One of the most impactful projects that my husband and I have taken on in our home is to tile the bathroom floor. It has completely changed the feeling of that bathroom and it has become and inviting place to be! To be perfectly honest, the floor was old linoleum, so anything that we would have done to it would have been a major improvement. But the tile that we chose looks A-Mazing.
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We had some practice laying a tile floor prior to taking on this project! We re-tiled our wet bar turned coffee bar floor. You can see that whole project here. Having a little tiling experience gave us the confidence to take on the bathroom floor.
Before I walk you through how we accomplished this task, please note that we are NOT professional tile installers. Not even close! But the result of our tiling is so far beyond my expectations, I just wanted to share with you!
I did a lot of research online before starting this project. YouTube videos helped me see how the project was supposed to progress and kept me sane during the project!
First things first, I did NOT remove the linoleum before laying the tile. I did, however, make sure there were not loose places in the linoleum
and checked all the edges to see if it was curling up. Our floor was in remarkably good shape for its age, and so, I just went right over the top of it!
Supplies Needed
There are a few tools you need for the job, besides your tile, grout and mortar/thinset*:
1. A tile cutting Wet Saw. This is the exact one we have!
2. A regular trowel
3. A notched trowel
4. Measuring tape
5. Pencil
6. A good sized level (I used a 2 ft)
7. Bucket of water
8. Hard Rubber Float for grouting
9. Sponge for grouting
If you like the tile we used – it came from Menards. Here is a link to the exact tile and the grout.
Pre-Planning the tile placement
Determining your tile layout or placement is the first and one of the most important tasks. You really need to decide how you want your tile to lay, look at where you will have to make cuts into your tiles, and make sure you understand where to start laying the tile. I found this YouTube video very helpful in thinking through the process.
When it is time to start laying the tile onto the mortar, make sure you watch this video on YouTube. It makes tiling look easy! After watching that video a couple of times, I decided to jump right in.
Laying the tile
One of my biggest concerns was not getting the tiles level next to each other, so I had a 2 foot level handy to check each tile as I placed it. You can ‘push’ the tiles a bit to get the correct height on each one. Makes a HUGE difference when the floor is finished.
Cutting the tile to fit around corners and toilet drains takes some focus. Use your measuring tape and figure out the exact size you need to fit and mark the back of the tile with the pencil. Then cut on the pencil lines. Make sure you use spacers to keep the grout lines between the tiles evenly spaced. You will be able to see the size differences if you are not careful!
Grouting the tile
Once you get all the tile on the floor, and allow your mortar to set, you can remove all those spacers and start grouting! Grouting, to me, is the fun part of the project! It can really make your tile pop! Here is another video to show you how to properly grout.
The grouting process is messy and requires a lot of water! You will apply the grout in between the tiles using a float, and then wipe all the excess grout off the surface of the tile with your sponge. Rinse and repeat. It’s that easy! (And that messy). After it has dried thoroughly, wipe down all the surfaces to clean the tile and excess grout and enjoy the new tile you installed all on your own!
*If you are unsure of the type of grout and mortar that your project needs, be sure to ask a Professional at the location where you are purchasing your tile. They know their stuff!
