Tiling a Floor

Building your new house and floor is something you want to be special? Just think of tiles. It is not impossible or really tough to get nice finish in tiles. You can achieve a great of floor with tiles completing a great look of your dream home. But this is not Child's play either, few things you need to follow to get a great finish in floors, and this article is going to describe you that.

Planing the Tiled Floor Design

Firstly you need to plan about the way you want the floor to be. You can take paper and scale and draw down the design you want. Note down the measurements of the room and also the tiles, and calculate how many tiles actually you need. This way you can avoid buying extra tiles and save money, but buy few extra as backup I case the tiles which are to be used get broken

Floor Surface

You need to make sure that the floor surface is rock solid and even in nature. If the floor surface remains soft, a chance of tiles being broken will be there. And same may happen if the floor surface is not even. The tile may get cracked, and you will need to replace it, if you see the floor in not a good condition then first put cement on the floor to make it solid and even, so that your tiles remain safe.

Prepare the Floor for Tiling

Before setting up the tiles clean up the whole floor, make sure that there is no water or oil or anything that may cause problem while you try to set tiles on the floor with adhesive. Take your time and work carefully and methodically remembering that the key is preparation and planning. Make sure your surfaces are suitable; the surface must be smooth, level and dry. Any existing wooden floorboards should be covered with 12mm (1/2in) exterior grade plywood sheets screwed down to form a level working surface. Concrete floors are of course the perfect base but before you commence work check that there is a damp-proof course. If not you should have one installed before starting work. You will need to fill any rough, ragged or uneven areas in the concrete with a self-levelling compound.

Plan the Tile Floor Layout

Plan the layout of your tiles so you know where they will all go before you even think about laying the first one. It is best to lay them out in the room to see how it will look. Pay close attention to corners, fitted cabinets, baths and toilets etc. You must remember that the tiles need to be laid out so that any part tiles do not show up in highly visible areas. Laying floor tiles around those areas where cuts are necessary is the trickiest part of tiling but if you take your time, measure and cut carefully, you should be able to get excellent results.

Setting Out Tiled Floors

As already stated the secret of successful diy tiling is to spend time working out the tile positions - this is called setting out. First mark the mid-points of the longest wall and that is most visible from all the others and repeat for the adjacent shorter wall. Make chalk lines from each of the marks you have made so that you have a pair of lines that cross. . These lines should be perpendicular to each other. A chalk snap line is an inexpensive way to "draw" a long line between two points, when a ruler is not feasible. First, shake up the chalk inside the snap line tool (or add chalk if it doe not have any).

Floor Tiling Installation

Then, hook one end of the chalk snap line to your beginning point. If you have a well-functioning chalk snap line, you can slowly play out the line without using the crank. If the line plays out with difficulty, then be sure to use the crank to reduce the strain on the line. The way to get an accurate chalk line is having the chalk line pulled very tight when you snap it, as the more tension is on the string when you pull it up the more precise the line will be when you let go. Make sure the line is firmly resting against the floor surface. If there is any gap between the line and the surface, then it will not work. Hold back the line one inch as if drawing back the string for a bow and arrow. Let go: that is your "snap."

DIY Tiling

Once you have completed this, make two marks with a pencil outlining the most central tile where the two perpendicular reference lines intersect. Once this is completed, remove the tiles and prepare for the actual installation. Laying floor tiles or any diy tiling can be quite a daunting prospect and it's quite easy to make a complete mess of it. For complete peace of mind if you do not feel confident about tackling the work yourself call in professional tiling contractors.

Article Source & Arthur: Rahul Arora

Article Source & Arthur: Brian Potter