Tips on Laying Floor Tiles
While laying floor tiles you must follow the tried and tested steps and methods described by various experts in this field.
It is highly recommended that you watch a video or read good guide books on laying or installing floor tiles before you take on your project.
A video will give you a live experience of how the process actually works and will be like a teacher in front of you guiding you in laying floor tiles.
Whichever steps you follow while laying floor tiles, there are some tips that can help you work better, in an accurate and efficient way.
Tip 1: Measure, measure and measure again till you get it correct.
The more accurate are your measurements, the greater are your chances of getting a perfect floor.
One way could be using the simple Pythagoras theorem.
The sum of squares of the right angle sides of a right angle triangle is the square of the hypotenuse.
This way once you make the chalk marks, you can always go back and measure if the hypotenuse is as per the Pythagoras theorem and you would know if your 'squares' are actually 'squares'.
Tip 2: Use a backer board on the sub floor.
You can also mix tiles from different boxes so that there is uniformity to the finished floor.
Tip 3: Always go for a dry run to place the floor tiles without a mortar before finally laying floor tiles.
This helps in gauging any calculation error beforehand.
Place corresponding edges together.
Tip 4: Use good quality glue or adhesive preferably ones recommended by the professionals.
Tip 5: Wear knee pads while laying tiles as you will need to be in that position for long.
Tip 6: Choose a grout colour based on your requirement.
You may want to go for a dark colour to accentuate your floor or a neutral colour for the grout to blend in.
Tip 7: You can use a wet sponge to wipe off the grout haze after grouting.
Be thorough with your wiping off the grout from the tiles or else the finished floor may not look as neat as you want it to be.
Tip 8: Use a cheesecloth to polish the grout.
Tip 9: Do not wash the floor for one week after laying the floor tiles.
Let the floor settle for that period.
Tip 10: Follow all safety precautions and local codes while using equipment.
Wear the required safety gloves while cutting tiles.
These tips and warnings will help you do your job better.
Take tips from friends and acquaintances who have laid floor tiles before, if this is your first job.
Remember perfection comes from experience and although your first job may not impress you, but you will improve with more experience.
Learn from each experience.
Above all the experience of finishing a complex job by yourself and doing it good is extremely satisfying.
If you find yourself to be reasonably good at laying floor tiles then you may even consider taking it up as a business! Good Luck!
It is highly recommended that you watch a video or read good guide books on laying or installing floor tiles before you take on your project.
A video will give you a live experience of how the process actually works and will be like a teacher in front of you guiding you in laying floor tiles.
Whichever steps you follow while laying floor tiles, there are some tips that can help you work better, in an accurate and efficient way.
Tip 1: Measure, measure and measure again till you get it correct.
The more accurate are your measurements, the greater are your chances of getting a perfect floor.
One way could be using the simple Pythagoras theorem.
The sum of squares of the right angle sides of a right angle triangle is the square of the hypotenuse.
This way once you make the chalk marks, you can always go back and measure if the hypotenuse is as per the Pythagoras theorem and you would know if your 'squares' are actually 'squares'.
Tip 2: Use a backer board on the sub floor.
You can also mix tiles from different boxes so that there is uniformity to the finished floor.
Tip 3: Always go for a dry run to place the floor tiles without a mortar before finally laying floor tiles.
This helps in gauging any calculation error beforehand.
Place corresponding edges together.
Tip 4: Use good quality glue or adhesive preferably ones recommended by the professionals.
Tip 5: Wear knee pads while laying tiles as you will need to be in that position for long.
Tip 6: Choose a grout colour based on your requirement.
You may want to go for a dark colour to accentuate your floor or a neutral colour for the grout to blend in.
Tip 7: You can use a wet sponge to wipe off the grout haze after grouting.
Be thorough with your wiping off the grout from the tiles or else the finished floor may not look as neat as you want it to be.
Tip 8: Use a cheesecloth to polish the grout.
Tip 9: Do not wash the floor for one week after laying the floor tiles.
Let the floor settle for that period.
Tip 10: Follow all safety precautions and local codes while using equipment.
Wear the required safety gloves while cutting tiles.
These tips and warnings will help you do your job better.
Take tips from friends and acquaintances who have laid floor tiles before, if this is your first job.
Remember perfection comes from experience and although your first job may not impress you, but you will improve with more experience.
Learn from each experience.
Above all the experience of finishing a complex job by yourself and doing it good is extremely satisfying.
If you find yourself to be reasonably good at laying floor tiles then you may even consider taking it up as a business! Good Luck!
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