How to Install Large Tile Floors
- 1). Starting from one corner of the room, spread down a layer of thinset mortar with your notched mortar trowel, covering enough of the floor to completely encompass one piece of cement board (generally, 3' by 5'). Press the board into place over the mortar. Use your screw gun to sink galvanized screws every foot or so over the surface of the board.
- 2). Lay the rest of your cement boards in the same fashion, setting them end-to-end in straggered rows so there are no four-way intersections. Cut the end pieces as needed by scoring the surface of the board with your razor knife and breaking the board.
- 3). Press mesh drywall tape along the seams between the pieces of cement board. Apply thinset mortar over the seams, using the straight side of your trowel. Make the mortar lines completely flat and smooth. Let the mortar dry overnight.
- 4). Use your chalk snapline to divide the floor into quarters with two intersecting mid-wall to mid-wall lines. Lay down a few square feet of thinset mortar with your notched trowel in the corner of one of the four sections, where it meets the others in the middle of the room. Set your first tile into place, using the intersecting lines as guides.
- 5). Lay the other tiles off the first one, continuing to use the lines as guides and putting spacers between all of the tiles. Cut the tiles at the edges of the room as necessary on your tile cutter. Remove all the spacers and let the tiles set overnight.
- 6). Spread your pre-mixed grout over the floor with your grout float. Use the edge of the float to scrape the grout off the tile faces while squeezing it into the lines between the tiles. Wipe off the excess grout with a damp sponge. Let it set for two days before using the floor.