There are many things you need to know in order to tile a floor. There are also many different scenarios involving what flooring you are starting out with and that may change how you begin. 1.Step one depends on what is on the floor now.
If you have a concrete slab foundation, you will not need hardibacker or the screws. However, you will have to remove all linoleum, laminate, hard wood, carpet or previous tile.
If you have a wood foundation, you have to use hardibacker and screws. you can place the hardibacker over linoleum, but you must remove all laminate, carpet, hardwood and tile.
2.IF YOU ARE REMOVING LINOLEUM... may peace be with you. You will need a scraper for that. You may find that in the flooring isle of a hardware store. This task may seem impossible at first, but depending on how long the linoleum has been there, it may be pretty simple if the adhesive is worn.
3.IF YOU ARE REMOVING LAMINATE... if it is a floating floor, you're in luck! remove the quarter molding and you may need a prybar for one, but once you have one, just lift with your hands. remove the plastic underneath.
4.IF YOU ARE REMOVING HARD WOOD... I never had to do that, but if you are not saving the wood, use a pry bar to lift them if there are nails.
5.IF YOU ARE REMOVING CARPET... use a razor to find an easy place to cut and roll it back. Then use a pry bar for all the plywood with the nails sticking out
6.IF YOU ARE REMOVING TILE... depending on the size of the room, you may need some help. cover anything you dont want dust to get on, get a pry bar and a hammer and hit the pry bar between the tile or the grout lines. Use that to get under the tile and lift them up... piece by piece... or do as my husband did and bang on the center of the tile like a two year old! Made one hell of a mess, but got it done.
Also, there is probably hardibacker under the tile you are tearing up, but trust me, just rip up that hardibacker and pull out the screws. Replace it because you will go through all that work getting the adhesive off and wind up making it uneven because you took some of the hardibacker off with it.
7.Vacume up the mess.
You have a choice to pry off the base molding or leaving it on. I take it off and either try to reuse it or replace it. you can use a miter saw to cut new ones.
8.Place the hardibacker down. You may need to cut some to fit your room. there is a special blade for hardibacker at the hardware store. Ask an associate. When you cut it, lean it to where one side of the cut is in the air and the other is leaning on something and break it.
9.there are little circles on the hardibacker. every where a circle is and the edges, place a screw and screw it in.
10.Find where you want your tiles to go. Find the middle of the room and make a vertical line. lay your tile out...say awww... then pick it up. Use the wet saw to cut where needed.
11.you may mix the adhesive with water in a bucket or by the one that is already mixed. The already mixed covers less square footage and cost more. You will mix it until it is consistant and pasty.
12.Using your trowel, take some adhesive and place it on the hardibacker. Using a 45 degree angle spread it making lines with the trowel. ( also, when buying a trowel, ask an associate which one you should get because it depends on the size of the tile.
13.Lay your tile down and use tile spacers to keep them perfectly evenly distant from each other. DO NOT WALK ON THEM. LEAVE THE SPACERS IN OVER NIGHT. LET THEM SIT FOR 24 HRS.
14.Remove spacers
Mix your grout in a bucket with water until it seems like peanut butter (follow instructions on the package). Using grout floater, plop some down on your tile and using your grout floater on a 45 degree angle, smooth in the grout into the spaces of the tile until it is as high as you would like. only do one section at a time. once you finish one 5 minute section, wait 10-15 minutes and get a grout sponge and a bucket of clean water. in circular motions, wipe the grout off the tile. this may take some time. DO NOT WIPE THE GROUT OUT OF THE SPACES OF THE TILES.
Repeat until finished
15.Wait 48 hours. then get grout sealant and use a thin brush or something in the flooring department and wipe it on the grout lines.
My dear, you have a finished floor.
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