how to tile a wall

This article has been viewed 195,194 times. Step 5. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. If it is off by more than a half-inch, you need to correct the wall or floor. The tilling is done by a professional, experienced person. Use a hacksaw to cut the tile trim to the length you need. This article was co-authored by Mitchell Newman. Although the idea of installing a tile wall on your own may be daunting, you can break down the process into parts to make it seem less overwhelming, including measuring and cleaning the walls, deciding on a pattern, hanging the tile on the walls, and applying the grout. In this case, 93% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. Load a little adhesive on the trowel and use the straight edge to spread it on the wall. ", This article has given me the confidence to try this for myself. How to Tile a Shower Wall 1. To do so, make sure all of the tile is intact and secure. It can be a mosaic, standard size tile, or large format tile. Check the packaging for the tile to see if you can remove them. Using professionals in my area is a nightmare, way too expensive and they are extremely unreliable. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Apart from covering the walls with tiles, you can also. Using a tape measure, take the width of the wall, and divide that by two to find the centre. You may need to move the trowel over the adhesive a few times to ensure that it's thin and level. Got some good tips, which I plan to use. Last Updated: July 17, 2020 For ceramic, porcelain, and glass tile, there is no need to seal the tile, but grout always should be sealed. Tiling a wall is a fiddly job which will take up a couple of hours. Slide the gauge to the left, mark by mark, until you are left with a gap at between the corner of the wall and your batten. A batten board is nothing more than a 1"x4" or 1"x2" board screwed directly into the wall horizontally. Otherwise, simply take separate measurements at the top and bottom of the space and cut the tile to fit: Step 2 Again, apply the tile with a slight twisting motion. What type of sealer should I use when tiling a wall? How to tile a wall. Repeat your second "drape" in the opposite direction. Mark where the tiles will go with a pencil, including spacers or grout. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. If the wall doesn't have tile, it is probably painted or wallpapered. This is your centreline – the line you will tile from. Slide the tile over to the adjoining wall, check the tile is level and then mark the back of the tile (allowing a spacer's width if required) in two positions, using the adjacent tile as a guide (see fig 2.3). This article was co-authored by Mitchell Newman. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. There is nothing as beautiful as a well-designed tile wall. At this point, use a spirit level to draw a horizontal line. Now you're ready to tile the wall. 1. To set the tile, apply an even coat of mastic on only a small portion of the wall at a time. It's easiest to start removing tile from a corner or from the top of the wall so you can place the chisel directly on the grout, which tends to be weaker than the tile. If you want to test that the sealer worked, put a drop of water on a sealed tile to see if the water beads up. I want to have a wall of the tiling adhesive, using a patterned trowel. installing tiles into my kitchen. If your tiles fit perfectly in the space and you don't need to cut any of them, you should still use this method to do the outer columns and the top and bottom rows. Get daily tips and tricks for making your best home. Use a level to measure where you will lay your first course of tiles. Additional trim and baseboards can cover up severe problems. If you're not sure what kind of tile you should get, ask the store associate to recommend a tile for the type of room that you're going to be using it in. How to lay laminate flooring Make laying laminate flooring as easy as possible with this … No. By starting your tile line at the top, then working your way down using the wood or a solid rail, by the time it is all said and done, the weight will be evenly distributed and no bottom tiles should be shouldering the weight of the tiles above and cracking. Mark where the tile will need to be cut, making allowances for the usual grout line. You can, but if/when removing those tiles years from now, the plasterboard will probably break up as the tiles come off, leaving you with a much harder repair job whereas if you skim the plasterboard first, removing the tiles is far less likely to ruin the plasterboard walls. You will need to cut some margin tiles. The best way is to arrange your wall tile in a pyramid shape. Step 4--Cutting the Tile. When you're purchasing the tile, buy an extra package of tiles in case some get damaged while you're hanging them. Mitchell Newman is the Principal at