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How To Tile A Floor

How To Tile A Floor

Intstructions

Tiling a floor is a complicated, messy job, and there are a few simple mistakes that every novice makes. Before you start, watch "how to prepare for tiling", then follow this simple Homeserve guide, and as long as you have half a day to spare, you can do a job even a professional would be proud of.

Step 1:
Before you start you'll need:

• Floor tiles
• Tile spacers
• Adhesive
• Chalk
• A tile cutter
• A notched spreader
• Floor sealer
• A tile saw
• A squeegee
• A damp sponge
• And a clean cloth

Step 2:
The secret of successful floor tiling is to spend time working out the tile positions - this is called setting out.

First mark the mid-points of all the walls and draw a pair of lines that cross in the centre of the room in chalk. Then place your tiles along the two lines to work out the best positions. It's worth adjusting their positions slightly to use as many whole tiles as possible, and you should always avoid having cut tiles along the wall that is seen as you walk into the room.

Step 3:
Spread a square metre of the adhesive into one of the corners formed by the chalk lines.

Top Tip:
Always use a notched trowel or spreader so that the adhesive is spread in evenly sized ribbons across the floor

Step 4:
When tiling the floor, it is vital to work outwards from the centre of the room, using the chalk lines as a guide, as internal walls are rarely straight.

Start tiling, placing spacers between each tile and continue until you have covered half the room with as many whole tiles as possible. Then start on the other side of the line.

Step 5:
Now fill in the gaps with cut tiles. Use a tile cutter to trim the tiles to size.

Top Tip:
Before you cut, make sure you have allowed for the grouting gap between tiles and if you have to cut around door arches or another shape, use a profile guide to copy the shape onto the tile.

Step 6:
Once the tiles have been left overnight to set, get your grouting gear at the ready. Using your grout float spread the grout all over the tiles, making sure every joint is well filled. Before it dries, remove and excess grout with a sponge. And finally, leave it for a couple of hours to dry and polish with a cloth.

What a result! Now you're ready to get going, or if you prefer, give Homeserve a call and let us take care of it for you.