Ceramic tiles offer great variety and are ideal candidates to spruce up your rooms and make them bright and colorful.
They are cost-effective compared to granite or marble and come in a variety of finishes and shapes.
If installed properly, they can provide years of rough usage without any kind of added maintenance.
Tile Selection Make sure to select the right size of tiles that will complement your room without necessary looking out of proportion.
If the tiles are too small, they will tend to have a chess-board appearance and will make the room look too cluttered.
At the same time, extremely large tiles will also odd, especially if installed in small rooms.
The smallest tile is a 1 inch by 1 inch all the way to a 12 inch by 12 inch large tile.
Most popular tile sizes range between 3x3 to 4x4.
Tiles also come in different types ranging from a glazed tile, which has a specific pattern 'glazed' or baked on top, to a mosaic, which are ideal for any type of surface since they resist moisture and don't chip that easily, to quarry tiles, which are made with a mixture of clays and are typically found in an unglazed state.
Full Tiles Set out all the tiles on the floor without putting any kind of adhesive.
Make sure to put in a plastic spacer between each tile to maintain uniform spacing across all the tiles.
Layout as many full tiles as you can till you get to the walls of the room.
Start at a corner and apply adhesive in 2x2 square sections.
Carefully lay out the tiles and press it onto the adhesive.
Use a soft mallet to gently ease the tiles into the adhesive.
Keep the spacers in place to make sure that the tiles are spaced evenly.
Continue applying the adhesive in 2x2 sections and laying the rest of the full tiles.
Allow the full tiles to set overnight.
Border Tiles Carefully lay the border tiles on the full tile so that it hits the sides of the walls.
Make a line on the tile where it intersects the full tile.
Use a tile cutter or a tile saw to cut the border tiles.
Apply adhesive around the full tiles and carefully work in the border tiles.
Allow them to set overnight.
Adding Grout The next step, which is a fairly easy one, is to put in the grout.
Grout is a construction material used for filling tile joints, voids etc.
Grout can either be bought in the standard cement-colored form or in a specific color-tinted form.
Also keep in mind that white or light-colored tints will get dirty over time.
Grout is applied as a liquid and gradually hardens to fill the joints between the tiles and give a snug fit.
Make sure to follow the manufacturers instructions when applying grout.
Also use the right kind of tool like a grout float which is a rubberized smoothing tool used for spreading grout.
Apply grout generously over all the tiles at the 45 degree angle.
Remove the excess grout with a wet sponge or towel, making sure not to pull out the grout between the tiles.
Mopping the floor for a week will also help the grout set fully and be completely cured.
Ceramic Tile Installation is not very complicated but requires a lot of time and patience.
Besides, if not done right, the cost of replacing tiles will start to add up.
Learn more about proper procedures and guides that can help even a beginner to easily and painlessly install ceramic tiles in your home.