Im looking into renovating our kitchen and thought i would cut some costs with doing some renovating ourselves. Is tiling easy to do yourself, how is it done and what surfaces can they be laid on?Thanks
Laying tile isn't hard,go to Lowe's or home depot and get a tile saw,it doesn't have to be a high dollar one,they have Rhino board for the places that have to be stable and moisture proof,and get the trawl for it,it doesn't take a lot of the glue,you'll see the teeth on the side of the trawl,put some on the wall or floor,run the trawl(teeth side towards the surface,leave lines of glue about 3/16 s thick,that's enough to hold it,if it big tile squares make it a little thicker,they also have some spacers for putting between the tile,keeps it straight as well,then let it harden up and grout it,have several 5 gallon buckets of Fresh water(replenish the water when dirty) and a good sponge for wiping it down shortly after grouting.
You call go to lowe's or home depot on certain saturdays and they have a tiling class. You can learn a lot there and they can answer any questions you may have and you will have some come up that you didn't even think about.And if you can find a tape or dvd on tiling it will be a great help. This is how I learned and I enjoy tiling.
Tiling is pretty easy, but the easiest way to find out about it is to go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a book for approximately $20.00 that will give you step by step help. Then, if you still have questions, the people that work at the pro desk can usually help you the most. Unfortunately, it is hard to explain when you need to see some of the things. You will need a special tile cutter to cut the tile, and a trowel and a bag of spacers. Then get yourself the tile, the thinset to glue the tile and the grout to go in between it. You can lay it directly on concrete. If you have a wood floor, they recommend a hardy backer board between the wood and the tile. You can get by without the backer board if you're very careful. When done, you will need to apply a sealer to the grout.
