I‘m having a small bathroom remodled. The floor isn‘t perfectly rectangular, there are some uneven areas because of the tub. I would like the opinion of a profession tiler (should there be one put there, somewhere)...should the floor tiles always be centered, or start lined up against a wall? Also, should the grout be completely dry before sealing it? Thanks.
You start from the centre always and lay tiles towards the edges. At the tub you take off the removable side and put the tiles under the tub a few inches. Refit the side but will need to take off some of the bottom edge. Get the first tiles exactly square and away you go. Grout should be dried out for at least 3 days before adding a sealant. Also before laying tiles cover the area with 6mm ply wood so that the whole floor is even otherwise you will/might get uneven tiles. Happy New Year.
It is extremely rare that any floor is perfectly rectangular. That is why we dry fit the tile before we actually lay it. The idea is to lay it out in such a way that you maximize the size of all border tiles. The larger the border tiles, the less you will notice any variances in the walls. So, sometimes the tile will be centered, sometimes start against a wall, sometimes none of the above. Each job is different. I will give you an example of when you don't want to center your first grout line. When doing so will result in very narrow border tiles. In such a case, the contractor has to come up with a solution Make sense? There are many more scenarios I can think of, but I think you get the point.
Yes the tiles need to be centered ,but always dry lay them out to see what size cut you ll be getting at the walls left to right. If you end up with less than a 1/2 tile, shift tile over 1/2 of a tile at the center, this gives you a bigger side cut. I personally like to do a whole tile starting at the door way,I just think this is a better look , but there again you can start in the middle and dry lay them out. As far as sealing grout read directions on your particular sealer. Most silicone based sealers need the grout to cure for 30 days. Penetrating sealers ( which I suggest) take only a 72 ( 3 day) cure time. Silicone sealers wont last as long and need resealing based on your usage and what you clean with. Penetrating sealers last for years. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications there. GL
In regards to sealing grout, many grouts, like TEC Power Grout, never need to be sealed to maintain stain resistance. You can get TEC Power Grout at Lowe's. For the tile layout, start tiling at the end of the room and work your way out. At the end of the room, find the center point, and do a dry lay out of your tile from the center point to the wall. You want to have at least 1/2 a tile at the wall, although it looks better if you have a full tile along the wall. You also want to have a full tile at the entrance because it looks nice that way. You may need to adjust your dry layout and cut tile with a wet saw so that your tile can fit the space. Good luck!
If the floor is not level, you can float it make it level. Go to Home Depot or any hardware store they'll tell you how to do it. Also, to find the center of the floor draw a diagonal from corner to corner to create an X in the center of the floor. The center of the X is the center of the floor. You start your tile from there move outward. You should let the tile adhesive seal at least one day before you grout it. The trick to great grouting is to get a proper sponge. Once again, the hardware store. Best of luck!
