December 14, 2007

Bathroom Flooring - How To Lay Mosaic Tiles

Here's another bathroom remodeling idea:

It's now possible to buy sheets of mosaic tiles that are suitable for use on bathroom floors.  It's obviously much less time-consuming to lay sheets rather than loads of tiny individual tiles.  However, it's important to make sure you lay them as flat as you can to ensure a comfortable surface to walk on in bare feet.  It's essential to make sure your sub-floor is level, with no bumps or protruding nails.  For best results, use a concrete or plywood sub-floor.

Think about the look you want to achieve.  For instance, you could opt for the same type of mosaic tiles as those you've used on your walls, or you could simply use mosaic strips as borders around the edges of larger tiles.  Or you could create your own design by using different colored sheets of tiles, or cutting out individual tiles and replacing them with another color. 

When starting, use a wooden batten positioned about 2 or 3 tile widths from the skirting board, to butt the tiles up against, in case the walls themselves aren't square.  Using a second batten at 90 degrees to the first is useful as a guideline to help get a totally square result.  Using a notched spreader, apply tile adhesive to the first area of floor you're going to tile.  Remove the plastic or paper backing from the first strip of tiles, and move the tiles into position.  Make sure there are no skewed edges and that they are all in alignment.  To flatten the tiles, push a mini roller over the surface.

Lay the subsequent sheets in the same way, separating them with cardboard spacers.  A handy tip to make sure individual tiles don't shift out of position, is to press the edge of a grout spreader into the gaps on the sheets between the tiles.  Once you've completed the main floor, leave it overnight before you remove the battens and cut tile sheets to go round the edges of the room.  As you'll need to stand on the floor to do this, it's necessary to wait for the adhesive to dry first to avoid knocking the tiles out of position. 

Put adhesive on the sub-floor in the usual way and use the usual techniques to flatten and align the tile sheets.  If you've got curved gaps to fill, such as round a sink pedestal, use tile nibblers to remove the necessary bits of each tile.  Then grout your floor in the usual way, taking care to wipe away excess grout before it dries and keep the grout flush with the tiles for a smoother finish.  If you want, you could mix a colored powder with your grout, for a different look.  For example, you could use the same colored grout as your walls for a coordinated finish.  Leave your bathroom floor overnight after grouting to allow it to dry before you walk on it.

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