Tiling Tips for your Kitchen and Bathroom

By Kathy Woodard

Remodeling projects such as tiling your kitchen and bathroom are common home improvement projects that can go horribly wrong without the right tips and guidance. Taking the time to learn some tiling tips can go a long way toward having your project add value and beauty to your home.

Tiling your kitchen or bathroom basically follow the same procedure. Both spaces are utilitarian spaces that have issues with water and heavy use. The exception between the two being that working in a bathroom tends to make space an issue. When working in a small space, make sure you are organized, and consider removing the doors in order to give you some extra wiggle room.

You Will Need:

• Level
• Mallet
• Measuring tape
• Tile cutter
• Trowel
• Grout float
• Tile adhesive
• Grout
• Tile spacers
• Sponge
• Rags

Floor Tiling:

1. You are going to spend a lot of time on your knees. Perhaps your best investment here could be a good set of knee pads.

2. Your sub floor must be strong enough to support tile. Tiling in an area where moisture may be an issue requires the installation of cement fiber board.

3. Cutting tile to fit is an easy job, but can be tedious. You can cut tile with a small glass or tile cutter, or for large jobs you can rent a wet saw.

4. Start laying your tile in the center of the room, and work outwards.

5. After laying down a layer of adhesive with the trowel, lay a row or two of tile using spacers, then tamp down with a rubber mallet and check for level.

6. Clean excess adhesive off the face of the tiles with a rag soaked in a solvent.

7. When scoring or cutting tile, score just once, and use an even pressure to prevent the tiles from cracking or breaking.

8. Mix grout to a thick paste, then apply with the grout into all spaces. After 20 minutes, wipe all grout off with a wet sponge. Be sure to rinse the sponge with water often.

Allow floor tiles to cure a week before applying grout sealer.

Wall Tiling:

1. As with tiling a floor, use a cement board underlayment when wall tiling a bathroom or kitchen.

2. Leave a space of 1/8 between tiles and tubs or showers for later caulking.

3. Attach a support board the width of the tile below where the first row will be installed.

4. Begin installing the tile adhesive, and set the tiles into the wall by slightly twisting them, but do not slide them. Make sure you set them with a mallet and check for level.

5. Once you have reached and set tiles that require cutting, remove the support board and set that row of tiles as well. Use a silicon caulk where the tub or shower meets the tiling.

6. Grout as you would floor tiles, then use flexible water-soluble silicone caulking where tiles meet the counter.

7. As with tiling a floor for a kitchen or bathroom, after a week you may seal with a silicon grout sealer.

Tiling a countertop can be a complicated  interior project, as opposed to tiling floors or walls in a kitchen and bathroom. Many more cuts are usually required, and a more complicated pattern must be laid. In addition, all appliances must be moved away from the counter, and the sink must be removed. Replacement of the sink must be kept in mind when laying the tile. Unless you are an experienced do it yourselfer, tiling a counter may be a job you choose to leave to a contractor.

Working with a Contractor

If at any point during the process of planning your tiling project you become overwhelmed, consider hiring a contractor to take over. Also, if you have attempted this project only to get halfway through and realize you are in over your head, get help. It’s better to swallow your pride and hire someone to finish the job, than end up with a kitchen or bath that actually decreases the value of your home.

• When hiring contractors, remember to interview several industry professionals.

• Check out their licenses, qualifications, insurance and references thoroughly.

• Get everything in writing, including a time frame for finishing the home maintenance job.

• Make sure you choose a contractor that you enjoy working with, and who you trust in your home.

Using tiling tips for your kitchen and bathroom can help you create a DIY project that can drastically change the appearance, and the overall value of your home. However, remember that tiling is a job replete with hard work, is messy, and can be complicated if you don’t take the time to plan it out properly.

Want free home and garden ideas? Kathy Wilson is an author, columnist and home decorating expert. You can read more articles and tips by Kathy by visiting her websites: The Budget Decorator and Decorating your Small Space.