My husband and I are building a new home. I would love to put ceramic tiling in my kitchen/dining room (they are combined). Do you think that 14‘X23‘ is too large for tiling? Its a concrete slap, and we will be doing the work ourselves. Any tips would be helpful!! I am looking for tips, suggestions, tools needed, extra supplies, ideas, horror stories, turned out good stories, I will take it all! Thanks so much!
Big rooms are awesome for tiling, and fun too! You will need the mortar (which is the adhesive for the tile), a spreader for the adhesive, and it's always good to have a tile cutter, because you will probably have to make cuts. You can get a decent tile cutter for about $60. We did our kitchen tile on a diagonal, and it turned out AWESOME! Once you have the tile layed, remember to let it dry for a few days before you grout it. Go to Home Depot and other home improvement stores, and just talk to people. They can steer you in the right direction, show you the tools you need, and tell you how to do it. Good luck!!! ;)
All I can say is: its probably not a great idea to put it right on top. It becomes more likely for it to come up. And then the process of taking up a layer of laminate and a layer of ceramic tile would be that much harder when it came about. I think the only way to make that work without taking up the ceramic tile is to make an air tight seal between the 2. I couldn't give you any ideas on how to do that though.
Ceramic tile is a great choice and you can do it yourself if you prepare yourself with a little knowledge and a few tools. My suggestion is to go to Home Depot or any other building supply place and pick up the information they have there on doing tile work. It is usually pretty good and will suggest tools you will need. The biggest problems you will run into is cutting the tile, you might consider renting a water bath cutter. I also suggest you consider going with a smaller tile if it will fit into your plans. Tile that big is not only harder to install neatly but is also more prone to cracking if there is any shifting in your slab. So read the stuff and make sure you have everything on hand before you start and be patient doing the work, especially making the cuts so it fits neatly and you will have a professional looking floor.
A quality tile saw will make things easier but understand going in that tile saws use water and make one hell of a mess. Plan to do your cutting outside (I speak from experience). Also expect that this job will take a LOT of time to complete. Plan your layout so that there are no tiny or thin slivers of tile where the walls meet the floors. Unless there's a good reason to do otherwise, be certain that your layout lines are perfectly parallel with the longest wall and are perfectly straight. You'll need a notched trowel (available widely and cheaply) to smooth out the adhesive/mortar. You'll need to be sure your subfloor is level, smooth and very clean. If it isn't smooth AND level, ask an expert for advice on how to correct it BEFORE you begin. If you are going to leave a space between tiles, you WILL need spacers (available at Lowe's, Home Depot and every hardware store). Above all, TAKE YOUR TIME. Tile is not a job to rush. You will look at this floor many times a day, every day for many years. The final result will be no better than the time and attention you devote to it. Most big box hardware stores have occasional classes in varying trades. Taking a tile class can't hurt.
