How to Replace Your Existing Floor with Ceramic Tile

We all want a better more modern look and feel to our home. One that looks beautiful, easy to clean and lasts forever. Right? Below you will find the steps necessary to replace your existing floor with Ceramic Tile.

-Tools Required-
Tape measure
Hammer and Prybar
Scraper
Tile Saw”>Tile Saw -Find one here.
Mortar trough
Drill With Mixing Blade
Grout Float
Bucket and Sponges

-Matierals Needed-
Ceramic Tile”>Ceramic Tile – Get it here
Mortar
Grout
Spacers
Patch cement for cracks

-How to Replace your Existing Floor with Ceramic Tile-
First you will want to measure the dimentions of the room you are planning and make sure you order enough matieral. Lets say you measure a room by these dimentions. 15×25 = 325 Square foot. When you order your wood, laminate or tile you will want to get a good ten percent extra as waste is a factor.

Next you need to rip out any existing floor right down to the sub floor. If you are ripping our carpet, it should be a rather easy job. If you are ripping out tile or hardwood, there are several tools for getting the job done. Ask your local hardware store. If it is more time efficient for you there may be small machines to help rip out existing ceramic tile for rental to get the job done a bit easier for you. Otherwise if your doing the job cheaply, prepare to have a go with the prybar.

Your subfloor must be as clean as you can get it. Use a prybar or hammer to pull any tack strips, nails, staples ect. You may need scrapers and solvents to disolve any glue.
Get your floor as clean and level as you possibly can. The main point here is to make sure dirt, tiny pebbles and any small debris is cleaned up before laying any ceramic tile flooring.

Ok. Get your tape measure and a pencil or in this case a marker works well also. You need to find center to make your floor look uniform. If you are installing in a bathroom, you can start a full tile off the tub. The way I see it design is entirely up to you. I have seen very beautiful floors and some that just looked like conformity was an issue. Some contractors want you to install this way. Do not worry about center in this case. For all other purposes. You want to find center. Take a few dry tiles placeing the grout lines of your tile to center. Take note to where your cut offs will fall before laying any down with glue or mortar. I like to stand in the doorways to get a better visualization on how it will look. Once you are satisfied we can move on to lay down.

For cutting we’ll need to use a ceramic tile saw or for straight cuts a straight cutter can be used. They are cheap to purchase, but be prepared to break a few till you get to know how much pressure needs to be used. Continue laying full tiles and cut all your tiles last. You will need to space your tiles with tile spacers. I usually use quarter inch spacers. If you are using large tiles, like a twelve inch tile, you will want a larger spacer.

Read the directions on a bag of mortar. Mix it proportionately. About 2 parts powder to 1 part water. It should be thick, but not like clay. It should have a slow run to it. Just a bit thicker than say a cake batter. Start by spreading enough mortar with a half inch trough. Keep the trough in a fourty five degree angle. It should leave the mortar in rows of peaks. Spread enough for only 2-4 tiles at a time to start. Make sure your tiles line up with any marks you made to find center. Obviously any tiles you put down on your mortar bed, should not be stepped on or walked on for atleast twenty-four hours.

Continue laying all your ceramic tile until you have nothing left but your cuts along the walls. Any factory edge should be placed along an existing factory edge. Any small cuts you make which have a large fall off called waste should be saved for now if it still has some factory edges on it. You may use these pieces for smaller cuts such as corners.

Now you should have your ceramic tile floor layed out and dried for twenty-four hours. Mix your grout according to the package. You may want to pull out your spacers for better adhearance, but some people keep them in only to same time. Keep it slightly thin as it spreads more easily. Grout dries really fast and needs to be cleaned up quickly. Start by spreading only a few tiles. Give it a few mins to set and wipe with a clean wet sponge. Use a bucket, and keep rinsing the sponge until your tile has a nice clean surface. Your tiles will continue to dry with a haze to them. You will want to watch for this. Do not rush the grouting process. Go over your drying tiles a second or third time. Don’t allow to dry completely. Some hazing will occur and you will use a dry towel to buff the haze off after the grout has dried for twenty-four hours. I hope you have enjoyed How to Replace your Existing Floor
with Ceramic Tile.

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