Before Ceramic or Porcelain Tile Installation

What to Prepare for and Expect on Installation Day

As the excitement of installation day for your new ceramic floor or porcelain plans draws near, it's time to prepare your home to welcome your smartly chosen tiles and beautiful design.  Preparing for installation day involves not only preparing the room that's waiting for your new floor, but also your home, your schedule – and your knowledge.  Knowing how you can prepare for the installation and what to expect before, during and after installation day will ensure that your newly tiled floor will be laid with perfection.  By preparing your home and your knowledge, the tiling process will move along efficiently and you'll minimize the unexpected.  This article is our advice on how to prepare for installation day.

Hire Help Carefully

Installing ceramic tile or porcelain tile is a skilled trade that involves heavy labor, precision and patience.  Even if you are physically capable of doing the job and consider yourself a seasoned do-it-yourself handyman (or woman), hiring a professional is worth the investment.  Ceramic and porcelain is, for the most part, permanent.  (You can of course shatter the tiles to remove them, but it comes with the burden doubling your time, money and labor.)

A seasoned professional has experience that builds accuracy and efficiency.  Accuracy ensures your tiles are laid correctly with little material waste.  This saves you money.  Efficiency allows the job to be done quicker, minimizing your labor costs.  Skilled floor installers can predict and prevent problems, find solutions to unexpected complications, are familiar with the tricks-of-the-trade, and know the nuances of the materials they will be using. 

We strongly suggest that you hire a seasoned professional for the job.  As you may know from reading other pages on our website, we have professional seasoned installers that can expertly take care of the complete floor installation process.  We recommend them not only because they are a part of our services, but also because we want you to be completely satisfied with your completed floor – and we are confident our expert installers will bring you complete satisfaction.  Just give us call or email to get a quote or learn more about our installation services.

Be Home on Installation Day

The installers will have questions, and your home will become slightly hazardous.  Children and pets should be kept far away from the project, however you should be easily accessible. 

Before the project begins, go over the details of the job and contract with the team's supervisor to make sure that there are no misunderstandings.  But please be understanding if the team is late.  They may be going from one job to the next, and it's difficult to accurately time how long a job will take.  Once they arrive and begin their work, the team should be left with minimal interruptions.  Casual conversation has the potential to disrupt foresight planning, computations and visuals.  But do speak your mind if you see something contrary to your understanding.

A  Day or Two Before Installation Day – Moving Day and Removal Day

Before the installers arrive, plan on having a “moving day” a day or two before their arrival.  If you have an older home, you might want to begin even earlier to prepare yourself  for the unexpected.

The room that is being tiled will have to be cleared of furniture and belongings.  This should include nearby closets and preferably wall-hangings as well.  You can do this yourself, or you may be able to have your installers do the work for an added labor charge.  Your installers cannot tile around furniture, it will interfere with the mortar as well as accurate placement and cutting.  You cannot have furniture on a freshly tiled ceramic or porcelain floor.  It will take a day or two to dry, so plan accordingly. 

This is also a good time to make plans for children and pets, as well as any members of the house that may have allergies or breathing problems.  The area will be dangerous with fumes and dust in the air.  If your child has been begging for a sleepover at a friend's house – this is a good time to concede. 

Preparing also includes preparing the house for an ideal climate for the tile to take and set.  Plan to keep the humidity between 45% and 65%, and try to keep the area well-ventilated. 

Remove Your Old Floor Covering

Your old floor can be removed by our professionals, or you can remove it yourself.  You want everything removed so the floor the tile will be laid on is exposed.  Any nails or carpet tacks and strips should be removed as well.  You will need a flat, clean surface – so make sure you sweep up afterwards.   

Keep in mind that you will have to make plans for disposing of your materials.  Check with your city ordinances and waste sites, or give us a call and we can estimate removal and disposal methods for you.

Remove Your Trim

Most floors have baseboards or trim that needs to be removed before a new floor is put in.  If you've had your eye on new moldings or wainscoting, this is the ideal time to prepare for your interior remodeling. Baseboards, molding and woodwork can break easily while they're being removed, particularly if they are dry and brittle.  There's also a chance some touch-up painting may need to be done.  Although installers can remove the pieces for you at an extra charge, they cannot take responsibility for breaking and cracking since it is more likely due to the condition of the wood rather than the manner in which the pieces were removed. 

Checking the Subfloor

Your subfloor needs to be sturdy, clean and level.  If your subfloor is not in the good condition you thought it was, it needs to be repaired before the ceramic tile or porcelain tile is laid.  If you have a newer house, you shouldn't expect any problems – but you never know what to expect in older homes.  Feel free to contact us with any questions or professional help you may need with your subfloor.

Opening and Closing Doors 

Your new tile will change the height of your floor, and the clearance of your doors.  Depending on the ceramic tiles or porcelain tiles you have chosen, and your current door clearance, you may find that you'll need your door adjusted.  This is often done by simply shaving the bottom.   However, if you have clearance on top, then the door can merely be raised.

