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Tile flooring installation has been a big project for DIY projects. It could be done independently, but it would be relatively easier with the assistance of family and friends. You could also consider hiring the services of a professional installer to do it and save your precious time and energy. However, if you were certain that you wish to tackle Tile floor (ปู กระเบื้อง, which is the term in Thai) installation at your home, here is how you should handle it.
How To Handle Your Tile Floor Installation
Foremost, you should remove any present flooring that is down. Consider starting with removing the baseboards carefully or you would have to replace them. The next step would be to pull up the carpet, linoleum, old tiles, and anything comprising your current flooring. It would be in your best interest to get the subfloor to have a great tile floor installation that you would be proud of and enjoy for the time to come. After removing the old stuff, consider giving your floor a considerably good cleaning job. Vacuum, sweep, and mop the floor for optimum results. Ensure your subfloor is even. In case, it is not, you would be required to get it fixed and fill in the gaps, dips, or cracks until you have a level surface.
The Back-Breaking Job
It might not sound too bad so far. However, the back-breaking work begins with tile flooring installation. You would be required to measure the floor starting at the middle of the doorway and going straight to the opposite wall. Consider laying a row along the wall. Ensure that you have nearly a quarter to half of an inch of space between the tile and the wall. Consider using spacers to keep the tiles straight. It would be in your best interest to remember that during this dry run, you would not be using any kind of adhesive yet.
Laying The Tiles With Adhesive
Lastly, consider laying the tiles using adhesive. Consider beginning from the center of the room to ascertain full tiles have been placed in the middle of the room. Put down a 2×2 foot section of the adhesive using a notched trowel for spreading the adhesive. Now, lay the tile into the adhesive, tap it using a rubber mallet for keeping it level and use the spacers to keep it straight. Continue doing this until you have covered the entire floor.
In case, the tile does not fit near the edges, you would be required to use the tile cutter or tile cutting saw to cut the tile to fit. After you have laid all the tiles and set them for twenty-four hours, consider removing the spacers and applying grout to the entire floor. Consider scraping the surface of the floor while ensuring that you do not pull much from the tiles. Before you allow traffic on the tile floor, let it rest for approximately seventy-two hours.
Apply the grout sealer to protect your floor. The tile floor installation is complete.
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