Bathroom Tile Installation

Are you ready to enjoy the Installation of new tiles replacing the old worn out tiles? Definitely the answer should be ‘Yes’. Especially when the old tiles have been there for years and you want something different or may be you are renovating your entire house; this might be the right opportunity to install new bathroom tiles.

Bathroom tile installation is definitely a long process but not a difficult one. This article should help you through to be confident in installing new tiles to your bathroom.

Materials needed for the installation of new bathroom tiles:

You will need a chalk line, a roller, a notched trowel, a putty knife, a heat gun, odorless mineral spirits, floor covering adhesive and last but not the least replacement new tiles of your choice.

Starting the tile installation process:

Initially use the heat gun to heat the existing tiles. This would warm up one tile at a time, losing its adhesive making it easier to remove. Putty knife can be used to pray the old tile after loosened from the base. It is important to gear yourself with a sanding respirator as the process is more likely to release toxins into the air. Sanding respirator would protect you from dangerous fumes. If your tiles are made of asbestos fibres, than please call in a professional since it could be too dangerous to remove the asbestos tiles as they pose health risk.

Second option would be to place the new tiles on the old tiles, this is if you don’t mind the height and are comfortable with the increased height.

You can use mineral spirits to remove the rest of the adhesive from the floor and scrape the old adhesive from the floor with a putty knife.

Measuring the mortar and drawing the marking lines:

You start of by measuring the exposed mortar before you begin to draw the guidelines this is to see if the exposed mortar is in level with a marking line. Manufacturer specifications are clear and hence you can use the marking line as a guide in applying mortar accordingly to the designated areas. With a measuring tape you can divide your bathroom into four perpendicular quadrants. It is important to measure a ninety degree angle at the centre of the room. You can use the dry tiles to make your markings perfect so that you will have a discernment of how many tiles will fit in to the marks you made previously. You can design the tiles the way you want by cutting their edges making them fit into the marking areas.

Use of tile adhesive

DAVCO tile cement is one of the best adhesive used in bathroom tile installation. You can use DAVCO and spread it around the floor to the thickness that is specified on the terms by the manufacturer. With the use of adhesive you can also use measuring line to measure up straight thickness of the adhesive. Second step is to apply adhesive at the back of the tile and lay the tile one at a time. Please keep a note; it is important to start this process in the centre of your bathroom where the marking lines intersect. Starting from the centre will help you balance the markings throughout the bathroom and especially orderly with the installed quadrants.

Getting ready for the last piece of the bathroom tile installation job:

Fitting the border tiles is not a difficult job, make sure that the tiles are measured smaller so that it fits in correctly. While fitting the border tiles, you might want to measure them again so that they are in line with the other tiles and perfectly symmetrical. You can use the cardboard template when you are trying to fit the first tile layers, especially the corner ones.

Practice will make you perfect in fitting the border tiles because they are a hard job and especially when you want it to be so perfect.

Concluding the bathroom tile installation:

This part is concluding the process of bathroom tile installation by using a roller pin and making sure that the air between the tile and the floor is pressed out. You can roll the pin both direction and please do not walk on the tiles until the entire process of installation is complete. If you see extra adhesive oozing out or on top of tiles than you might use a damp towel to wipe out the excess adhesive you see oozing outside the tiles

Hope this article helps you enjoy your entire bathroom tile installation and more than anything ‘Have fun while working at it’.