Lay the tiles on the floor. How to lay tiles on the floor correctly: a practical master class. Preparing the room and base

The decision to save money on repairs is one of the most important decisions, many things can be done independently, without the help of outsiders. One example, styling tiles on the floor, this is a task that many can handle. All you need is diligence, attention to detail, knowledge of theory and application of it in practice.

Geometric shape ceramic tiles directly affects the ways in which it is laid. At traditional way The tiles are laid exactly in rows; it requires careful and careful installation, since the slightest deviation will be immediately visible.

If the room has high traffic, then the staggered method is recommended. If there is a chess layout, or a traditional one, then you can lay it out diagonally. In rooms with broken geometry, you can lay out a Christmas tree. If the tiles will be laid with a border and a pattern, then first a laying diagram is drawn up, and then installation is carried out.

When laying tiles on cement mortar, it must:

Soak in water for at least 8 hours.
First, you need to conduct a test on a piece of tile; if it is of poor quality, then stains may appear under the enamel.
After 2 days, you need to check the sample, if everything is fine, then you can begin installing the floor.
If stains appear, you can limit yourself to wiping the back side of the tile with a wet cloth.

If ceramic tiles are placed on a cement-sand composition on a concrete floor, then the work is simplified. Water is poured onto the concrete floor, then cement is poured through a sieve, and tiles are laid on the resulting mixture.

Instructions: how to properly lay tiles on the floor

Laying ceramic floor tiles is not much different from the technology of installing tiles on a wall. Floor tiles are much easier to lay beautifully. To choose the right layout method, you need to lay 1 row of tiles along one of the walls on a dry floor.

With the diagonal layout method you need:

Connect 2 opposite corners;
Draw a long line on the floor;
Determine the center;
The tiles are being laid.

If the room has strict geometric shape, then they start laying the tiles from the corner or from the center. The adhesive must be applied evenly to the back side of the ceramic tile using a notched trowel so that no voids are left. It is necessary to press the tile very firmly. To ensure evenness of the seams, plastic crosses must be installed on the floor between the tiles at the same time.

The crosses are removed only after the glue has completely dried.

When installing tiles, you need to ensure that the surface is horizontal; this is done using a building level. If the tile has sunk lower, you should add glue; if it’s the other way around, then remove excess glue. The seams are rubbed down after the glue has completely dried using a special solution. For application, you can use a rubber spatula; excess is removed with a damp sponge.

Laying tiles on the floor

First you need to understand in which room the flooring will be laid; the choice of tiles will depend on this. Each room has its own type of tile. Tile has a number of properties that meet hygiene requirements, so it is often used in bathrooms and toilets.

IN sanitary facilities It is necessary to ensure that the floor is not slippery; to do this, you need to choose tiles with a corrugated surface or one that has an anti-slip effect.

In rooms with high traffic, it is necessary to use tiles with the greatest thickness. Clinker and porcelain tiles are distinguished by the fact that they have a low percentage of abrasion and high strength, as well as a wide range of colors and surface texture.

Instruction:

First, the surface is marked, thanks to which the boundary of the work and the position of individual control fragments are indicated.
Using thread or laser level the perimeter is indicated.
An angle of 90ᵒ from the far corner is measured.
It is necessary to take into account that the distance between the outer tile and the wall is 1.5 cm.
The cut tiles are placed along the edges.
To visually assess the future surface, you can draw a diagram on paper, or pre-lay tiles on the surface.

Next you need to prepare a solution. Either a cement composition or ready-made glue is used. You can prepare the cement mortar yourself. To do this, you need to use clean sifted sand, cement and water. The finished mixture must be prepared strictly according to the instructions. By using ready mixture Laying tiles is easier; it contains all the necessary additives that provide stronger adhesion to the surface.

Tips: how to lay floor tiles with your own hands

First comes cutting the tiles. This requires a pencil, a tape measure, and cutting tool. Marks for cutting are made on the back of the tile. Glazed tiles are cut only from the front side. To cut tiles, you can use a special electric or manual tile cutter, but you can also use a grinder or glass cutter.

After the preparatory period, you can begin the main work:

Using a notched trowel, apply adhesive evenly to the floor, covering approximately 4 tiles. For small differences, glue must also be applied to the tiles.
From the far visible corner, installation of the tiles begins strictly according to the markings, lightly pressing the part.
Use a rubber hammer to tap the tile on top to expel the air and compact the adhesive.
Using a level, all errors are removed
Plastic crosses are installed between the tiles at the seams. This is how each row of tiles is laid.

Finally, the joints are grouted. For this, a ready-made composition is used, as well as a rubber spatula. A small amount of grout is applied to the joint area and compacted tightly deep into the seam using a spatula.

The recesses are pre-treated with antifungal impregnation to ensure better adhesion, and are additionally moistened with water.

Excess mixture is removed with a spatula, then wiped with a rag. Additionally, already hardened putty can be treated with a water-repellent liquid. All joints between tiles and furniture and plumbing must be sealed with silicone.

