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Installing ceramic floor tiles |
Ceramic tiles are fairly easy to install. Choose them according to their end use.
Ceramic tiles have one major prerequisite - you must have a smooth and rigid sub-floor to support the installation. They are not flexible and therefore can crack if installed over a rough surface or thin sub-floor. If you must put down a sub-floor, make sure it doesn't block the openings for existing doors.
When installing ceramic floor tile in the bathroom, remove the toilet in order to lay the tiles under toilet base. |
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1. Determine the layout | |
Preparing the installation of the tiles is a crucial step not to be neglected. The result of your work will depend on this preparation. |
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1.1 | |
Using a chalk line, snap a line perpendicular to the main entrance into the room, from the centre of the wall to the other end of the room, and another line parallel to the entrance wall. |
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1.2 | |
Starting from the intersection of both lines, lay tiles on the floor along the line marking the length of the room, without adhesive, to see how they fit. Use a spacer in between each tile. The spacer can be the side of another tile or you can purchase plastic spacers from your home renovation centre. |
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1.3 | |
When you reach the end of the room and can no longer put down a full tile, align another row of tiles along the line marking the width of the room. |
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1.4 | |
Based on the amount of remaining space at both ends of the second row, determine how much you need to shift the tiles to achieve equal borders on both ends of the room. Snap a second line marking the length of the room based on this measurement. The intersection of this new line and the line marking the width of the room will become your starting point. If your room is very irregular and filled with obstacles, lay the tiles in such a way as to limit the number of cuts. |
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2. Apply the adhesive | |
Using a notched trowel, apply tile adhesive to an area equal to two or three tiles in the starting corner. As you lay down each tile, give the tiles a "jiggle" to set them in to the adhesive. |
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3. Lay down the tiles | |
Use the spacer to make sure the tiles are spaced evenly. You can use a rubber mallet or a block of wood and a hammer to gently tap down tiles that are too high. |
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4. Remove the spacers |
Remove the spacers as you work your way back and forth across the room, before the adhesive has time to dry and without walking over the freshly glued tiles. If your tiles are very thick and the spacers are embedded into the adhesive, you can leave them in place and simply apply grout over them.
Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 until the whole surface is covered. |
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5. Let the adhesive set | |
Let the full tiles set for 24 hours. Once the adhesive has set, you can carefully walk on the tiles to cut and install the border tiles. |
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