Rather than hiring a carpenter or a professional to come into your home to lay tile, follow these simple steps to do yourself. You'll save money and have the feeling of accomplishment when you're finished.
Before you actually lay the tile, the floor has to be prepared. You need to pull out all the old tile and clean it thoroughly with a cleanser. Make sure all the oil stains, waxy buildup and grease are removed. Make sure the floor is even and has no bumps or lumps in the surface. If so then use a scraper to make it level.
The first thing that needs to be done is to find the center of the room that you're tiling. Measure the walls and mark a spot at the halfway point. Then walk to the center of the room keeping your eye on both spots. You will want to lay the tile from the center of the room and work your way out from there. You will want to make an outline of where your tiles are going to be, so you can follow a pattern.
When you apply the cement to the floor, make sure it's an even coat and only cover one fourth of the floor at once. Apply the cement with a roller, a brush or a trowel. Allow the cement to dry for about 15 to 20 minutes and then check to see if it has set up. Touch it only one to see if it sticks or not. If it does stick, then give it a few more minutes to dry.
Once the cement has dried all the way, start laying down your tiles according to your drawn out pattern. You can either just lay the tiles down as they are, or you can apply some glue to them to the right spot. Use a light coating of carpenter's glue on the back of the tile. Not too much because you don't want it to seep out the sides and possibly get on the front of the tiles.
Make sure there are no gaps between the tiles where water can seep through the cracks and cause mildew to form. When you reach the edges of the wall, cut some of the extra tiles down to the specific size for the area.
If you've used glue to affix the tiles, don't wash the tile floor for about a week, to give it time to set up properly.
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