Lessons: how to quickly lay tiles on the floor

Work before installing ceramic tiles should begin with preparation working area. To begin with, the surface is freed from all unnecessary things.

Removable:

Furniture;
Old foundation;
Garbage.

The floor must be clean and dry. Afterwards it is necessary to do waterproofing to protect the concrete from excess moisture, for this you need to use bitumen or film, but the easiest way is to paint the floor, while also covering part of the wall. The next step is leveling the surface using a screed. To do this, using a level, you need to determine all the differences. If the differences are insignificant (no more than 3 cm), then they can be corrected without screed by applying an additional layer of glue.

After this, the surface must be primed and treated with antiseptic impregnation.

It is necessary to take a building level, measure a distance from the wall equal to the tile, minus 2 cm. On this horizontal line it is necessary to secure a beam from which the tiles will be laid upward. IN this method installation will be carried out very quickly and efficiently, since initially the glue is applied directly to the floor. You just need to press the tiles harder and monitor the horizontal level of the tiles being laid.

Strong mortar for floor tiles

You need to dilute the finished dry mixture yourself strictly according to the instructions that are attached to the composition or printed on the packaging. To prevent lumps from forming, you do not need to pour water into the powder. But if you do the opposite, carefully add the composition to the water, stirring with a drill attachment, then the mixture will turn out to be a homogeneous mass and of high quality. The solution must be stirred twice: immediately during preparation and before application.

It is necessary to monitor the temperature of the added water; it must be at room temperature, otherwise the mixture may lose all its adhesive properties. It is also necessary to monitor the temperature in the room; it should be from 18 to 24 ᵒC. To avoid losing the mixture due to its rapid drying, it must be prepared in parts. When using dry ready-mixes, the tiles should not be soaked and the base of the floor should not be moistened. In this case, the floor only needs to be cleaned of dirt and unnecessary objects.

For cooking cement mortar, use well-sifted dry sand, to which the required amount of cement is added. Next, water is slowly added and the whole mixture is mixed. If desired, you can use additives. To check the desired consistency of the solution, you need to take a little sweep with a trowel. The mixture, when mixed correctly, should be plastic and remain on the trowel without dripping. The density of the solution depends on the size of the tile; if the tile is small, then the solution should be more liquid, for a large one it should be thicker.

How to lay tiles on the floor (video)

You can lay tiles with your own hands easily and quickly, with correct installation, the service life of the surface, the decorativeness and aesthetics of the cladding will delight you for many years.

Some people believe that laying tiles is very difficult and that it takes years of practice to achieve certain skills. Some, on the contrary, are sure that figuring out how to lay tiles on the floor will not be difficult. In this case, as in some others, it is better to use the rule of the golden mean. Laying ceramics is not considered something completely incomprehensible, but it also cannot be called too simple. Therefore, today we offer a theoretical course on tile work, but try to master the practical classes yourself.

Preparing the foundation

Laying floor tiles with adhesive requires a well-prepared surface. In order not to have to worry about the cladding, but to do it easily and quickly, and also save material, you need to worry about leveling the base in advance. The ideal option for preparing the floor is to pour a screed or a self-leveling mixture to create a self-leveling floor.

To perform screeding, you need some experience in such work, but it will not be so expensive. In addition, you can work with very curved surfaces.
Installing a self-leveling floor will cost much more, but no special skills will be required. For rooms where there are no horizontal extremes, this option is the most acceptable.

Self-leveling mixtures

The mixture is a solution that independently spreads across the floor, forming an even horizon line. There are two types of mixtures - cement and gypsum. Gypsum is used exclusively in rooms where there is no moisture and the floor difference is less than 1 cm, so this option is unacceptable for the base for cladding.

Cement mixtures can be used even with large differences in the base - up to 5 cm.
Before starting work, thoroughly clean the base, remove debris and bumps, and caulk cracks. The surface must be treated with a primer.
The form of release of the self-leveling mixture is bags weighing 25 kg. For this weight you will need about 7 liters of water. A better recommendations from the manufacturer for dosage, read on the packaging. The finished mixture should be used within half an hour, so you shouldn’t prepare too much, as you may not calculate the strength.

To fill the self-leveling floor you need a certain temperature - +5. If lower, then good result you can't wait.

It will take from 6 to 12 hours for the floor to harden, depending on the layer, but laying the floor tiles is done only after three days.

After leveling the floors in the bathroom or shower, they should have a slight slope. In the bathroom, so that all the water can easily flow to the door, and in the shower, the drain is necessary to the drain (drain hole). Bathroom floors are poured so that they are lower than the hallway floors, or a threshold will be required. These measures are forced, but they protect the apartment from flooding if something suddenly breaks in the bathroom.

Typical layouts

There are three main types of layout for laying tiles: seam-to-seam, staggered, and diagonally. The first method is familiar to everyone and is very popular. Second lightest, excellent imitation brickwork, good way hide minor flaws that plague tiles from cheap collections. Laying tiles diagonally is the most difficult. You may not be able to do it on your own right away. You can use other exotic methods, but first you need to master at least these three.

