area behind and around a tub, you will need to take the same kind of measurements that you would for a floor, but account for any curves that you might have in the floor, or around the top of the tub. The trick here is to measure everything carefully, and cut out curves into the border tiles before you begin. Double check that all tiles fit before actually cementing any of them into place.
Bathroom Shower Stall
Doing the tile work in a shower stall can be the most difficult, if only for the shear number of tiles that you will have to install, but with the same level of preparation it is not a terribly difficult project. And, unless your shower stall has odd curvatures, you should not really have to do too much cutting of tile to make everything fit. Arrange the tiles as you want them, remembering to leave a ¼ inch alley between tiles for grout and caulk to seal everything in.
Once everything is measured, lay the tiles as you would for a floor or a back splash, working from the bottom corner of one end, outward and upward. Then, grout the alleys between tiles, and seal them up with caulk for protection from water damage. Let it dry for at least 24 hours.