Floor installers will often remove and replace your doors, but they are not expected to modify them to fit after the installation.  If you're handy with a sander and drill, you can do this yourself.  Otherwise just call a local handyman or carpenter and they can help you.  Depending on your installer, removing doors yourself might save you some labor charges.

Protect Your Kitchen and Bathroom Floor

If your tile is going to be installed in the kitchen, bathroom, or other area prone to water exposure, this is the ideal time to waterproof before you tile.  Waterproofing protects the room from mold, mildew and slow rotting.  Your tile installer can do this for you, but it's easy enough to do yourself. 

LATICRETE® HydroBan is a product that keeps water from damaging your walls and floors.  It can be rolled on to most subfloors (or substrates).  Exterior grade plywood and gypsum wallboard take well to the HydroBan, as do mortar beds, concrete and cement backer board.  No fabric is required.  All you have to do is apply the liquid HydroBan as you would paint – with a paint roller or brush.  

But first become familiar with the processes involved in laying a porcelain or ceramic tiled floor.  If you are waterproofing an area to be soon tiled, the area must be clean and level before waterproofing.

The Basic Process of Ceramic Tile or Porcelain Tile Installation

The tile will be placed on the “substrate.”  Substrate is the foundation that the tile is being laid on.  The “substrate” is usually the subfloor, but substrate is the trade's terminology because a new layer of floor to accept the tiles may need to be put down over the subfloor.  The substrate could be concrete, plywood or drywall, and each has a unique preparation method.

Cleaning the substrate is the first step.  The substrate must be dry and free from all oil and dirt, otherwise the tiles will not adhere properly.  The floor (substrate) must then be leveled to ensure an even floor that allows for accurate tile placement.  Leveling the substrate also serves to protect the tiles from breaking or chipping under pressure. 

The next step is to waterproof.  Some installers might apply an “anti-fracture membrane.”  This is important if you are tiling a kitchen or bathroom – and particularly important when tiling an outdoor area exposed to the elements. 

Measuring for Materials

After the substrate has been cleaned, leveled and waterproofed, the installers will measure the area to determine the layout plan.  This will determine the orientation of the tiles and will aid planning for areas interrupted by architectural elements such as stairs and cabinets.  The dimensions will also serve to guide solutions to any unexpected considerations, and will also prevent material waste. 

During the measuring process, the installers will lay down a temporary chalk line to be used as a guide.  They will then lay down tiles without the adhesive to form a letter “T.”  This gives the installers a starting point.  Once everything is measured, it's time to stick to the plan.

Adhering the Tiles

With the substrate prepared and the layout planned, the adhesive mortar is ready to go on.  There is a thickset and thinset method.  The thickset methods involves putting mortar on the substrate and on the back of the tiles, however the thinset method uses a “backerboard” and is more commonly used for ceramic and porcelain floors.   The backerboard, also referred to as a CBU or cement backer unit, gives extra support and protects a porous substrate with a water-resistant layer. 

Using the more efficient thinset method, installers will adhere the tile right onto the backerboard, and the backerboard is then adhered to the substrate by using nails and a thin layer of mortar. 

The tiles must then dry for 12 to 24 hours before the grout can be applied.

Grouting the Joints

After the tiles have dried, it's time to fill in the “joints” or “spaces” with grout.  Grout comes in many different colors, so you might want to give some added designer thoughts to your floor plans. 

If you're tiling a kitchen or bathroom, or you entertain often in the room you are having tiled, consider using an Epoxy grout.  Its stain-resistant properties can withstand the vigors of cooking, entertaining and washing. 

Unsanded grout is typically used for narrow spaces (grout joints), and sanded grout is used for spaces that are wider than 1/8^th of an inch.   Sanded grout is strong and will not sag after it dries, therefore it is often used in floor tiling.  Unsanded grout is more often used with natural stone floor installations or wall tile.

Just as the mortar needed time to dry, so does the grout.  Some ceramic floors may require daily mopping  for a few days so the grout doesn't crack or dry unevenly.

Cleanup and Disposal

No matter how skilled and experienced your professional installer is, installing a new ceramic floor or porcelain wall will result in some material waste that will need to be disposed of.  Most installers offer to take care of cleanup and disposal, however, the method of cleanup and disposal should be discussed prior to signing any contract.  It's possible that taking care of it yourself can save you money.  But make sure you check with your town's garbage disposal policies. 

Stay Away for a Day

As tempting as it may be, don't walk on your new floor or apply pressure to the floor for at least 24 hours after it is tiled.  This gives the porcelain or ceramic tile a chance to set in and prevents the tile from shifting, cracking or loosening.  Resist the temptation if you want to retain perfection. 

Walk with Wonder

You can now walk with a wonderful satisfaction that your floor has been laid with style and skill.  Your room is like new again.  Children, pets, relatives and friends can safely trample through.  Your furniture can go back to its comfortable arrangement, or you can create a whole new room inspired by your new ceramic floor or porcelain pattern.  Your floor is ready to be filled with glowing admiration and a lifetime of wonderful living.