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Questions on tiling a floor

4K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  FlooringDude 
#1 ·
Are there any rules of thumb here?

IE. 1/8 for marble tiles, 3/8 for ceramic 12x12 etc.

How long do I wait before I wipe the grout off the tiles? Does it ever stick to the tiles (especially white or light colored tiles)?

How long after I put the tiles on the thinset can I start grouting?

TIA
 
#22 ·
The definition of ceramic tile (the best one I found) is

Ceramic tile includes a wide variety of clay products fired into thin units which are set in beds of mortar or mastic with the joints between tiles grouted. Varieties include quarry tile, porcelain tile, terra cotta tile, and others.
www.flooringpedia.com/

Porcelain refers to a specific firing process that brings the moisture content of the clay used to make the tile down to a low level.

From Wikipedia:
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 °C (2,192 °F) and 1,400 °C (2,552 °F). The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body at these high temperatures.

Hence porcelain is a subset of ceramic.
 
#2 ·
Spacing of floor tiles is a mater of what looks right with the tile. 12" and 13" usually look good with 3/16"

As to grouting with conventional grouts--start your first wipe after 10 to 15 minutes---Read the instructions. If done properly nothing will remain on the face of the tile. Read the instructions.

Jazzman and Bud Cline on this site have had many informative posts on the subject--Search the site.

Set to grout time? usually safe after 12 hours--unless you are unusually heavy--then wait a bit longer.

--Mike---
 
#4 ·
Should I remove the baseboards before tiling? They are 6" woodies
I would, it will sure be tough to get it up if you ever need to without messing up the grout or even the tile.

Ole Jim
 
#11 ·
It all depends on how much of a messy painter you are. Some people would prime and paint first and clean up the mess from the old floor and then lay the tiles, others would tile first and put a drop cloth over the finished floor but accidents do happen. For me, I would prime and paint first then lay the tiles down and finish with any minor touch ups…
 
#12 ·
Grout spacing is a matter of preference. I seem to be using 3/16" spacers for most work on 12x12 tiles these days. Stone is usually 1/8" or less and you use unsanded grout.

Wait until the grout is hard enough that you can barely press your nail into it before sponging. If it is a rough/toothy tile I would suggest to wipe after ten minutes or so. Depends on the consistency and color of grout.

Wait a day or so before grouting after laying the tile. You are going to want to probably clean your joints anyway before you grout. I use white thinset on dark tiles and gray on lighter colored tiles to see if I made a mess anywhere and to aid with the cleanup. It does stick to tiles but not so much that you can't scrap it off.
 
#15 ·
How smooth should the floor be before laying tile?

How smooth should the floor be before laying tile?

I am laying it on top of really thing tile, which has a few chips, should I file those before laying the new tile on top? or will the tileset take care of that? If I need to fill it first, what do I use?

TIA
 
#16 ·
Hi Abe,

Looks like you've got at least 4 threads going on this one project. You should not start a new thread every time you have an additional question. The threads will get separated and much of the background info will get lost.

I presume you're installing ceramic tiles. The tiles don't care about smooth, they care about flat and of course a stiff substrate.

I have no idea what you're installing onto. You can't just set it and expect it to last.

You need to start with a description and spec of the subfloor, how it's built and with what and what's on it now. Start there.

Jaz
 
#17 ·
Now to add one more voice--------------

Paint comes off of tile very easily--

I prime and paint the first coat---tile--install trim---caulk the trim--paint the trim--then the final coat.

So often a bit of stray thinset--or a caulking smear happens--I like to add that second coat of paint last.---Mike---
 
#23 ·
Will this come out good? I'm looking to do something easy for my first tile job, but fancier than one plain color.

These white tiles on the outer edge:


Then a row of these darker tiles:


Another row of white tiles.

Then for the rest, the darker tiles in the middle.

Similar to what this guy did but with different colors:
 
#24 · (Edited)
The tiles should be fine as long as they are the same size (not all 12x12 tiles measure the same). Make sure that if you pick two colors you use the same manufacturer and series. If they are off by even 1/16 of an inch your grout lines will look funny. Also buy the same batch number for both colors. Skil saw should be fine...it's not heavy duty but will work for a few jobs. Porcelain is harder than ceramic and in my opinion easier to cut unique shapes and sizes.
 
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