From Eveningsnews.com
How To Prevent The Idea Of Installing Tiles From "Flooring" You
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Sep 8, 2005, 00:25
(NAPSI)-A new floor can modernize any room and give it a whole new look. "A do-it-yourself project that involves setting new tiles can be fun, not fearful," according to John Vacher, flooring expert at The Home Depot®. "There's a wide range of new tile designs that fit into a variety of décor themes. And, there are innovative products that make installing a new tile floor or removing old tile easier than ever."
The traditional approach to tiling consisted of using dry bag materials that required time-consuming mixing and mess. The new way can be much easier and faster, due to the latest products that make the process simple and easy.
1. Make sure all baseboards are removed and undercut the casing of all doors to make sure the tiles will fit.
2. Next, sweep or vacuum the room to make sure the tiles can adhere to a flat, clean surface. If you are removing old tiles, "warm" one tile at a time using a heat gun and then use a putty knife to pry the warm tile. Repeat this process until the area is free of tile and old adhesive.
3. To install new tile floor, separate the floor into quadrants by measuring the midpoints between all four walls and snap a chalk line between each parallel wall.
4. Lay down a row of dry tile on one side of both perpendicular lines. Then adjust your lines until each border fits a full tile or at least half of a tile.
5. Apply a top-grade flooring adhesive with superior bonding strength, such as Spread & Set Premixed Thinset Mortar (www.spreadandset.com). Premixed and easy to use, it requires no messy mixing to set new tiles or to renovate old floors.
6. After setting porous or textured tile and natural stone, apply a spray-on grout sealer, such as Stand 'N Seal Grout Sealer (www.standandseal.com), to the tile surface before grouting, then to the newly applied grout lines once it has cured overnight. It will protect tile surfaces and grout lines from stains and spills.
Both these products are available exclusively at The Home Depot. For more "how to" information on flooring and other do-it-yourself projects, visit www.homedepot.com.
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