Tiling Tactics
Setting a beautiful ceramic-tile bath floor
By:
Joe Truini, photos by Geoffrey Gross
Online Rating:
  (7/10) Glazed ceramic tile is a near-perfect material for bathroom floors. It’s extremely durable, relatively affordable, stain- and skid-resistant and waterproof when properly installed and maintained. In addition, tiles are readily available in dozens of colors, styles and sizes, and you can install them yourself. Here we show how to upgrade a bathroom — in both appearance and durability — by replacing an old vinyl floor with glazed ceramic tile. We chose a random pattern that includes 6 x 6-, 6 x 12- and 12 x 12-in. tiles. Combining the three sizes not only creates an interesting design but also reduces the number of tiles you need to cut.
Prep the floor
Before laying tile, you must prepare the room by removing the old floor covering and installing cementitious tile backerboard. This is crucial because the key to a long-lasting tile job is a rock-solid, stable substrate.
The first step requires a little plumbing work: You must remove the toilet so you can tile right up to the drainpipe in the floor. Turn off the water supply to the toilet by closing the shut-off valve, which is typically located directly behind the toilet. Flush the toilet; then use a sponge and a small cup to remove any remaining water from the bowl. Next, pry off the trim caps from each side of the toilet base to reveal the closet bolts. Use a wrench to remove the nuts from the bolts. Then grasp the toilet bowl and gently rock it back and forth to break its seal to the floor (photo 1). With the help of a friend, carry the toilet out of the room and set it on an old towel or blanket. Stuff a rag into the toilet’s drainpipe to block sewer gases. Now pull up the old sheet flooring, starting in one corner (photo 2). If the floor is covered with vinyl tiles, you’ll have to pry them up one at a time using a stiff-blade putty knife and an electric heat gun. If the existing floor is ceramic tile, the quickest way to remove it is with an electric demolition hammer fitted with a wide-blade chisel. (You can rent one for about $50 a day.) Once you’ve removed the old floor covering, inspect the wooden subfloor for signs of rot or damage, and repair or replace the wood as necessary. Next, use a flush-cutting handsaw to trim the bottoms of the doorstops and doorjambs so the tile will slip underneath. Lay a piece of tile backerboard and one tile on the floor in front of the door frame to create a cutting guide. Lay the saw on top and cut through the doorstop and jamb (photo 3). Remove the wood you cut from the door frame; then vacuum the floor. Mix up a bucket of latex-fortified thinset mortar with water and let it slake, or rest, for 10 to 15 minutes. Then use a 3/32-in. notched trowel to spread an even layer of thinset across the subfloor. Set a sheet of ¼-in.-thick tile backerboard into the thinset (photo 4). Be sure the fastening guide embossed on the sheet is facing up. Fasten the backerboard to the subfloor with 1-5/8-in.-long backerboard screws (photo 5). Space the screws 8 in. apart or as recommended by the backerboard manufacturer. Now cover all seams between the backerboard sheets with 2-in.-wide fiber-reinforced backerboard tape (photo 6). Spread a thin layer of thinset over the tape and over each screwhead. Allow the thinset to cure overnight.
Set the tile
Begin by mixing up a bucket of latex-fortified thinset mortar. Again, let it slake for 10 to 15 minutes. Then use a 1/4-in. notched trowel to spread thinset across an area no larger than about 2 sq. ft. (photo 7). Tiling small sections at a time allows you to work at a more leisurely pace.
Because the room dimensions perfectly accommodated our tile pattern, we were able to start tiling in one corner and work our way across to the opposite wall (photo 8). However, when using tiles that are all the same size, it’s best to start in the exact center of the room and work out toward all four walls. That’ll create a balanced pattern with equal-size tiles around the room’s perimeter. When you must trim a tile, use either a score-and-snap manual tile cutter or an electric wet saw, which cuts with a diamond-impregnated blade. Continue spreading mortar in 2-ft. squares and setting tiles across the floor (photo 9). Some floor tiles have small bumps, known as spacing lugs, protruding from each edge. When the tiles are butted tightly together, the lugs create evenly spaced grout joints. If your tiles don’t have lugs, insert rubber spacers between the tiles. Gently wipe any mortar from the tiles using a damp rag; then let the mortar cure overnight.
Grout the joints
The next step is to fill the joints between tiles with grout. Use nonsanded grout for joints that are 1/8 in. wide or narrower; for joints wider than 1/8 in., use sanded grout. Mix the grout with water to the consistency of thick mayonnaise. Remove the rubber spacers (if applicable) from between the tiles and force grout into the spaces using a rubber float (photo 10).
Scrape up any excess grout; then wait 20 to 30 minutes for the grout to firm up. Gently wipe the tiles clean using a damp cloth, being careful not to wipe the grout from the joints. Wait another hour or so; then buff off any remaining grout haze from the tiles using a dry, clean cloth. Next, attach a new wax toilet-bowl gasket to the toilet’s drainpipe (photo 11). Set the toilet back in place and press it down into the wax gasket. Then carefully tighten the nuts on the closet bolts and replace the trim caps. Reconnect the water-supply line to the toilet and open the shut-off valve. Flush the toilet a few times and check for leaks. Wait at least a week; then apply a coat of silicone sealer to all the grout joints to protect them from cracking and staining.
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