The initial phase in the bathroom renovation included stripping the old bath down to the studs and sub-floor, leveling the floor, knocking out a wall into the hall closet to enlarge the room, building a partition and new door frame and getting an estimate for rough plumbing work. The next phase will consist of laying out the ceramic-tile floor, cutting and installing the tiles. This day's work will also include installation of the pre-hung door. One of the most important features of the new bath is the ceramic tile floor. For today's project Sarah -- the homeowner and do-it-yourself bathroom architect -- learns about the entire tiling process. Following an initial layout, she measures, cuts, installs and grouts the modern 12x12-inch tiles she has selected. This includes learning use several tile-cutting tools. She uses the "score and snap" method for straight cuts and the nippers for smaller spaces. By far, the most useful tool she discovers is the water-cooled tile-saw. This makes quick work of most of the cuts she has to make. Sarah begins prepping for the new tile floor by leveling the floor and covering it with cement backer board. In addition to cutting the backer-board panels to fit the space, one section had to be cut to fit around the toilet drain. Backer board is fairly easy to work with and, once the pieces were cut, Sarah covers the wood sub-floor with pre mixed mortar and sets the backer board in place -- rough side up. She then secures it with screws and fills the seams with mortar. Materials: Tiles
Thin-set mortar
Grooved trowel
Plastic tile spacers
Tile-scoring tool
Steps: - The first step is to sweep up and clean the floor of any debris leftover from the construction up to this point (figure A).
- Sarah's next step is to actually lay out the tiles as she wants them to look when she's finished (figure B). Sarah has chosen a 12-inch ceramic tile with the look of gray stone. She starts with a full tile placed in the corner in front of the toilet. Working out in both directions, she inserts quarter inch spacers between the tiles to define the grout lines. A few inches will need to be cut off the last tile at the end near the shower. Because these are large tiles, the cut tiles will not look out of scale. The last tile on the short run will also have to be trimmed slightly.
- The mortar used in this project is commonly called thin-set, and it comes two ways --in a box ready for mixing or pre-mixed tubs. The pre-mix is more expensive, but it's much easier to work with and ideal for small projects. A trowel with quarter inch grooves on two sides is used for spreading the mortar (figure C).
- It's important not to try to do too much at once. For tiles this size, Sarah spreads enough mortar to set two or three pieces at a time. She sweeps the grooved end of the trowel at a 45-degree angle keeping the mortar an even thickness on the backer-board (figure D).
- Sarah sets spacers along the wall then carefully places the first tile (figure E). She drops the tile into place, making sure not to slide it in. Then Sarah applies as much pressure as she can with her hands as she twists it into position
- To make sure she has the tile firmly in place, Sarah has covered a small two by 4 with cloth and gently taps it on the tile (figure F).
- The spacers keep the alignment even and all the grout lines the same width (figure G). With these tiles, it was easier to place them upright between the tiles instead of flat on the corners.
- Use the spacers as a guide, but keep checking to make sure the alignment looks right. Also, keep checking to make sure the tiles are level with one another. Sarah uses a short board to check the tiles for a level surface, and gently rocks it to push down any high spots (figure H).
- To cut the tiles for the row along the back of the room, Sarah uses a hand tool to score the line (figure I). Though the scoring tool is good for making small or custom cuts, a water-cooled tile-saw is much easier to use for big jobs. In the segment that follows, Sarah learns how to cut tiles using this powerful tool.
RESOURCES :
The Complete Book of Kitchen and Bathroom Renovation
Time Life Books
Website: www.timelife.com
Handmade Tiles
ISBN: 1579902715
Author: Frank Giorgini
Order this title from Amazon.com
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