Tiling Tips and Advice for the Beginner that You Need!
Tiling can be an incredibly daunting project for the beginner DIYer, but I’m here to tell you that if I can do
it, you can, too! Save on a professional and learn from my tips—and mistakes— to help create a beautifully tiled space that you will absolutely love!!
Hiring a professional to complete your tiling job (or any job) is always the ideal, but is not always realistic if you’re on a budget. And your budget should not stop you from creating the home of your dreams!
After being quoted in the ballpark of $40,000 for a bathroom remodel, I decided to DIY it and complete all of the tiling in our bathroom myself, despite never tiling before in my life.
By doing the work myself, we saved about $35,000! And it came out pretty darn good, if I do say so.
If you’re not afraid of a little (or a lot 😂) of work, then roll up your sleeves and let’s get going.
Prep, prep, prep!
No matter what the job, you’ll need a solid base underneath your tiles. This will look different depending on what type of tile job you’re completing.
There are several ways to create this support, but cement board or a tile mat (like a Schluter membrane) are the most common, especially in an area that will be exposed to water.
For showers, you want to use a ½” cement board with waterproofing (like Redgard) or a Schluter system to create an area that is waterproofed.
For floors, a ¼” cement board or tile mat (which is only about 1/8” and waterproof—great for a bathroom) is more appropriate.
For a kitchen backsplash, or an area that won’t be exposed to water regularly, you can just tile over drywall.
Check to see that the area is level, square and plumb. It is not uncommon, especially in old homes (like mine) for them to be off a little.
If you’re installing tiles on walls, you can work around this when you’re laying out your tiles.
But if you’re tiling floors, it’s best to level them out first as much as possible, or your tiles will eventually end up cracking from the weight of walking on them, furniture, cabinets etc. over the uneven surface. You can use self-leveling cement and a straight edge to fill in any depressions or humps in the floor.
Do not skimp out on your preparation as you will regret it in the end.
Have the right tools
Mixer for drill
It’s said that mortar can be mixed by hand, but why? As a first-time tiler, it can be challenging enough to
make the right peanut-buttery consistency with a powered mixer.
Don’t risk your arms before you even get started by trying to mix up your mortar by hand. I definitely recommend getting a mixer that attaches to your drill. This will save you time and strain on your muscles, plus you’ll know the thin set is mixed completely and properly, ensuring good tile adhesion.
Plus, it’s only about $12 and you can use it again for your grout and endless projects into the future.
Trowel
Always use a trowel with the recommended “tooth” size. This is imperative to ensure there is enough grout on the wall so the tiles are secure, as well as making the tiles sit evenly.
For my subway tiles, I used a ¼” trowel, and for my 16”x16” floor tiles I used a ½” trowel. Use the recommended size for your tiles.
Tile cutter
This thing is so awesome. It is incredibly easy to use, is inexpensive and is small enough to fit in the same space where you’re tiling.
It easily cuts by scoring the tile and then snapping it. I used it for about 95% of the cuts I needed. It worked especially well for the ½ tiles.
I did find that it needs enough tile on both sides of the cut to snap off cleanly. If not, it kind of chips off, so is not great for cutting very small sections.
Hole saw
A hole saw is a great tool to make round holes in tile, which is necessary in a shower for the pipes. You will need a diamond-edged hole saw for ceramic tiles.
I purchased a simple kit on Amazon for a few bucks and it worked really well attached to my drill.
Tile saw
While I was able to complete about 95% of the cuts with the tile cutter and hole saw, I would not have been able to complete the bullnose tile or half-holes for the plumbing without a tile saw.
You can use a grinder instead (see below), but having a tile saw will make your life so much easier as it easily cuts through tile with precision.
Keep in mind that it can be a dangerous tool, especially if used incorrectly, so make sure you read all directions and follow every single safety precaution.
And keep in mind that they do make a mess. The water does not stay neatly in the basin but instead splashes all over the place. I recommend either using it outside or protecting anything nearby that you care about with plastic and/or towels.
You don’t have to purchase a tile saw if you don’t see a ton of tiling in your future. Rent it for the day or weekend or borrow one from a friend. You could also purchase it and then resell it when you’re done.
My grandfather had one that we borrowed and again, we wouldn’t have been able to finish without it.
You can also try Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. Safety first with this as well!
Grinder
Grinders freak me out a bit because they are so dangerous, but it is a very useful tool, especially for any intricate tile cuts.