Floor marking

Before you start marking the floor, you need to decide on the layout. If preference was given to the first or second method, then you just need to make a calculation required quantity material, of course taking into account the seams. The beginning of laying tiles - both floor and wall, the most visible area, so that undercuts are not noticeable. They need to have a place under the wall, behind furniture or plumbing fixtures.

Therefore, when calculating the number of whole tiles, you need to focus on the most “important” wall.

In order for the trimming to be beautiful and uniform, installation must begin from the center of the room. The center line of the tiles should be located in the center of the floor, laying continues towards the edge. To correctly calculate the center in the bathroom, take the distance from the bathroom screen to the wall opposite and divide it in half.

Sometimes the center of the floor is deliberately shifted a little or the room is reduced by a few centimeters (using a box, for example) in order to eliminate trimming altogether.

The seams of the cladding on the wall and on the floor may not match, this is not important.
All the subtleties of laying tiles on the floor in this video:

We carry out diagonal markings

Diagonal laying of tiles can be done by master tilers, but it will be more difficult for a beginner to cope with it. This type of layout is used to increase decorativeness or to visually expand the space.

The disadvantage of this type is not only the complexity of the process, but also the increased consumption of materials, since there will be much more waste than in the first two cases.

Diagonal laying can be done in several ways, but for each of them an indispensable condition is the rectangular geometry of the room that will be lined. If there are no right angles in the room, then the tiles of the outermost row along the perimeter will have an uneven cut. To prevent this from happening, you can combine different types Laying, for example, lay out the rectangle in the center diagonally, and apply the usual seam-to-seam layout to the edge. This combination will help smooth out the irregular geometry of the room, make it spectacular and emphasize the taste of the owner.

To cut out a rectangle, you can use a cord and a tape measure. Length opposite sides and the diagonals must be identical. The outer contour of the rectangle is lined using the seam-to-seam method, laying inside it begins from the most visible place. By inner contour There will be an alternation of whole elements and halves. This installation method involves the presence of two beacon cords diagonally.

Laying the tiles

If there was no waterproofing on the floor before, then it’s time to do it. It’s far from a fact that the builders did it well, but even if this is the case, then another layer of waterproofing certainly won’t harm anyone. Before laying floor tiles in the bathroom, waterproofing must be done. The process itself is not complicated; you just need to take the dry mixture and dilute it with water. The kneading is carried out strictly according to the instructions. Using a brush, the mixture is applied to the entire surface of the floor, covering the walls at a height of 10 to 15 cm.

After the waterproofing has completely hardened, you can begin facing work.

When preparing the adhesive mixture, it is better to follow the manufacturer's recommendations. They usually stir for 3 to 5 minutes, leave for 10 minutes and stir again.

The solution is applied to one of the surfaces - either the base or the mounting side of the tile. In large rooms, use the first option; it will work out much faster. On a small floor area, and even with undercuts, ceramics are smeared with glue.

The glue is applied with a regular even spatula. To remove excess, we use a comb, which is moved along the smeared surface either vertically or with an inclination of 45 degrees. This is important, otherwise the grooves will be different sizes.

To work with floor tiles, a comb with a tooth size of 8 to 12 mm is usually used. The size depends on the flatness of the surface and the format of the tile. Floor covering must begin from the most visible place near the entrance.

The tile is applied to the surface and pressed tightly. A thin layer and the same amount of adhesive mixture contribute to an almost perfectly even installation. If adjustments need to be made, the tile is simply moved from side to side - circular movements.

Using a short level you can check the position of the tiles relative to each other.

To check the general horizon, use the long one and a half meter rule.
To form uniform seams between tiles, you can use plastic crosses. If the tiles are not calibrated enough, then sometimes you have to use plastic wedges - with their help it is much easier to adjust the seams.

They are also indispensable if you need to make a slight gap near the wall.
We lay the tiles of the second row at the level of the first.

We would like to give you some tips to help you in your work:

The tile and base are not wetted by water.
There is no need to use glue that was prepared 40 minutes ago - adhesion is very low.
When applying glue to both the base and the tile, the adhesion will be much better. Usually the base is coated well, and a small amount is applied to the tiles and immediately removed. Even the slightest layer will help improve adhesion.
In order for the comb to be constantly clean, it must be constantly kept in water.

Cutting tiles

Learning how to lay tiles is only half the battle. It would be nice to master and. One of the most popular and sought after tools is a tile cutter. Models of this universal tool There are a great variety, but most often they use double-rail ones with bearings. The simplest one can cope exclusively with wall tiles, but if you need to work with the floor, then he is powerless. Floor tiles, due to their high strength, can only be cut with an expensive tile cutter. If you don’t have the opportunity to buy one, then it’s better to use a grinder for work - a cheap one will be of little use, and there will be a lot of waste.

