When purchasing, laying, or working with tiles, a little good advice can go a long way. Most mistakes that cause you to lose time, money, and effort are easily avoidable. Here are some tips that could help you save one or all of these:
Before you start your project plan out what tools, tiles, and materials you will need and purchase them all together before you start working. This seems obvious but you’d be amazed at how much time can be wasted if you have to keep going out and buying supplies or even worse if they are out of stock or unavailable.
After purchasing tile always mix tiles from all of the different cartons together. Most people don’t realize that sometimes tiles can vary slightly in shade or color from carton to carton. If they are mixed together when they won’t be noticeable when put down. However if they aren’t mixed certain areas of your floor or wall could end up noticeably different.
When cutting tile using a snap cutter it is wise to also round the edges of the tiles you cut. Those edges can be razor sharp and easily cause a nasty cut ending in many stitches. This is also a good idea when cutting tile using tile nippers.
Always invest in the best quality safety gear. Skimping out on good safety equipment might seem like your saving money but not when it results in a trip to the emergency room.
Keep an uncluttered work area. Only keep the necessary tools or materials that are needed for the job at hand in your immediate space. A cluttered space can lead to accidents, dropped, tools, and broken tiles.
Wear a respirator when cutting tile with a tile saw to prevent inhaling harmful silica dust.
A fantastic tile tool, the tile saw does require you use the proper safety equipment.
When setting tiles remember to only do so in small areas at a time otherwise the mortar could dry before all the tiles are set.
Always use tile spacers when setting tile to guarantee the spacing between your tiles is even.
Don’t forget to remove your tile spacers using needlenose pliers before the mortar hardens completely.
Your trowel size should be dictated by your tile size. So for large tiles you need to use a large trowel and small tiles a small trowel.
A smart idea is to always start at the far side of a room when laying tiles so that you don’t end up stepping on any newly laid tiles.
A paint roller with an extension handle makes the perfect tool for applying sealant to tiles that need it.
Seal stone tiles before you install them. This will help to prevent them from being stained by grout.
A good quality sealant is a must for stone tiles.
When grouting tiles let your grout lines cure for about 7 days and apply a penetrating grout sealer for maximum protection.
When purchasing tile always purchase extra tiles to compensate for breakage. Stone tiles especially larger ones are much more susceptible to cracking or breaking than other types of tile during installation so always make sure to have extra on hand. It’s better to have extra than find out your tiles have been discontinued while your project remains unfinished.
For a surface with extra grip try mosaic tiles, with so many grout lines they are great for areas that otherwise would be very slippery.
Mosaic tiles are always a smart move for grip on a bathroom floor and can look incredibly upscale as well.
Larger tiles are much easier to clean than smaller tiles, especially because they have much less grout.
Glass wall tiles with their luminosity are a great way to bring light into a room.
When removing wall tile always remember to shut off the water and the electricity first, just in case you accidentally run into pipes or wires you didn’t know were there.
If you are thinking about installing countertop tiles and you do a lot of cooking in the kitchen, makes sure you install tiles which are flat because beveled or rounded tiles are not a level surface for things like glasses, bowls, etc.
To keep cleaning to a minimum choose 13″X13” tiles for your counter top and you’ll probably cut out having to clean grout in front and behind the tiles because they are so large they will cover the whole width of your counter.
Granite tiles are a great idea for counter tops because not only are they cheaper than a slab but they are heat resistant and naturally impervious to water. And of course they look just as good.
Granite tiles like this one are a much more affordable way to achieve a granite countertop than a slab.
Use cove tile to transition your bottom backsplash tiles to the countertop.
A cheap and unique way to tile a floor or backsplash is with pieces of broken tile to form a mosaic.
For outdoor tiles which are bonded to concrete using construction adhesive instead of a tile adhesive and a latex caulk instead of grout is always great way to minimize broken tiles.
When choosing tiles for outdoor use always make sure they are unglazed, wet glazed tiles could lead to a serious injury because they are so slippery.
*Break up big tasks into smaller ones. Most accidents happen when someone is rushing to get through a big job or has been working too long on that job and is no longer alert. You can save yourself an injury or having to redo a job improperly done by taking your time and doing it in bite size chunks.*
Keep these tips in mind for your next tiling project and they could save you hours of wasted time, effort, and many dollars in having to fix or completely start your project from scratch again!