Main floor tiling

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DIY made easy!

Lay main floor tiles These 8 steps will take you through how to lay your tiles once your floor is clean and primed.

Step 1 Measure out a full tile from the wall to establish a square line and a starting point.

Simply, 3 units (anything) out and 4 units across will give a result of 5 units from point to point if both measurements are at 90 degrees (square).

Mark the area where you will start tiling.

(There is a helpful video tutorial on how to do this on our website).

Step 2 Once you’ve got your guidlines ready, its time to do a “dry lay” with your tiles. Pre-cuts make the job a lot easier.

Step 3 Mix the adhesive (follow the manufacturer’s instructions).

An electric glue mixer will come in handy for larger jobs.

You should be looking for the consistency of toothpaste.

Spread about one square metre of adhesive on the floor where you are going to start tiling. Start along the straight line you drew earlier.

For floor tiles, we use a 12mm notched trowel to spread adhesive. By using a notched trowel, the adhesive is applied leaving little tracks on the floor. Once the tile is bedded into place these notches will flatten out to leave a bed of adhesive 6mm thick.

DIY made easy

Check out our huge range of DIY videos on our website

DIY made easy Lay main floor tiles Step 4 Place each tile in position with a firm push and bed it into place with a slight up and down wiggle across the notches of the adhesive.

Every now and then, lift a tile to check that it has complete coverage of the adhesive.

Step 5 As you lay the tiles, use spacers to set the grout joints and to make small adjustments to the tile placement. This keeps all grout joints level and even.

We reccomend the SALS tile levelling system by Ardex to ensure there is no lipping on the surface, which doubles as a spacer. Position at the corner of each tile, and screw down the caps. This will give you a more professional finish.

Step 6 With a squeezed sponge, clean off all of the excess glue as you go.

Step 7 Once the tiles are laid and the glue is dry, knock out the caps. It is important to knock them out in the same direction of the grout line.

Step 8 You may see excess glue residue between the grout lines.

Dont forget

Check out our huge range of DIY videos on our website