Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Prep Your Floor For Tile

After you have stripped everything out of your bathroom it is time to tile the floor. However, if you are installing a new tub or building in a shower stall that must be done first.

To prep your bathroom floor you will need to scrape off all debris that may prevent your tile from lying flat to the floor. Make sure you set all nails that may be poking up. Also, if there are squeaks in your floor, now is the time to take care of them. Some extra 1.75" ring shank fence nails or some screws may take care of this. Note that this type of prep is for applying tile over a wood structure, not over concrete.

After prepping the floor is is time to install a concrete type of backer board such as Wonder board, or James Hardie backer board. This is a .25" thick cement fiber board. Instructions are to screw the board down, I found that 1.75" ring shank fence nails work just fine and take a lot less time. Cover the entire floor with this material making sure that you don't cover the opening for the toilet stool.

The cement fiber board comes in 3'x5' sheets. Three sheets usually are enough for a standard small bathroom. Buy only the square footage that you need as this can be pieced in. Make sure that you install this so that it centers under the door. This is the transition line into the next room which may have a different floor covering.

Now walk around on this floor checking for squeaks. This is your last chance to repair them. Your floor prep is complete and you are now ready to tile.

But its probably time for a Coke. Make sure you have enough time allotted for tile installation as it is best to install the entire floor at one time. I'll have tips on that tomorrow.


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