How To Lay Ceramic Floor Tiles - By: Xavier Diaz

Kitchen and bathroom flooring is predominantly ceramic floor tiles, these types of tiles have always been used for this purpose. The fact that they are easy to clean, waterproof and hard wearing make them ideal flooring, now it is becoming more popular for them to be used in living spaces too as an alternative to hard wood flooring. Installing ceramic floor tiles is not as simple as everyone think and as such I have created a guide to help you out.

Buying floor tiles
Before you go out to buy your tiles, initially get the size of the tiles you want and work the accurate size of the floor you want to cover. Never buy more than you need but allow for breakages, where your tile saw might slip or those incorrect measurements! It's worthwhile checking that the supplier has plenty of stock and if you are buying discontinued tiles, make sure you have enough to complete the job.

Preparing floor for tiling
Ceramic floor tiles can be placed on a direct hardwood surface, just make sure that the surface is strong enough to support the weight. Concrete floors are ideal to lay floor tiles onto, with any type of surface make sure it is flat and free from dust and dirt. Ensure that you have bought the right type of adhesive for the job.

Positioning the tiles
The first tile is the most important tile you will lay, never start from a wall or corner, no matter how straight you think your room. Even in new houses you will be surprised how much the walls vary. Start in the middle of the room and work outwards, this way the tiling will be symmetrical. To start laying the tiles it is vital that you do a test run first to check you actually have the right position to start. Lay out tile in each direction until you hit the wall; make sure you avoid any extrusions in the wall like alcoves. What you are looking for is to make sure that you do not end up needing to cut a tiny strip of tile next to wall. If you're happy with length you have to cut, then you're ready to go.

Laying the floor tiles
Take your adhesive, start at the centre of the room and pour out enough to cover a square meter of floor, use a large spreader or trowel to spread the adhesive. Now place your main centre ceramic floor tile in place, wiggle it to make sure that it adheres to the glue and fits in place. Use a spirit level to make sure that the tile is flat; it's worth using it constantly through the job. Now fit some spaces around the tile and move on to the next tile.

Repeat this process until you get to the edges of your room and at the point you need to cut the ceramic floor tiles stop, now use a sponge that is slightly damp to clean off any excess adhesive from your tiles. If you have any deposits of adhesive on the floor, wipe it off. Leave this work for 24 hours before you start the last part of the laying.

Laying the edge tiles
Measure up the tiles you need to cut, I would recommend using a tile saw to cut the ceramic floor tiles as it will save you so much time and cause fewer breakages. Now go around and complete the last stage of the tiling. Leave this for anther 24 hours before the next stage.

Grouting the floor tiles
To grout the tiles, spread the grout out across the tiles and gaps with a spreader and leave it to start to set. As the grout starts to set you need to compact the grout using a striking tool. Now wipe down with a damp sponge and clean off any excess grout. Finally you need to make the ceramic floor tiles waterproof, so you need to use a sealant to protect the tiles.

I hope this helps you out and give you some guidance for your next tiling job, as with all decorating jobs it is worth taking your time and taking it step by step to get the best finish. Good luck.

About the Author

There is a great range of designerfloor tiles and kitchen tilesat Johnson Tiles. They have a great range of design ideas throughout their project pages.

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