Habitar Design and its sister company Stratagem Construction in Chicago, Illinois. You can use the same method for repairing the drywall without removing the paint or wallpaper. Surprise: they won't be. The best way is to arrange your wall tile in a pyramid shape. Hold the trowel at a 45 degree angle and make sure that each ridge is full when troweling onto the wall and that the entire area where you will be setting the tile is covered. If your plumb or level is off by no more than a half-inch over the course of eight feet, it will show in your tile installation. ", "The steps, especially with the graphics, worked wonders! Install the Wall Tile in a Pyramid ShapeSo, you've got that bottom row of tile. If you can still see a film of residue, apply a tile cleaning solution over the tile after letting it dry for an additional hour. Floor & wall tile buying guide At Homebase, we offer a range of glass, ceramic and other types of wall tiles. Apply about one metre squared at a time using a notched trowel (6 or 8mm) at a 45 degree angle to the wall. Many walls are somewhat uneven. But this can be remedied by taking the following step. Installing wall tile is a four-stage process involving surface prep, layout, applying adhesive and tiles, and grouting the tiles. Mark the horizontal midpoint of the wall with a pencil. Account for your spacer and mark the tile with a pencil. The walls/floor on to which the tile is fixed is not affected by the dampness caused by the pipes chiseled inside the walls/floor. Set aside extra time to cut porcelain tiles, especially those with mitered corners, as they are really tough. ", "By reading this article, I can do it by myself. Most trowels will have 2 sets of notches that are different sizes. ", "I like that pictures were added and the instructions are precise. Some tiles have built-in spacers. 2. Cover no more than one square metre at a time. This is one of the easiest patterns to create, but it can look busy if the room is already full of designs and colors. Make up your own! Patterns are more like suggestions. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. If you're sanding a large area, it might be easier to use an electric sander. Mix and match colors, look up various brick laying techniques and try those out, make a mural. You will then need to make cuts on the tiles so that they will fit in place. To mark the piece for the opposite side of this row of tiles, simply do the reverse of the above. Don't start it at the floor. Step 4: Apply tiles by pressing evenly to get a good adhesive coverage. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 195,194 times. You can opt-out at any time. This will indicate the size of the tiles you will need at each end. When there is nothing specified, that gives you the opportunity to do what you like. "Going to tile for the first time. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Unfortunately, no wall is completely straight, so it will be necessary to cut the margin tiles. Begin your first "drape" on either right or left side, and walk it up, over, and down the other side. This prevents the adhesive from getting on other surfaces or the pre-layed tiles. How to Tile an Uneven Wall. 6. By using our site, you agree to our. Thus, they need to be installed in a square space. Approved. If you purchased a powder adhesive, mix it according to the directions until it's the consistency of peanut butter. So if, for example, 4” of a 12” tile piece are on one part of the wall running into a corner, then I’ll do a 8” piece starting the row on the next wall… Check the packaging of the adhesive to make sure you're using the right sized notches for the tiles to stick to the adhesive. The sealer prevents the water from seeping into the grout and the wall boards, which can cause rotting. Use tile backer boards to cover damaged and uneven walls. Then, sand the wall and apply mastic to it with a trowel. So: 3. When tiling from a worktop, should I place the first row on the worktop or use a spacer under it? Don't forget to add spacers between each tile so everything looks even! Motor ratios are appropriate, i.e 1:1:1 (cement, adhesive, soft lake sand if available). Measure your tile height, and mark a point on the bathroom wall that is 20mm below that height. Place your tile gauge (wooden baton) onto the wall and line up your tile point with the central mark on your wall. To learn how to apply grout and sealant, scroll down! Holding a bubble level to a straight, six- or eight-foot board, make sure that both walls and the floor are plumb (vertical) and level. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/f\/f6\/Tile-a-Wall-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Tile-a-Wall-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/f\/f6\/Tile-a-Wall-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid1230806-v4-728px-Tile-a-Wall-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"