Tile cutters are not only mechanical, but also electric. They are versatile and can easily cut even the thickest ceramics.

For figured cutting You can't do without an angle grinder. You can also use wire cutters.
A grinder and tile disc can handle almost any trim.

We rub the seams

Now we’ve finished tiling the floor with our own hands, all that’s left to do is sand the seams. For this we need a special putty and a rubber spatula. If necessary, grout the seams with mixtures different color, then the tonal boundaries must be protected with masking tape.

Before starting grouting work, it is necessary to clean the seams.
The grout for the bathroom needs to be selected accordingly. Do not forget that the room is almost constantly wet; floor tiles often come into contact with water. Therefore, the putty must have water-repellent properties, otherwise you are guaranteed to get mold and mildew on the seams. If you still saved and bought regular mixture, then after it has hardened, the seams must be treated with a special protective agent.

The grout applied to the spatula must be placed tightly into the seams. We perform diagonal movements; excess mixture must be removed immediately. As the putty hardens, tidy up the seams using a damp sponge.

So you have completed the theoretical course self-installation floor tiles and know how to do this work quickly and efficiently. We introduced you to different ways styling, now you can try to apply the acquired knowledge in practice.

For rooms where humidity is constantly high, ceramic coating for the floor – perfect option. This material is not afraid of moisture, durable, and safe. It is suitable for high traffic areas, because... Excellent resistance to constant friction. To ensure that the cladding looks beautiful and is durable, you must follow the instructions during installation.

We look at the tiles - what does the marking tell us?

A tiled floor is practical and beautiful, but in order for it to perform its functions one hundred percent, you need to choose the right base consumables. Appearance and the decorative nature of the tiles is only one side of the coin. Here are the characteristics that you also need to pay attention to:

frost resistance: tiles can be laid on the floor of a veranda, porch, loggia, balcony;
anti-slip properties: for the bathroom, kitchen – where flooring often becomes wet or greasy;
resistance to pinpoint impacts: for the kitchen, where dishes and kitchen appliances periodically fall;
tile thickness: it is better to lay material no thicker than 8 millimeters on the floor in an ordinary living room;
if there are heavy objects on legs in the room, for example, cabinets, chests of drawers - high bending strength;
laying thin, glossy tiles is only possible on the wall - for the floor, choose other options;
the material can be resistant to the influence of chemically aggressive substances - alkalis, acids, household chemicals;
The composition of the ceramic material sometimes includes expensive metals - gold or silver.

The marking on the package shows how many kilograms are in the box, what area it is designed for, as well as the number of tile parts inside. Sometimes additional qualities of tiles are indicated. For example, it may be intended specifically for a train station, airport, hospital, hotel, gym. It is not practical to lay such tiles on a regular home floor.

When choosing a ceramic floor tile, you will need to understand the wear resistance classes. They are depicted as the abbreviation PEI and Roman numerals - a class indicator next to it:

“I” is the minimum indicator of resistance to external influences, suitable for rooms where the frequency of visits is minimal, for example, a loggia or a bathroom. You cannot wear shoes with rough soles here, otherwise the surface of the material will quickly wear off and it will begin to deteriorate.
“II” – for indoor shoes, rooms with average traffic.
“III” – high wear resistance, suitable for areas of the apartment where people are often present (kitchens, hallways).
"IV" – increased level stability, such tiles can be safely placed on the floor in any public space - a store, bank salon, post office, hairdresser.
"V" - the highest class of abrasive strength - for stations, large shopping centers, factories, factories.

Sometimes the degree of moisture absorption is indicated on the box. For places where water and a lot of steam are constantly used, a maximum of 3% is suitable. The dimensions of each tile element affect the installation speed. The larger the tile parts, the faster the floor covering will take place, and vice versa. Too large slabs are not suitable for rooms with complex geometry - you will get a lot of waste at the exit. For a small area, buy small tiles. If you are laying material with your own hands for the first time, purchase medium-sized tiles, because... handling a large one will be difficult.

If you have to put floor tiles in large quantities (you buy several packages at once), be sure to look at the boxes - the lot numbers must match. The same model from different sets may have subtle differences. During the installation process, they will be very noticeable, and this will spoil the whole picture, especially in bright daylight.

Tiles may differ not only in color, but also in calibration and dimensions. Make sure that the batch number matches, because... if it differs, the linear data of the purchased building material will also be different. At first glance, a few millimeters of difference is nonsense, but in reality all the inconsistencies will be visible. Such cladding will look sloppy.

The packages should not contain defective tiles - do not be too lazy to check this yourself so as not to pay for damaged goods. Broken, cracked, chipped parts - all this can happen even in specialized stores, do not let your guard down. Do not forget about the reserve of 10–15%; take more material, because... this part will go to processing the joints with the walls, where the slab will have to be cut. The consumption will be especially high when laying floor tiles diagonally.

Tools and preparation – where to start?

