I am considering putting down a ceramic floor in a kitchen and maybe a bathroom. I can use some advice!
Can I put ceramic over an existing linoleum floor? Do I need a cutter for the ceramic, can I rent one somewhere, is ceramic difficult to cut. An opinion on how difficult it is for a female with little muscle power to put down a ceramic floor.
I tend to bite off more than I should thus, I am trying to make a reasonable decision to do the floor or not.
You can lay it on lino.( The lino mut be good ) But I would only do that if it's on a slab not a raised floor. I have layed tile on lino never had a problem . If you have a wood floor you have to remove the Lino and undelalment. Then you install backer board, the backer board is set in thinset then nailed some people use screws. Then your ready to tile. The best tool is a wet saw, it just makes things easier. You will have some tricking cuts, I make paper paterns somtimes. The key thing is find your starting point get your srait line establised just think it out. Some people lay all the tile less the cut pieces then rent a saw and do the cut work witch is one way to do it and saves $$. You might buy a book on it. Tile is fun to do and not real complicated but experience helps. So you have to ask your self buying tools renting tools lack of experience ? So hire it out or get my feet wet? Only you can answer that
In the bathrom you'll probably have to remove the toilet, tile underneath then extend the flange to adjust for the height of the floor. Are you comfortable doing that? If not call a plumber or a friend who knows how.
Unless you're also replacing the floor cabinets, you can tile around them, but watch out for tiling stuff in, like a under the counter dishwasher
Yes, but you'll probably put some kind of board on top before installing the tiles. Do you know what's under the linoleum? If its wood, screw backer boards on top of the linoleum, but if it's concrete you should remove the linoleum and lay the tiles just over the cement. Ask the people where you buy the tiles, they will suggest what backer board to use and if it's needed
You could buy a wet saw for the price of renting one twice, especially if being your first time, you're not too fast. Home Depot, Lowes etc have models for DYIers. Or you can mark the tiles and have them cut at the shop where you bought them. The usual suspects HomeDepot , Lowes etc do that for free
Cutting tiles is not difficult but it's messy, with dust and mud from the cuts flying around. Better done outside, and you have to wear goggles.
Lifting the backer boards, the bags of mortar, grout and the boxes of tiles will probably be what takes more muscles. You can buy a mixer tool to attach to an electric drill to mix mortar and grout , and you should wear knee pads.
Anticipate spending hours on your knees while laying down tiles, washing off the mortar with a sponge and grouting.
For a large living room I hired a female friend to help and soon enough she was going faster than I was :>)
It's a lot of work over two - three days (for just one room) but also a lot of fun. Having even a part time helper for the heavy lifting, for example, would be a good idea.
If you're in good shape and nothing of what I said scares you, go for it
Lot of good answers already. Here's a bit more, and with 30 years exper... oh wait, that's R. Kinch's line.
Sacramento Dave covered most of it for you 'cept you CAN install Hardibacker over top of the lino if it's atop a wood subfloor. But whether it's a slab or wood, if the lino's loose and peeling badly, pull it up. Any lino that is coved up onto the toe-kicks must be removed. Existing wood base can be tiled up to, leaving a grout joint between tile and wood. You can tile the undercounter toe-kicks or go back on top of the tile with a wood base.
Rent a tub/wet saw from just about any tile supply house. Far easier and more exacting to use than a snap cutter for floor tile. MK has the smaller lightweight saws but they may not handle the bigger tile I suggest with a single pass and w/o flipping the tiles to finish the cuts. Not a major issue, but get the largest saw you can if you use a larger floor tile.
I recommend tile no smaller than 12", using an 1/8" grout joint w/ sanded grout.
The Home Depot near where I live routinely has a "Do-it-Herself" seminar on laying ceramic tile. I would hope that most women would be very offended by that but it doesn't appear that they are.
You can cut the usual ceramic tile by scoring the top with a glass cutter, putting the tile on a 1/4" dowel (scored surface up and directly over the dowel) and pushing down on both sides so no, you don't *have* to have a tile cutter. But it sure makes life simpler. ______________
Not hard to cut, wet saws with diamond blades can be rented at Home Depot, tool rental places, etc. You can also buy a "score and snap" cutter for around $30 at HD. They work like the glass cutter/dowel but in a more controlled manner. Work well, easy to use. It would also be a good idea to have an abrasive stone with which you can smooth/dull the cut edge. _________________
Laying tile doesn't require muscle, just a bit of thought. The only muscle is in hefting/mixing bags of thinset mortar. Thought involves...
Where to start laying? The usual way is to find the center (in both directions) of the room and draw two lines that divide the room into quarters. There are two possibilities for laying...first tile with edge on line(s) or center of first tile(s) on lines. Choose which way by dry laying and see which results in the largest cut tile at the sides.
How are you going to finish up at the walls? Will the edge of the tile be under baseboards? If so, you'll need to remove them. Do you plan to use specially shaped tiles with a cove? Plan to lay one or more courses up the wall? In either case, you'll have to decide on the tile shape and quantity for those.
Once you start laying, your primary objectives are to keep the edges of the tiles straight and parallel to each other and the surfaces all at the same height. Starting at the previously determined point, easiest way is to lay a few tiles in one direction in one of the room quarters, then in the other direction in the same quarter. Keep the edges straight by using an aluminum yardstick. Some tiles have a built in nib that aligns them and maintains the same distance tile to tile; others don't. For the ones that don't, you can buy little plastic crosses that look like "+" to align the tiles. They come in various thicknesses to maintain joints of a given width.
If you apply the mortar correctly - combing it out with a trowel with the proper size notch - you shouldn't have much trouble keeping the tile surfaces the same height. A beating board helps too. A "beating board" is just a piece of 3/4 plywood maybe 2' square with a piece of short loop rug or old towel attached to it to protect the tile surfaces. One lays a few tiles then puts the board on top of them - overlapping any previously laid tiles - and taps the board with a hammer or mallet to press the new tiles to the same level.
Once everything is laid, wait at least 24 hours after the last tiles are laid and then grout. For a floor, you will probably have joints of 1/4" or more so you will want sanded grout in your choice of color. Dark colors are way easier to keep looking good than light ones. Directions for grouting are normally on the container. The only tools you'll need are a grout float which is like a trowel but with a thick, fairly hard rubber pad and a mortar tub or plastic dishpan (which you will also need for laying). Both are available at HD for around $5-$6 each. You'll also need a couple of buckets for fresh water and a couple of good, BIG sponges (also available at HD). Some old towels will be handy too to wipe off the grout haze.
Don't dump buckets of grout/mortar dirty water down the sink, empty them outside.
Last step is sealing after grout has cured. Best is silicone sealer, just wipe on then wipe off.
-- dadiOH ____________________________
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Do your homework and get all the information on ceramic tile installation on this forum. Use the forum search function and you'll be amazed with the wealth on information on the subject.
A dark coloured tile in the kitchen doesn't show the dirt................. A quick sweep and it looks good. Also, you might consdier putting in underfloor electric heating. You will need an electrician to put in the thermostat, but a heated floor is wonderful. You don't have to cover the whole floor, just where you stand.
I would not even consider Home depot for advice, They will show you the basics. Any home improvement show can show you. Most the advice is from people that have there head in a dark place. You might get LUCKY and find someone with some knowledge there, but they all sound convincing. Buy a book the pictures will be a great help and you have a reference. The best is if you know someone that lays tile and can ask question.
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