What Lies Below
This article and others that follow will be committed to home repair work and improvement dealing with different locations from roofing to basement.
If you are going to re-do the bathroom floor-- this means taking up your tile, sheet vinyl, or ceramic tile and underlayments you must make sure there are no signs of water damage to the subflooring and examine to see if it is strong throughout. When laying down a new flooring the main question is constantly can I lay tile over the existing floor or do I need to get the old one initially? If the flooring is level and sound you can generally just tile right over it with plastic or vinyl flooring, however keep in mind how much space you have for the bathroom door, door frame and wall molding (if any) you may have to open or close the door from time to time!
If the underlayment is solid however not give up level you can utilize leveling embossers (like mortar) to fill-in low spots to make a level surface, otherwise put a new underlayment over it, if you can. I have seen resident doctor it up with thin plain wood strips do not do it! All products should be water and moisture resistant as possible. Always utilize a minimum of a 3ft level to insure surface area is not slanted in any way.
For a normal ground level home like a cattle ranch with no basement, flooring foundations are 'framed', meaning the floor sits on joists with 2-by's (stills) running perpendicular to the joists along the foundation. 'Girders', (metal rods) at or near the center of the joists help in support. Above the framing lays the subfloor, usually a 3/4 ″ tongue and groove particle board, plywood or comparable material. Above that there is a1/4 ″ plywood or cement board (moisture resistant) thats called the underlayment and may also have a sheet of roof felt or similar material for added cushioning. Take extra care when laying underlayment over the subflooring because the floor may split if the seems match up so it's finest to stagger the seams.
Ceramic Tiles: Because this kind of tiling has ended up being popular in kitchen areas, bathrooms, halls and even living rooms for its sturdiness and style, I want to devote this section on the subject.
Installing ceramic tiles in the restroom will modify the height of fixtures like toilets, vanity sinks and cabinets in addition to the door and adjoining room it is best to get rid of whatever and go back to square one. This suggests removing the old underlayment too. You have to produce a level surface or the tiles will split or break. A lot of ceramic flooring tile is thick so you will have up to added to the old flooring assuming you had plastic tile or vinyl to begin with. You will be balancing out the height of the old fixtures read all about it and the door so a little bit of trimming might be required (If you are replacing fixtures-no problem).
For tiling bathroom floors these steps will give you great outcomes:
* Using a 3/ft level check if the flooring even throughout.
* Lay out a row of tiles, with spacers (cross shaped inserts for grout lines) along the length and width of the room to assess the number of tiles you are utilizing. This is likewise to see how many tile cuts you will need to make near walls.
* Lay down cement board, cut to fit location and use a little layer of mortar to connect board to subflooring. Use screws every 6 to 8 inches along the edges of board to secure in location. Use mesh tape over the seams and cover with a thin layer of mortar.
* Set the full ceramic tiles at a point furthest from entrance and press down securely, tapping it with a rubber mallet so it spreads uniformly. Have the cut tiles prepared so as you move away from read this the wall place and set as you go.
* insert cross shaped spacers on end between each tile to insure rows are even. At corners lay spacers flat and butt tiles at the angles (dont worry, it will be very same with). You can also stand the spacers upright against walls.
* When you get to the closet flange (toilet hole in floor) you will require a tile nipper or tile saw to cut a partial circle. Do this for all sides and lay tile down as previously. You must do this also for sinks and cabinets.
* When all the tiles are down you should wait a least one day for it to set effectively this is a crucial step before you put down the grout. When ready, mix tile grout to cover about of the room at a time, this will provide you time to do to right. Take out the cross spacers and use grout with a grout float, then holding float at an angle capture off excess grout. Do this with action with the remainder of the room.
* The last action is to dampen a clean sponge with water and rub out the gain access to grout, rinsing the sponge typically.