The surface for a new tiled floor must be prepared. Gather the tools you will need for your work:

wide spatula with square teeth;
large building level;
glass cutter or tile cutter;
roulette;
soft pencil;
hammer - completely rubber (mallet) or regular with a wooden butt;
sponge, clean rag;
plastic containers;
tile crosses;
rubber spatula.

First we remove the old coating. Linoleum, tiles, boards - everything needs to be removed, including baseboards. Place on ceramics new cladding is allowed only in one case - if it is perfectly flat and well preserved. If there is the slightest damage, it must be removed in one of the following ways:

a hammer and a chisel with a thin and wide spade tip; if you don’t have one, take a wide screwdriver;
hammer drill;
special metal hooks.

If you chose the first one, manual method, first remove the old grout - moisten it generously with a damp sponge and scrub with a scraper until it comes out completely. If the grout is cement, only a grinder with a stone disc will do - it will need to go over all the seams. Then insert the chisel into the empty seam at an angle and carefully start hitting the blunt end with a hammer. The first tile will have to be broken completely, the next ones will fall behind in their entirety.

The operating principle of a rotary hammer is the same, the difference is in the automation of the process. Here you will need an attachment in the form of a breaker blade. The method is fast, dusty and noisy, take care to protect your face and hands - wear gloves, goggles and a respirator. Keep in mind that all tile elements will be broken and cannot be reused.

If you plan to reuse the removed material, use construction metal hooks. Remove the old grout, insert the hooks into the cracks and carefully remove the element by pulling it towards you. The method is suitable for cases where the tiles are installed with ordinary medium-strength adhesive.

In addition to the tile covering, it is necessary. A sharp metal spatula will help you with this. Pre-moisten the floor with water, wait a little and use a tool to remove the layer, clean off the remaining residue with a metal brush. The cement glue will have to be soaked for several hours, adding salt to the water - it will make the material loose and soften it well. The procedure can be automated - use a drill with a metal brush attachment.

Choosing a base - regular or liquid?

The old coating is removed, the surface is cleaned of dirt, dried glue, paint, nails - then check the levelness of the floor. To do this, use a building level, placing it on the floor - first along, then across. If the differences are more than five mm, it is necessary to level it - make the floor self-leveling or use a self-leveling mixture.

Inspect the surface carefully. All places where the old screed has peeled off - concrete crumbles, greasy floors - must be cleaned completely concrete floor. Seal all cracks and cracks to a width of 15 millimeters. Cut off all protrusions, even minor ones, and remove dust. If the building level shows that the floor is uneven, we proceed to perform a corrective screed. Two options:

ordinary cement-sand screed;
self-leveling floor in the form of a self-leveling mixture.

The first type is suitable for you if the differential coefficient is very large. This inexpensive option, where you will need:

cement grade 400;
sand;
water.

Mix cement with sand in a ratio of one to three. Add water here and mix everything to get a mixture that resembles thick sour cream. It should not spread easily, it will be convenient to level it on the floor. You can add a plasticizer to the solution - this will increase the density of the new coating and prevent cracking. Performance cement screed step by step:

based on the level indicators on the floor - alabaster columns at the required height, attach the lighthouse slats to them;
moisten the floor;
Fill the spaces between the slats with the prepared cement mixture;
level the surface using a vibrating screed or “rule”;
leave the new coating to dry completely, optimal time- for a week.

Self-leveling mixture is more expensive and easier to handle. It is enough to pour it over the prepared, cleaned and primed surface and level it as usual. Installation of beacons is not required - the mixture itself forms an ideal horizon. In a hardware store, choose a cement type - it is not afraid of moisture and you can lay floor tiles on it. The most convenient way to mix the mixture is with a drill and a mixer attachment. The coating dries in three days.

If the floor is smooth but has numerous damages (potholes, cracks), treat it with a pre-prepared repair compound. The most common option is cement plus sand in a ratio of 1:3, diluted with water to a creamy consistency. It fills all the recesses using a wide metal grater. The composition must dry well - for this you will have to wait at least a day.

The next stage is thorough priming of the surface using Concrete contact(acrylic primer). This is done so that the floor surface does not absorb the tile adhesive and its maximum adhesion is ensured. The primer is applied using a wide soft roller on a rod. The floor surface will be finally ready after the primer has dried - this will take a day.

Marking in different versions - drawing a new floor

Floor tiles must be laid on a properly marked surface. This step will help:

avoid mistakes during the laying process;
save material;
try different variants layouts and choose the most convenient and beautiful one;
achieve precise placement of elements.

The ceramic slab will be laid beautifully, big picture It will become aesthetically pleasing if the markings are planned not from the wall, but from the center of the room. Draw the first line along the room, carefully measuring the distances between the walls located opposite each other. The points should be located in the middle - connect them with a straight line, this will be your baseline. The second guide is drawn strictly perpendicular to the first - in the center of the room you will get a cross with rays going to the walls.

