Laying down Tile

[Stinsok]

My wife wants to re do our bathroom floors. I have zero experience with that. I would hate to do it, only to have to do it over! Have you done it? Problems, successes, tell me all!

[ShredderMaximus]

measure twice, cut once

[Wyrm74]

I've done it, it wasn't all that hard. DIY.com is your friend! Your local Lowe's or HomeDepot is likely to offer classes as well, give 'em a ringy-dingy.

Good luck!

[jp58]

Originally Posted by Wyrm74

I've done it, it wasn't all that hard. DIY.com is your friend! Your local Lowe's or HomeDepot is likely to offer classes as well, give 'em a ringy-dingy.

Good luck!

Our Lowe's does a class every Sunday. I can't promise it will be tile though.

[duff beer]

If your floor is bouncy the tiles will eventually crack. It must be solid.

Dry lay the tile pattern before you spread any mud and try to avoid small slivers of tile.

Seal the tiles before you grout to avoid staining the tiles with the grout. Then seal them again after grouting.

[elgecko]

I just did my bathroom without any experience...not rocket science but here's some tips:

- Shop around, price varies great from place to place for the same tile

- Demo is the worst part, rent a proper roto-hammer and definitely tape up a visquin barrier. Dust gets everywhere!

- If you're laying on concrete slab, it should be much easier. Mine was layed on old plywood/hardee board and leveling was a *****! I probably should have used a self-leveling compound

- Forget the $50 tile saw, rent yourself a proper man-size tile saw.

- I used the space-age epoxy grout. It was kind of expensive, don't know that I'd use it again.

- I was happy with the results and money savings. I'll do my kitchen myself when the time comes (I may go laminate though).

[MJ5150]

I have laid plenty of tile in my day. You need to think three or four pieces ahead of the piece you are currently laying. The suggestion to do a dry fit is a good one.

You are going to have waste and leftover. Don't get hung up on trying to use every single cut piece you can. With that in mind, get 10-15% extra for the project. If you have a custom or specialty color/tile, get even more extra for future repairs.

Allow yourself plenty of time, especially for the prep. This isn't a 30-60 minute project like you see on HGTV.

-Mike

[Stingray89]

I've helped out some friends a time or two with it. Like others have said, just take your time and measure twice and cut once. Beer is always a necessity when doing any home improvement projects.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I have laid plenty of tile in my day. You need to think three or four pieces ahead of the piece you are currently laying. The suggestion to do a dry fit is a good one.

You are going to have waste and leftover. Don't get hung up on trying to use every single cut piece you can. With that in mind, get 10-15% extra for the project. If you have a custom or specialty color/tile, get even more extra for future repairs.

Allow yourself plenty of time, especially for the prep. This isn't a 30-60 minute project like you see on HGTV.

-Mike

Good advice Mike. Take your time and make sure the cut tile is in a place where it isn't seen as much. Have the full tile in the open. If you can, turn the cut tile into a border one tile in and have a full tile next to the wall. That way it looks planned and it looks way better when you are done.

Also, if you are redoing the trim, get a thicker trim and have no 1/4 round. If you are not redoing the trim, make sure you take the trim off, tile, then put it back on. That way the trim is on top of the tile, it looks much more professional.

lowsound

[Jim Nazium]

Will she let you lay some pipe when you're finished?

[Schlyder]

Hire a professional. Or make sure to do your homework first.
If you do not know how to do tiling properly, it's easy to screw up.
Trust me. I worked for a journeyman tile setter for a few years, and it isn't as easy as it looks. To have tile work that looks great and is installed properly takes some skill.
A professional tile setter is the way to go. Just my $.02
If you do (and I hope you don't,) do it yourself, make sure you know exactly what you are doing every step of the way, before you even purchase tiles. Or your wife will have your b*lls, and you will never hear the end of it.

[DwaynieAD]

really NOT that hard. at all. I'm constructionally inferior and learned how to do it in an afternoon.. as long as your not doing 45's from the wall or crazy patterns you'll be find..

all other advice offered in this thread I resubmit

[ShredderMaximus]

Professional tile setters are waaaaaaay expensive. Like plumbers.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by ShredderMaximus

Professional tile setters are waaaaaaay expensive. Like plumbers.

I am good at laying tile, at least I thought I was. Then I watched a real pro, not some hack that charges you way too much, and I was shocked at how good his work was. Laying tile is easy, lying tile well is hard. Although the average lay-person couldn't tell the difference. I can and I am the only person that I trust to do my finish work.

lowsound

[duff beer]

One more tip...whenver possible put the cut end of a tile against the wall so that the baseboards will hide the cut, leaving the factory edge visible.

[MatticusMania]

Dont forget those little plastic crosses!

My Dad started off putting tile in the den, it soon spread tot he kitchen, living room, dining room, and hallway. Yeah, he must have been having way too much fun.

[MJ5150]

Haha, my dad did the same thing. His reason was he couldn't make a good transition to the other rooms, so he tiled everything.

-Mike

[MatticusMania]

Dad could have had it easy is he stopped at the den, but once he went beyond it I think he had the same problem. It turned out really good though, and made the house a lot cooler overall.