Your local builders merchants Denbighshire not only have a large, varied stock of useful building supplies but their staff are also highly experienced in the industry, therefore they can offer you great advice and tips on how to do a whole range of home improvement jobs by yourself.

 

It is now January! Christmas is behind us and the new year of 2014 brings with it New Year’s resolutions. This is also a time for a lot of work on the home to get done. Many have decided to give their loved ones a brand new kitchen or bathroom renovation as their gift and so now the work begins. One job that is often seen as tricky but is very straightforward if you know what you are doing is laying ceramic floor tiles. You can save money by learning how to effectively lay beautiful new tiling yourself.

 

Ceramic floor tiles are a popular finish for kitchens. They provide a neat, clean and elegant feel to a modern kitchen and look great in any home. RN Williams builders merchants North Wales deliver throughout North Wales and have a wide variety of DIY supplies such as all the things you will need to lay your new ceramic flooring. You will require products such as sealants, flooring adhesive, grout, fillers and plenty of tools.

 

Having chosen your desired style of floor tile you need to know how many you will require for the job before you start doing anything else. You should know the dimensions of your tiles before you order them. If you measure the length of your kitchen or bathroom floor and divide it by the length of one of the new floor tiles and then do the same for the width you can multiply the two figures together and this should give you the right number of tiles to order. If you end up with a non-whole number round up as it is better to have a few too many tiles and have to cut some of them than to have too few for finishing the project.

 

If your floor is concrete or wooden then this will be the perfect surface for applying new tiles easily. If it is not one of these two products then you should be prepared to purchase plywood to lay down before beginning the actually tile layering process. Whatever material the base floor is, the job will go smoother if it is dry before you begin. If your floor is uneven simply sandpaper to smooth.

 

Before the start laying the tiles it is very helpful to plan the layout of the room. This helps you decide if you need to cut some tiles at the end and how many. It also helps you line up all of your tiles correctly with equal spacing so that you create a neat and attractive floor. By laying the tiles down dry you can get a better idea of correct spacing between tiles and how the layout should work for the room. We recommend starting at the entrance to the room. Remove doors, especially inward opening ones, before you begin the wet tiling adhesive job.

 

Lay adhesive in sections so it does not dry out before the tiles go on.  And use a trowel to help make it a tidy job. Lay your tiles on the adhesive being extra careful to make spacing between tiles matches.

 

Pay attention so that your tiles are on the same level. A spirit level will help you determine this. If one is a little higher than the others then this is an easy fix as you can tap it down with a piece of wood but if it is lower than the others you will have to pull it up and relay it before the adhesive sets. Placing a wooden border around the area of the floor will stop adhesive getting on the carpet of the next room.

 

When it comes to laying tiles for the border of the room you may have too many and a space smaller than a tile left. Some will have to be cut to size. An electric tile cutter is the best tool for the job and to get the size as accurate as possible try laying it on top of the previous full till with the excess filling the gap then mark the overhang with a pencil and cut the rest off. Remember to keep a gap for matching tile spacing.

 

One of the most important aspects of tile laying is letting the adhesive dry before moving on to grouting. It may seem obvious but different adhesives may take differing amounts of time to dry and conditions in your environment can also affect this time. When adding grout to set the tiles use a little more than you need as your can always rub off the excess with a damp sponge.

 

To keep your newly tiled floor looking its best for as long as possible go to the trouble of re grouting if you notice cracks appearing in the grout.

 

Image Credit: www.flickr.com/photos/evelynishere/

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