If the door is located in the middle of the wall, leave the markings as they are. Otherwise, move one of the guides, bringing it to the middle of the doorway. After the base is marked, lay out all the existing tile material in relation to it, without glue, dry, maintaining the gaps - to do this, insert crosses between the slabs. This way you will save the situation from mistakes and unnecessary waste tiled material, decide on the scheme.

You can lay tiles in the classic way in different ways. The first option is suitable for the floor small rooms– bathrooms or toilets. As a start, if the area is small, it is possible to take two walls opposite the entrance. The first intact tile will be in the front corner; place the rest along the wall to the right and left until there is a space left that is shorter in length than the tile element. You will fill the entire room with whole slabs; along two adjacent walls there will be empty spaces where you need to place the cut material.

Second: start laying from the center of the room, moving in a circle, first - the first four tiles, around - the next 12, and so on, until you reach the walls, where there will be spaces smaller in size than one tile. They are filled with cut material adjusted to the size of the voids. Option for medium and large rooms.

Diagonal laying looks interesting and is suitable for rooms with complex geometry. An oblique pattern will visually mask the general disharmony. It's more difficult to do, but it's worth it. The front corner is taken as a basis - it needs to be divided in half and a bisector line drawn along the entire room to the opposite corner. It will be the main one, from its center, start laying first to the right corner, then to the left, start the next row again from the middle. If this is your first time tiling, use the “seam to seam” principle, without shifting the rows in relation to each other.

Glue - how to choose and prepare it?

Making tile adhesive yourself is a procedure that is losing its relevance due to the availability of ready-made mixtures for installing ceramics in stores. When choosing, pay attention to the characteristics:

intended for use on floor tiles;
use in dry or damp areas;
for conventional or electric heated floors;
ready or in powder form;
on a cement floor or OSB;
quick dry or standard.

It can be difficult to choose between a ready-made mixture or a powder. The first is convenient because to use you just need to open the can and start installation. This option is suitable if you are working with small area and in one go you will use up the entire composition. Preference is given to specialists yourself practical option– powder, because the amount of material can be adjusted: dilute as much as you have time to use in your work. Average consumption will be equal to eight kilograms per square meter floor.

The glue can be made in the form of a ready-made mixture or a powder that needs to be diluted independently

It is not difficult to dilute the powder type - take a round container, pour the material and add water, gradually stirring by hand or construction mixer to a paste-like consistency, without lumps. The final mass should not spread over the surface of the tile; the relief created by a notched trowel during application should be preserved. After kneading, leave the emulsion for five minutes so that it completely absorbs the water.

If necessary, add more water and wait the same time. The drying time is indicated in the instructions on the package - prepare as much of the mixture as you can take before it starts to harden. It is better to prepare a little and re-mix than to throw away the hardened material, which cannot be diluted again with water - it will lose its adhesive properties. Before preparing the mixture, read the manufacturer's recommendations.

The easiest and most reliable way to lay tiles on the floor

There are three options for applying the adhesive composition:

on tiles;
on the floor surface;
coating both the floor and tiles.

What to choose depends on the degree of your qualifications in the field of working with ceramic cladding. For beginners, the first option is preferable, because... at the same time, you will see the markings applied to the floor, and you will not have to lay the tiles blindly. We proceed step by step:

1. Apply a layer of 5 millimeters with a notched trowel;
2. Press the part firmly to the floor, align it with the guide line;
3. tap it with a mallet so that the slab rests on the glue as tightly as possible;
4. Using the same principle, lay the next and the remaining tile elements, inserting calibration crosses between them;
5. after laying each slab, check it for horizontalness using a building level;
6. Immediately remove excess glue that comes out through the seams, remove remaining stains with a rag;
7. After laying out, immediately remove the spacer crosses, otherwise the glue will completely set and it will be impossible to do this.

After installation, you need to wait a day for complete drying. adhesive base. The final stage is to apply grout to the joints using a rubber spatula so that the material completely fills the joint space between the tiles. Cement grout, which is diluted with latex filler, is suitable for this purpose. If your budget allows, buy a ready-made composition at epoxy based– it is resistant to chemicals and more flexible.

Immediately remove the remaining material on the surface of the tile using a damp, well-wrung out foam sponge, trying to avoid the seams themselves. The tiles can be washed clean in five hours. Lay out the floors ceramic slabs is not difficult, even if you do not have enough experience for this. Observing simple rules, you can transform any room with this beautiful material.

Ceramic tiles are an excellent solution for the bathroom; they are highly durable and waterproof. But is it possible to lay tiles on the floor yourself, without involving specialists? - Certainly! This article will help you gain all the necessary skills.

A variety of colors, shades and patterns allow you to create your own design flooring. Laying tiles on the floor yourself is not the most difficult process; a lot depends on the availability quality material, tools and surface preparation.

Technological process

The prepared adhesive solution is applied to the floor using a notched trowel, the tile is taken and pressed tightly to the surface. For high-quality adhesion, tap with a rubber hammer on all edges. Plastic crosses are inserted between the tiles to create space for the seams. During the process, you must use a level, regularly checking the floor surface.

