Planning a tile installation Pt. 2
The preparation phase of the tile installation is the most important phase of the whole project. You will need to evaluate your subfloor. Check for height differences between existing floors and the height of your new tile floor. Keep in mind if installing over a cement backerboard to allow not only for the tile but also the mortar and backerboard. Also make sure that your subfloor is level and/or your slab is not sealed.
The recommended subfloor for floor tile is a concrete slab or cement backerboard (note that backerboard should be installed over at least 5/8″ plywood). Sometimes you may need to reinforce subfloor with another layer of decking or plywood. You want to have 1 1/4″ between plywood and backerboard. Remember, a tile installation is only as stable as its subfloor. If your subfloor has issues these will telegraph through your tile possibly causing cracking or the bond to break between the mortar and the tile (loose tiles).
Most floors have at least minor levelling issues. Depending on the size of the tile and your personal preferences you may have to level the subfloor before installation. Levelling the floor to within at least 3/16″ over a 10ft run is a good standard to maintain for solid and level tile installations. You can check for this with a 4ft level. Also, a good trick is to place a nail in the center of the room and then tie so twine or string to the nail. Then tie another nail or handle to the end of the string and scribe around the room. Make notes on the subfloor wherever it needs to be levelled.
If installing over vinyl or other surfaces like tile, make sure to scarify the surface so that the mortar will adhere to the surface.
When installing tile on walls make sure that drywall is clean and solid without loose paint or clumps of drywall mud. Removal of wallpaper is recommended. Also, you may want to roughen up painted surfaces with 80-grit sandpaper in order to provide proper adhesion. Sometimes you may need to install concrete backerboard for best adhesion on walls. Concrete block and brick walls need to be clean, flat, and not cracked.
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