Tile is an excellent finishing material, perfect for finishing the bathroom. The surfaces lined with it are resistant to high temperature and humidity, are perfectly washable and are not afraid of household chemicals. Often this can explain why many do not see another option for finishing, except to lay tiles in the bathroom during its repair.
Where to start laying?
From the very beginning, determine the scope of work. It is necessary to decide what, where and how to put it - to finish the floor and walls with tiles in the bathroom, or only one of the listed surfaces. Depending on this, a different amount of it will be needed, which should be taken into account when determining the real need for tiles.
To do this, you need to perform the necessary measurements and calculate the total area that needs to be tiled and divide it by the area of \u200b\u200bone tile. The resulting amount must be increased by 5-10% for marriage and waste. This amount should be taken into account when planning how to lay out the tiles in the bathroom - the price of finishing work should include such costs.
You also need to determine the curvature of the walls and the unevenness of the floor, which will require a level. The tile must be laid out on a flat, previously prepared surface. If the curvature of the walls does not exceed 5 cm, then plaster can be used, otherwise it is better to use drywall.
If there is old tile on the walls, then it must be removed before tiling in the bathroom. It is necessary to remove the old paint, as well as any other coating. This operation must be carried out before leveling the walls and floor.
To level the walls, it is best to use commercially available ready-made compounds; to fix the floors, you can use self-leveling mixtures or make a new cement screed. The result of such preparatory work should be a flat, even surface.
The plane prepared for finishing must be primed. This will ensure less glue consumption when tiling and its stronger adhesion. The view of the surface ready for finishing is shown in the photo.
Use of glue
Before you decide how to tile your bathroom, the first step is to prepare the adhesive. For this, it is best to use special types of glue. Its brand is usually indicated by the tile manufacturer. If there is a large amount of work to be done, then it is best to use dry mixes and prepare them before use.
It is necessary to prepare the glue according to the instructions and apply for the time indicated on the package. To knead the glue, you must use a drill with a special nozzle, because. it is almost impossible to mix such a mixture qualitatively by hand. In the course of preparation it is necessary to observe the proportions specified by the manufacturer, first of all - water.
It has been established by practice that the less granular glue, the better it is. To avoid the formation of lumps, the mixture must be added to water, and not vice versa.
How to install tiles
Usually they begin to lay out the tiles first on the walls, and then they begin to lay the floor. Although it is possible and vice versa. If the cladding starts from the walls, then it is necessary to leave a small gap between the floor and the first row of tiles, although this depends on the method of laying out the tiles you choose. If the gap is too large, do not worry about it, it will be closed with a plinth.
Wall tiling
There are several different ways to lay tiles on a wall. For example, so - under the bathroom and behind the bathroom tiles are usually not laid. Its installation starts from the sides of the bathtub and from the corner, which is the most prominent in the bathroom. How such a tile is laid out in the bathroom - the photo below allows you to fully appreciate it.
Calculation of ceramic tiles in the bathroom from ceiling to floor As a rule, the size of the wall is not a multiple of the size of the tile, and the last row, the top one, will have to be cut. Most likely, you will also have to cut the tile in the corner opposite to the one from which the installation began.
There is another technique for tiling a bathroom. In this case, it is determined how many whole tiles will have to be laid on the wall from the very top, taking into account the thickness of the seam, and the laying of tiles does not start from the first row, but from the second. At this level, a rail or square is usually fastened with self-tapping screws, which is a support and an initial level. With this method, the first row is laid out last, cutting it in place, after the entire surface has been laid out.
The order of installation may also be different. First a horizontal row is laid, then another one, and so on. Or maybe the laying is carried out with a step, for example, according to the scheme below.
Regardless of how the tile will be laid out, it is necessary to mark the wall. To do this, you need to draw straight lines on it, which serve as a guide when laying out. In the lower corner at a height equal to the height of the tile, a risk is placed. From it, along the entire perimeter of the wall, a line is drawn along the level, which then should return to the risk.
Glue is applied to the wall with a spatula (notched), which allows you to create grooves on the adhesive surface, as shown in the photo below. The spatula number (tooth size) is usually specified by the manufacturer. Glue covers a small area of the surface on which you can have time to lay out the tiles before it sets.
After that, the tile is carefully put into place, lightly tapping on it to level it. If necessary, you can use a special rubber hammer.
Correct installation is checked by level. To create uniform gaps between individual plates over the entire surface, special crosses are used. Learn in detail how you can lay tiles in the bathroom - video
Floor tiling
The tile on the floor is laid in almost the same way as on the wall. It is necessary to start work again with surface preparation. Considering that floor tiles are subjected to significant loads, this must be taken responsibly, because voids and irregularities will lead to the destruction of the tile under load.
One of the possible options for laying tiles on the floor is shown in the video:
Grouting
This is the final stage of laying work. Before grouting, it is necessary to clean the seams of glue and then fill them with a special compound. It is usually produced in the form of a special dry mixture, which must be diluted with water before starting work. Such mixtures come in different colors, and it will not be difficult to choose the right one for the color of the tile. And you can use contrast grout to create special effects.
It must be remembered that a special sealant is used in the corners, as well as the joints of the tile with the bathroom.
The grout is applied with a rubber spatula, the residue is washed off with a damp sponge or cloth.
Tile cutting
This operation is an integral part of the entire tile laying procedure. It must be taken into account when you determine how much it will cost you to put tiles in the bathroom, the cost of the work should include both the tile waste during cutting and the additional costs for this operation.
To perform cutting, a special tool is used - a tile cutter, manual or electric.
The latter allows you to perform not only straight cutting of tiles, but also at an angle, which can be especially useful when joining tiles at corners.
Thus, all the work on laying tiles is discussed above in stages. If you decide to lay tiles in the bathroom, the price of work should include the costs at all stages: the purchase of tiles, taking into account stock and waste, the cost of glue, grout and crosses, if necessary, the purchase of the necessary tool: spatulas (notched and rubber for grouting) tile cutter and others. When all of the above is present, tiling is doable on our own and available to everyone.