Distance from the wall - required condition! For simplicity, use the same plastic crosses; their thickness should be sufficient for a minimum gap.

If you want to lay the tiles “diagonally”, then be prepared for a large number cut tiles.
It is recommended to immediately remove excess adhesive released after the tile has laid down from the surface before it dries. After arranging the solid main tiles, you need to move on to working with the cut pieces. To cut them, a tile cutter is used; if you don’t have one, you can use a hacksaw.

The period for complete drying of a ceramic tile floor is three days. After this, you should move on to the grouting procedure.

Grouting joints

Before grouting, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the seams from dirt and dust; you can use an awl for clearing or a vacuum cleaner, and also wash them with a damp sponge. Used for grouting special composition For example, to carry out work in a bathroom or toilet you will need about 600 g of the mixture. Grouting powder is mixed with water in the proportions indicated on the packaging. When preparing, stir the mixture several times at intervals of five minutes.

Grouting is done using a spatula and a grout mixture that fills each seam. After applying the solution, it is recommended to wipe the surface with a damp cloth to remove excess. When performing the procedure, it is necessary to ensure that the seams are slightly recessed to emphasize the geometry of the ceramic tiles. For this, a special spatula made of thick rubber is used. It should take about 12 hours for the grout joints to dry completely., after this you should go through it again with a damp cloth to remove dirt.

Now, you can watch a video with instructions that will help you lay tiles with your own hands:

You may also find this review article useful. Our website contains a large variety of articles on topics related to installation, repair and use of floors.

Most often, laying tiles on the floor is entrusted to professional tilers and they do it for good reason. After all, the durability and beauty of the coating greatly depend on the quality of installation, and the work process itself is very complex. However, laying flat tiles with your own hands is enough level base and even a beginner can use the standard “seam to seam” pattern. The main thing is to choose the right mounting solutions and strictly follow the technology. Our step-by-step instruction with photos and a selection of useful videos. This theory on laying tiles will also be useful to those who need to monitor and accept the work of tilers.

Materials, tools and equipment

Here is a list of materials and tools you will need during the process of laying, cutting and grouting floor tiles.

Tools and Equipment:

Tape measure, metal ruler and corner;
Construction pencil for marking;
Construction level and rule;
Construction mixer or drill with a stirrer attachment;
Tile cutter or electric tile cutter;
Core or glass cutter (needed for curvilinear cutting of tiles);
Tile nippers (for cutting curved);
File (for sanding cut edges);
Putty knife;
Notched trowel (6-8 mm);
Master OK;
Rubber spatula for grouting joints;
Rubber mallet;
Bucket with sponge and rag;
Knee pads and household items gloves.

Materials

In addition to the tile itself with a 10% margin, you will need:

Tile adhesive that matches the base material (concrete, wood, old tiles, etc.), as well as the characteristics of the tile itself;
Crosses of the desired size;
Grout the desired color;
Primer.

Step 1. Preparing the base

First you need to prepare the base so that it is level, clean and dry. It is preferable to lay tiles on concrete screed, but if desired, you can also put it on old tiles or wood, chipboard (or other similar material). However, keep in mind that when installing tiles on old cladding the height of the final floor will increase.

To lay tiles on a concrete screed you need: remove possible roughness with a scraper, vacuum the floor, wash with an alkaline cleaner, then cover with a layer of primer (preferably) and wait 2-4 hours until the floor is completely dry. Next, if concrete base uneven (deviations of more than 5 mm per 2 linear meters), then it must be filled with some leveling compound and wait until it dries.

To lay tiles on old tiles you need:

To improve grip old tiles with glue, they walk over it sandpaper or a grinder;
Then the coating is vacuumed and washed, if necessary treated with a primer (drying takes 2-4 hours) and covered with a self-leveling mixture.

Attention! When laying tiles on a heated floor system, turn off the heating 1-2 days before starting work. Turn on heating or underfloor heating it is possible only 2-3 days after grouting the joints. To lay ceramic tiles on a “warm floor,” you need to use an adhesive with a high content of elastic polymers, which will prevent thermal deformation of the base.

Step 2: Drawing the Markup

Once the floor is dry, you can start drawing markings. There are many ways to draw markings, but they all have the same goal:

The floor must be marked so that, firstly, the cut tiles are not placed in plain sight; and secondly, as little pruning as possible was required. Ideally, the tiles should be cut by a third or a maximum of half.

So, for example, the markings can be constructed in such a way that entire tiles are placed at the entrance, along the axes of the window opening or, say, at the threshold balcony door. In our article we will look at one of the most popular ways laying tiles on the floor - along two perpendicular axes from the center of the doorway.

So, draw a line from the center of the threshold to the center of the opposite wall using a cord or laser level. Further along this line, begin laying a row of tiles with crosses “dry”. After placing the last intact tile, draw a line along its outer edge so that you have two strictly perpendicular vertical lines as in the diagram below. It is advisable to use a square to make sure that the corners are right at 90 degrees.

