Before Starting A Flooring Project By Ray J. Walberg At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Installing a tile floor can be a difficult remodeling project. Flooring is not a project that can be rushed, as it takes time to properly prepare the floors and place the new tile. Acquiring a home design software package is a good way to start. Most have a section about laying tile. Though the program cannot actually prepare the floor or lay the tile for you, it can help you visualize the final result and avoid mistakes along the way. You will find useful tools such as design alternatives, help with measurements and advice on dealing with glue and cutting tile, among other topics.

Choose the tile for your floors accorder to your style taste, but keep in mind some of the differences in the options available. Stone and slate tiles are beautiful in appearance, but are generally higher priced than ceramic tiles. Stone and slate tiles also require sealing once the project is finished in order to prevent staining and allow for easier cleaning.

Be sure to think about how you will prepare the floor area. If the floor is smooth and not too worn, old vinyl or linoleum can be used under the tile. Keep in mind, though, that over time it may experience warping and soft spots under the tile may cause cracking. If you have a concrete surface, check to confirm that there are no high spots. This can be accomplished with a 2 x 4 but finding one straight enough is often a challenge. You can check by taking two boards and laying them against each other. Turn one board around 180 degrees and lay it against the other board again. This allows you to see if the board were simply curved in the same direction, rather than being straight. If there are high spots in your concrete surface, you can use a coarse belt or disc sander so smooth out these spots. Small bumps can simply be chiseled away tough be careful not to make the situation worse.

No surface will be perfectly flat, but any bump or high spot in the surface more than one-sixteenth of an inch can lead to loose tiles, or ‘rocking.’ Since the tiles are glued, they will not actually rotate in place, but the pressure differences across the floor can result in cracks during use of the floor. It is important that floor surfaces are strong enough to prevent flexing that would lead to the same ‘rocking’ problem. Uneven floors can be strengthened and smoothed by using a cement-fiber board or a composite spread cross the surface with a wide, flat tool.

Before using glue to permanently lay the tiles in place, dry lay a few rows of tile to get a feel for the tile pattern. You can experiment with spacing for the grout and floor design. Once the pattern and spacing is determined, you can use the adhesive to lay the tile. Floors should set for a few days to a week before use.

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