Real-life tiling doesn’t happen that way, especially for unseasoned do-it-yourselfers.
Laying tile is easy, but laying tile and doing it well is difficult.
Consider Room Size
Smaller projects, like backsplashes, are easier for DIYers to take on.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
It can become difficult to drop in the tile evenly whentiling a large bathroom floor, for example.
Start With Good Substrate
Your tile work is only as good as yoursubstrate or subfloor.
If you do not have a good subfloor or underlayment, your tile will not lie flat.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Lippagewhen adjoining tile edges that are not the same heightmay occur.
Even worse, a base floor that is not solid enough will eventually cause the tile to crack.
Begin with a solid OSBsubfloor.
Use Pre-Mixed Thinset
Drythinset mortaris cheap, but it is also difficult to mix.
The solution is to buy a pre-mixed thinset.
While significantly more expensive, pre-mixed thinset saves you from the aggravation of getting water-to-thinset measurements correct.
Plus, mixing up dry thinset is physically difficult.
Mixing paddles cost $15 to $25 and are indispensable for mixing up thinset.
you could even use them for mixing up drywall compound if that’s another project in the future.
You have to know the righttile sizefor the installation and have the right tools to make it look good.
Diagonal spacing tools help you create those diagonals without a lot of complicated calculations.
Use the Right Tools
For spreading mortar, you oughta have a notched trowel.
Notched trowels regulate the flow of thinset on the substrate.
They typically have one side with large notches and another side with smaller notches.
For spreading grout over tiles, you’ll need a completely different tool: a rubber grout float.
The soft face of the float lets you spread grout across the tiles without scratching them.
Use Spacers For Tile Spacing
Usetile spacersto ensure every space between tiles is exactly right.
Spacing tiles correctly is hard, and it doesn’t help that thinset mortar is slippery.
Be sure to use plastic tile spacers to impose the correct distance.
Spacers can be tedious to remove, but they ensure perfect spacing of tile seams.
Use the Right Backing Material
High-moisture areas where leakage may occur are more difficult to tile.
These require special backing material and grout-sealing techniques.
Showers, especially, can be difficult for the DIY tiler to make completely waterproof.
Schluter Kerdi is a well-known brand of waterproofing membranes for shower pans, walls, and floors.
Perimeter tiles will need to be cut.
you could use either a wet tile saw and a rail or snap tile cutter for this.
More likely, you will want to use both types of tile-cutting tools.
If you happen to have any less-than-perfect cuts, there is no need to throw out that expensive tile.
A wet tile saw makes precise straight cuts in ceramic, porcelain, and natural stone tiles.
A rail-style tile cutter is like a glass cutter for tile.
You’ll need extras for replacing cracked tiles and other future repairs, too.
