Ceramic Floor Tile Installation Tips and Secrets

Ceramic Floor Tile Installation TIPS

This floor tile was installed over 100 years ago. It's in perfect condition. You can do work like this too even though you're not a master tile setter. Keep reading and watch my videos below. Copyright 2022 Tim Carter

• Be sure there are no hollow spots under tile
• Use self-leveling floor compounds - SEE LINK BELOW
• WATCH floor tile grouting video series below
• Too much water ruins grout
• Get Tim's FREE & FUNNY Newsletter!

DEAR TIM: My husband and I are deep into installing new flooring in our home. Flood damage ruined the carpet. We decided to install a combination of laminate flooring and ceramic tile. The tile work is much harder than I thought. We're installing the large tile directly on top of the concrete slab. I'm using plastic spacers to keep the grout lines straight, but I'm having great difficulty.

I've never grouted before and am worried about messing that up. Help! I don't want to ruin this project. Marilyn H. New Bern, NC

DEAR MARILYN: I'm sorry about your recent disaster, but I'm happy that you've bounced back with a great DIY attitude.

How to Install Ceramic Floor Tile - A Process

In my opinion, self-sufficiency and do-it-yourself is part of what built our great nation. You're going to be very proud of your work once it's complete. I also want to add that it's beneficial to push against your comfort-zone envelope and be slightly uncomfortable. That's how you improve your skills.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local floor tile contractors if you decide not to do DIY.

Installing Ceramic Floor Tile - A Solid Base is Necessary

Ceramic tile is a very rigid product that has high compressive strength. This means you can squeeze it and it won't crush. However, ceramic tile, concrete, and natural stone have low tensile strength. This means if you try to bend a piece of tile, it doesn't take much effort to crack or snap it.

How To Prevent Tile Cracks

To prevent cracked floor tile, you need to make sure there are no void spaces between the tile and the floor surface it rests on. A void space under a tile will cause the tile to bend as you apply pressure to the top of the tile.

The larger the tile you're installing, the more difficult this task becomes as it's very hard to get a floor surface in the same plane. You can use fantastic pourable self-leveling floor compounds to get a perfectly flat floor surface if you plan ahead.

This is a powder you mix with water. You then pour it and it levels itself. It's magic. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO ORDER IT.

Fix Cracks With Epoxy

Cracks in a concrete slab can, and often do, telegraph through the floor tile. If your slab has cracks, consider using special injectable concrete epoxies to repair the cracks so the concrete doesn't move.

Here's one great concrete epoxy you can squirt down into wider cracks. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO HAVE THIS DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME ASAP.

Get FREE & FAST BIDS from local floor tile contractors if you decide not to do DIY.

Crack Isolation Membranes

Professionals often install crack-isolation membranes between the tile and concrete slabs. These help keep ceramic tile crack-free for the life of the floor.

These membranes are mission-critical and do whatever is necessary to make sure you install one.

This patterned ceramic tile floor is well on its way to completion. The plastic spacers could cause problems. Copyright 2022 Tim Carter

Forget About Plastic Spacers

I discovered long ago the plastic spacers used to keep grout lines straight don't always work as intended. It's not because the spacers are defective.

Realize the spacers are probably manufactured with very tight tolerances, but the ceramic tile may be off slightly.

If you have a variance of just 1/32 inch between tiles, that can create a 1/16-inch difference if two of those tiles are installed side-by-side. Pretty soon the grout lines will look more like a sinuous stream channel if you use the plastic spacers.

Create a Crossword Puzzle Grid

My preferred method of installing floor tile is to create a grid on the floor using a chalk-line. I calculate the exact distance, based on the width of the tile and the grout line spacing I want for either a 3x3 tile grid or possibly a 4x4 tile grid. I snap the lines making sure they're accurate and lay the tile to the edges of the grid lines. The center tile are just installed by sight making sure the grout lines are consistent and straight.

Grout Disguises Minor Tile Offsets

Realize that prior to the grout being installed the lines between the tiles may appear slightly less than perfect. Grout has a magical quality to mask these very slight imperfections. Twisted or crooked tiles will still look twisted and crooked with grout.

Grouting Videos - MUST WATCH

Watch these four videos that show you step-by-step how to grout floor tile. Don't skip one thing I say in the videos!

How to Grout Ceramic Floor Tile

When you get ready to grout, you can spoil all your hard work up to this point. Rookie tile setters often make any number of mistakes when mixing, applying, or finishing the grout. I recommend that you purchase some very inexpensive floor tiles and install them on a 3x5 piece of cement backer board that just is laying in your garage. Practice grouting on this test area until you perfect your skills.

Don't Add Too Much Water

Mix the grout so it's the consistency of bricklayer's mortar. If it flows from a bucket like pancake batter, it's too wet. Too much water when mixing or finishing the grout joints weakens the grout. This will cause it to crack or crumble in the months ahead.

Use a Hard Rubber Float

Apply the grout with a hard-rubber float at a 30 or 45-degree angle to the grout lines. This diagonal stroke will ensure the grout is flush with the top of the tile. Do not rub the grout with the sponge until it firms up enough so you don't remove grout from the joints.

This is just like the rubber grout float I've used for decades. Care for it and it will treat you well. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO ORDER ONE.

Watch out for Low Air Humidity

Low humidity and hot temperatures will cause floor grout to set up rapidly making it very hard to finish. You need to discover on your own how much grout you can install and finish at one time.

Mix Small Amounts of Grout

Only mix enough grout in a bucket that you can install and finish in one hour. You can always mix more. Don't add water to stiff grout in the bucket. Re-tempering the grout with water will weaken it.

Column 1006