Give Your Bathroom a Facelift with a Bathroom Tile Remodeling Project

When it comes to bathrooms nothing looks better, or lasts longer than tile flooring and backsplashes. The bathroom is an extremely high traffic room that also encounters a great deal of humidity so any surface area has to be well protected against water, mold and mildew. Tile is a perfect surface for such a room and it looks great too. A well-laid tile floor or shower area looks polished but it doesn't take a professional to make it look good. It may seem scary at first but laying bathroom tile is not as hard as it may appear.

Tools You Will Need

The first, and perhaps most obvious thing you will need is the proper amount of tiles for the project you are about to start. If you are tiling a wall or a floor the method used to determine how many tiles you will need is simple. Measure the surface area lengthwise and depth-wise. If a room measures 10 by 10 multiply those numbers for a total of 100. That surface is 100 square feet and you will need enough tiles to fill that space. Tile boxes usually will tell you how many square feet it will cover so be sure to buy enough for your project.

Next you will need a good tile cutter. Cutting bathroom tiles is inevitable. There is no use trying to avoid it. Unlike most other home flooring or wall covering tile cannot be cut easily with a knife or sharp tool you will need a power cutter especially designed for cutting tiles. It has a water basin underneath the blade to continually wet the tile as it is being cut. This will keep the tile from cracking, splintering, or fraying as you cut.

Small cuts or holes can be cut in tile to fit around fixtures and light switch areas with a special carbide embedded rod saw that will fit into your hand saw. This will enable you to make small cuts to go around pipes or other areas requiring a cut inside a tile without chopping up tiles to go around and making a sloppy surface.

Finally you will need mortar to adhere the tile to the floor or wall, a notched trowel, and spacers to put between the tiles for a perfect line. With all of your tools in hand you are ready to begin a fun home improvement project that will make your bathroom beautiful again.