Tile can be a wonderfully artistic medium to work with. It can provide nuances of color and texture and looks very natural. Costs of doing a floor are not out of reach for the budget minded–the infusion of beauty into your home far outweighs the expense. What is involved in a tile project and how does one get started?

• Subfloor. Hire a quality recommended local carpenter to make your subfloor as solid as possible. If you have a concrete slab this part is already done for you. If you have a wood subfloor, and you have access to the underfloor, he or she will work to eliminate flexing of joists. This may mean adding additional joists, or putting in a midspan girder supported by tight fitting posts on concrete piers. If you don’t have access and your floor flexes you need to take it up and this portion of your structure will be repaired . Screws are used to make sure subfloor is securely attached to joists. I like to see this step accomplished before you go out and buy tile in case you encounter problems.
• Toilet Flange. Make sure toilet flange is permanently secured before the tilesetter is on the job.
• Buy Tile. Now you can buy tile. Get creative! You might want to make up a repeating pattern that uses a few different sizes of tile or vary colors or shade patterns.
• Hardibacker. Back on the job, Hardibacker or equivalent (fiber reinforced concrete sheets) is attached to subfloor with screws. Some are having great success with thinner 1/8″ backing products. The idea isn’t going cheaper, but a different technology. You can trust your tile person with this!
• Thinset. Traditionally tile is set with thinset. DIYers need to make sure their notched trowel has large notches to allow for a generous amout of thinset. You might be able to notice in the picture, the use of plastic corner spacers. These are a great way to have a uniform look. Mostly these are popped out, but some get stuck and are buried with grout later. Tiles are placed over spread thinset and tapped down (gently) to make sure good adhesion is achieved.
• Alternative Adhesives. Other adhesive mixes are available. The extra costs for one project are not enough to avoid them if you desire. Some other mildew resistance. Some are supposed to have superior adhesion. They are all great products but thinset done correctly works very well.
• Curing. No need to rush–practice patience while your tile cures.
• Grouting. Procure some good advice on your grout color whether from your tile supplier, installer, or both. It really matters. Grouting is a process of pushing mix into the spaces between the tiles and then wiping it to a consistent level. For those attempting this themselves care needs to be taken to remove any grout from tile. If your tile has a rougher hewn texture, wipe grout down to a lower level. If you don’t, the grout will fill in nooks and crannies worse than jam on an English muffin yielding an unsightly, uneven line. By using a lower grout level you can find the level at which there are no crannies.
• Drying. After grout is very thoroughly dried it should be sealed.
• Testing. After the project is completed you can rap on any tile with your knuckles: a hollow sound means a bad set; a solid sound means perfection.

Some will want to take this on themselves. Likely most will want to use a professional recommended tile installer.