How to Tile a Floor

Tile is a durable, designer-friendly material that can be used in almost any part of a home or commercial space. From the master bedroom to a guest bathroom, kitchen or commercial lobby, tile is available in so many different looks today that you can pick classic porcelain or ceramic styles, wood-look tile or natural stone tile.

Generally easy to clean and care for, tile is also a smart choice for busy homeowners and commercial spaces. While choosing tile may be easy, learning how to tile a floor can be a much more difficult prospect. If you're an experienced builder, or have some experience with flooring installation, there's a good chance you can handle the process if you take it step by step.

Remove Old Tile

In many cases, you'll need to remove tile flooring that's already in place before you can begin your installation project. Here's how you can do it:

• Protect yourself before you start. Wear gloves, eye protection, and a mask. You'll also want to wear work appropriate attire, like a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and safe work boots.
• Find a spot where the tile has chipped or the grout has loosened. Use a chisel to work the first tile loose. Continue working outward from this area.
• Use a hammer to smash the face of a tile if you can't use the chisel method.
• Carefully clean the area and remove old tile floor debris before moving on to the next step.

Evaluate Your Subfloor

Before learning how to install tile floor in your now empty space, you need to check and make sure the subfloor is strong and durable. In some cases, you'll need to make subfloor repairs due to water damage, rot and other issues that are common in older homes.

You'll also want to check that your subfloor is level. Don't skip this step or you will end up with an uneven floor. A poor foundation can lead to tile cracking and visible damage over time, which can be costly to repair.

How to Install Tile Floor Material: A Step-by-Step Guide

You've chosen the ideal tile for your space, approved the pattern with your client, and checked the subfloor. You've also properly cleaned the subfloor to remove all glue, adhesives or paint that could compromise the quality of your tile installation. Now you're ready to learn how to lay floor tile.

Use this step-by-step guide to aid you through the process:

Step 1: 

Sweep the floor one last time to remove debris. Always begin with a clean surface when laying any type of floor tile.

Step 2:

Snap chalk guide lines into place. To do this, first measure to find the center of the room. Make sure those chalk lines meet in the exact center of the space you're working in.

Step 3:

Lay your tiles and spacers out on the floor as a dry run to help you determine where to best begin laying your tile. Make sure to mix and match tiles at random to avoid any obvious patterns that may stand out in the finished product.

Step 4:

Snap additional chalk lines into place. These should be the width of one tile out from each wall. This will ensure that your tile placement remains perfectly straight.

Step 5:

Mix your thin-set mortar as instructed by the manufacturer. In many cases, using a self-mix thin-set mortar is easiest. Let the mixed mortar sit for about 10 minutes.

Step 6:

Begin work on a single section of the floor. Spread the mixture on a roughly 2' x 2' section of floor to start. Use a trowel to make sure the mortar is even and smooth. Note that you may wish to spread more or less mortar at once based on your specific tile size.

Step 7:

Place your first tiles where you spread the mortar. Continue working in this manner until you've covered the spread mortar.

Step 8:

Use your chalk lines as a guide for placing spacers between tiles. This will help ensure there are even spaces between each tile.

Step 9:

Continue the process outward and toward the walls, placing spacers as you put tile down. Use a tile cutter to trim your tiles as needed when working against walls. 

Step 10:

Allow the mortar to dry once you've installed the last tile. 48 to 72 hours is recommended.

Step 11:

Apply the grout you've chosen for the project. Use a rubber trowel to spread grout across your tiles at an angle to ensure that the mixture fills the space between each tile thoroughly.

Step 12:

Remove excess grout using damp towels that won't scratch the tile floor. Thoroughly clean the floors to remove dried grout, dirt, dust and debris to finish the project.

Learning how to lay floor tile, including how to install vinyl tile flooring, can be a complex job if you're a homeowner or beginner. If you're experienced in building and construction projects, you're likely already familiar with many of the concepts in use here.