In the corner of the perpendicular we will glue the first tile, and from it we will lay the first row (along the horizontal line).

Step 3. Laying the first tile and first row

Dilute the glue in a bucket according to the manufacturer's instructions, apply it with a spatula to one of the corners of the intersection and at the same time to the area of several tiles of the future first row, slightly going beyond its limits. Then smooth out the glue with a notched trowel, holding it at a 60-degree angle. Try to always keep the comb at the same angle so that the glue is of the same thickness.

Attention! If the tile has a size of more than 30x30 cm or 20x30 cm, then the glue must be applied to the tile itself in a thin layer (apply the glue to the tile and immediately remove it almost completely with the same spatula). For very large formats, the layer of adhesive on the tile can be thicker and thinned out with a notched trowel as shown in the photo below.

Then glue the second tile in the same way and level it with the first using a mallet and a rule. Make sure the tiles are level by placing a level directly on two tiles at once as shown in the photo below.

Check the height of each laid tile with the previous one. If necessary, remove excess or, conversely, add glue

Only when both tiles are aligned, insert crosses along the corners of the tiles and into the seam.

Now continue gluing the tiles in the same way until the entire first row is complete. Go over it again using the rule and check the evenness with a level.

A few rules and useful tips on installation

The subfloor and tiles must always be dry.
Try to apply glue to no more than 1 linear meter facing area at a time.
Glue that has stood for more than 30-40 minutes becomes unsuitable for use (with the exception of adhesives from some manufacturers). Therefore, try to mix the glue a little at a time.
To prevent the glue from drying to the comb, constantly soak it in water.
The crosses must be removed before the glue dries.
Lean your knees on laid tiles not advisable, as this may disrupt its flatness.
The tiles should be taken from different boxes, so the slight difference in color will not be noticeable. Before starting work, be sure to check that the tone indicated on all boxes matches.
On the back of the tile there is always a manufacturer's logo, by which you can understand where the tile is top and bottom. Sometimes tiles have a special masonry orientation indicator, which, for convenience, can be additionally marked on the end of the tile with a pencil.
Make sure to remove excess glue before it dries. It is best to remove it from the surface of the tile with a cloth soaked in solvent.

An alternative way to mark and lay the first row

Don't want to bother with markup? Then proceed the old fashioned way - start laying tiles from the most visible corner. If you are laying tiles on the floor in the kitchen, then you can start laying from the corner of the wall opposite the set, then a row of cut tiles will fall exactly under it.

More useful information You can learn how to mark and lay tiles on the floor with your own hands from this video.

Step 4. Laying the remaining rows, cutting tiles

Hurray, the first row is ready and now, using it as a guide, we can lay the second row of cut tiles (see picture below), and then all the rest.

Attention! The first row is made up of only whole tiles, cut tiles are placed later (in the diagram the “cut” row is designated as row 2).

How to cut the last one floor tiles adjacent to the wall? The first step is to determine its cutting line: place it on the already glued penultimate tile, put another tile on it and move it towards the wall, but not reaching the wall at a distance of one seam. Along the outer edge of this tile, draw a line on the underlying tile. This line is the cutting line.

You can cut tiles using different methods and devices. Ideally, you should use a manual tile cutter or electric tile cutter(see photo above), if there is no such tool, then use a grinder. However, if the floor tiles are ceramic and not very thick (up to 9 mm), then you can use the old construction trick and cut them... with an ordinary glass cutter as shown in this video.

How to cut tiles curved? Apply masking tape to the tile you are cutting to prevent the decorative layer from nicking. Then use a pencil to mark a rounded cutting line, say for a pipe. Next, drill several holes along the marked rounded line using a carbide drill bit (also suitable for porcelain tiles). Finally, using wire cutters, pliers, and special tile crimpers, carefully break off the unwanted portion. Sand the cut area with a file.

Once you have covered the entire floor, make sure all the crosses are removed and leave the covering to dry for 24 hours.

You can learn how to cut floor tiles with a grinder in an L-shape, for example, under the projection of a ventilation duct, from this video.

Step 5. Grouting the joints

After 24 hours, you can start grouting the joints. To do this, first lightly wet the seams with a spray bottle or just a wet rag to improve the adhesion of the grout, and then dilute the grout mixture.

Holding a rubber trowel at an angle, apply joint compound to approximately 1 square meter. meter of floor and distribute it so that all seams are completely filled. But be careful and do not try to force the grout into the seams too much.

After 15-30 minutes, remove excess grout with a damp sponge. In the same way, continue to grout the seams on other areas of the floor, with the exception of the joints along the walls. An hour after grouting the entire floor surface, it can be washed clean using water or mild cleaning agents.

After a week, the seams can be additionally coated with sealant.

Attention! Walking on a freshly laid tiled floor is not recommended for the first 2-3 days, ideally 7 days.