Bathroom
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How to Tile a Bathroom Floor

Tiling a bathroom floor is an affordable way to transform the room's appearance. Replacing grimy linoleum or vinyl with ceramic or stone tile in fresh, inviting colors will make your bathroom more aesthetically pleasing and easier to keep clean. You don't necessarily have to remove the old flooring materials before you lay the new tile; in fact, you can cover materials like wood or linoleum with a backing material to save time and achieve the results you want at an affordable price. Also, take into consideration the calming bathroom colors when selecting tiles.

Choosing Bathroom Tiles

Choosing safe, reasonably priced tiles that complement the decor of your bathroom is the first step in tiling a bathroom floor. For maximum safety, choose textured tiles that provide resistance underfoot when you're climbing out of the shower or tub. Textured and glazed ceramic and porcelain tiles are available in an unlimited spectrum of colors to match any bathroom.

Stone tiles, like limestone, granite, travertine and marble, bring the beauty of natural materials to your bathroom. Unfilled travertine tiles have a naturally textured surface that reduces the risk of skidding. Travertine and limestone are available in warm, earthy colors like brown, gold and pink. Granite and marble, which are generally more costly, can be purchased in a wide range of colors or variegated hues.

Preparing the Floor

Preparing a floor for tiling doesn't have to be a difficult or dangerous process. Many homeowners are reluctant to install new tile because they're concerned about the safety of removing old synthetic materials like vinyl or linoleum, which may contain asbestos. In most cases, it is more convenient and safer to cover linoleum floors with a backing material rather than removing the old flooring.

Before installing a backing material, such as backer board, scrub the existing floor to strip away dirt or debris that might interfere with laying the tile. Backing material can be cut with a drywall saw to fit the segments to the dimensions of your bathroom. The backer board can be permanently fixed in place with an adhesive product from your local home improvement store.

Laying the Tile

Before fixing tiles to the floor, plan the layout by arranging dry tiles on the floor. Start with the large tiles at the center of the floor, then work your way out to the edges of the bathroom. Use chalk guides or extra pieces of backer board as templates for the layout, so you'll know approximately how many tiles are needed to fill each space. Whenever possible, use full or half tiles to cover doorways or line walls and fixtures rather than cutting smaller pieces of tile, which may give the floor a jigsaw appearance.

When you're ready to lay the tile, remove baseboard moldings and use your guides to place squares accurately. Tiling adhesive can be applied with a small trowel to the back of a square or directly to the subfloor before laying the tile on the backer board. Begin by laying the central tiles before working out to the border tiles at the edges of the room. When you set a square, press down firmly to set the tile. Apply spacers between tiles to keep the squares at an even distance and use a level to ensure that the tiles are perfectly flat. Aim for a space of no more than 1/4 inch between tiles.

After the bathroom floor tile has dried overnight, mix the grout and use a floater to spread the grout strokes across the new tiles, filling the spaces tightly. After grouting the tiles, wipe away excess from the tile surfaces with a damp cloth or sponge. Once the grout has dried, residue can be mopped away.

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