I had to use it for a floor tile that wrapped around a wall. I kept snapping the tile on the tile saw because it was too narrow on one side. The grinder got the job done quickly.
Take every single safety precaution if you decide to use this thing. You could lose a finger and get all kinds of shards in your eyes.
Read the directions on all the products you plan to use before you purchase them
Make sure that your products are compatible with each other before bringing them home.
This tip will save you time and precious storage space.
Here’s my story:
I bought a giant bucket of tile adhesive. It was kept in my foyer for weeks (mainly because I could barely
lift it—it really was huge!) waiting to be used when I finally got to the tiling step.
I had all intentions of using the tile adhesive — until I finished my Redgard waterproofing (which was awesome) and read the directions which specifically stated that tile adhesive would not adhere to the Redgard, and thin set had to be used instead.
So the giant bucket of tile adhesive that I took up space in our foyer for weeks had to be returned.
Learn from my mistake. Save yourself time, a trip to the store, storage space and sanity by reading all
the directions first and making sure your intended products will work with each other.
Do not buy Quickset!
For my fellow beginner tilers, please, please, do not buy Quickset. I know that a lot of YouTube videos will tell you that it is the best stuff to use, but don’t do it.
You want your cement to be wet when you apply the tile. If you are a beginner, assume that it will take
three times as long as you think it will to get the tiles installed and spaced properly.
If you use quickset, it will dry on the wall before you’re able to set your tiles. And if by some miracle you
do set them all in record time, the cement dries over the tile SO QUICK. If you don’t wipe it off on time,
it will be on your tiles permanently and you’ll have to tear everything out and start over.
Don’t do it! Go with the regular thin set.
I purchased pre-mixed grout without reading the directions in the store (refer to my previous point!)
because it seemed easier. I am SO GLAD I noticed before installing that it was sanded grout, which
will scratch ceramic tiles.
It was only after I was bringing it back to the store that I realized that it was also the quick setting stuff which would have destroyed my tiles, as I would not have been able to get it off quickly enough.
Go with the good old-fashioned powder and mix it (with your mixer) in a 5 gallon bucket.
Mix small batches of Thin Set
While thin set has a much longer dry time than quick set, I still recommend working in small batches instead of trying to do an entire bag at once. This is for a few reasons.
The most obvious reason is so it doesn’t dry out on you while you’re working. I thought that my subway tile shower would take me one day to get all the tiles on the wall.
I was wrong. It took three.
If I mixed the entire bag of thin set, I would have wasted SO much of it (as you cannot save it overnight).
I would have then had to make another trip to the store and spend more money on more thin set.
And if by some miracle I did finish in one day, it most likely would have dried out by the end of the night.
It is also much easier to lug around smaller amounts.
Try starting with 1/3 of the bag. You can measure it out with old measuring cups (or grab one from the dollar store) so you get the appropriate ratio of cement to water.
Note: If your thin set dries on the wall, scrape it off and reapply moist thin set with your trowel. Your
tiles will not stick to dry thin set.
Have a plan and be willing to adjust as needed
Just like for any other project, it’s important to make a plan. Get your measurements and figure out on
paper where your tiles will be placed.
Then physically lay out your plan on the wall without cement.
Yes, it takes extra time but is 100% worth it to ensure your measurements (and math) are correct. You do not want to find out you made a mistake with concrete! It’s a lot harder and messier to fix at that point.
The extra time invested will save you hours trying to fix a mistake later, and potentially years of staring at your glaring mistake.
Remember that you don’t want any tiny slivers of tile. Take your time while planning to adjust your tiles so that the end tiles have an equal amount on either side.
This way you know how to cut and space your tiles to get the proper balance.
For two sides of my shower, I was able to simply do a half-tile at alternating ends, but one side was
slightly shorter, so I had to cut them at one-third and two-third of a tile.
I also found that for my floor tiles, which were 16” and laid in a diamond pattern, that it was necessary to cut and dry fit all of the tiles before even mixing up my grout.
Yes, this took a few days, but made the process so much easier as some of the cuts were quite challenging and if I messed up the angles the whole floor would have been off.
Do a “test tile”
This is a great way to figure out if you’re applying your mortar appropriately.
Stick your first tile to the wall and press it in firmly. Then remove it and look at the back side of the tile. If the entire tile is covered in thin set, then you know that you’re getting the right amount of coverage for a stable and secure tile job.
But if the tile is not fully covered in thin set, you must trouble shoot to figure out why and adjust as needed. This is very important for the longevity of your tiles as they will do a poor job adhering if they don’t have the proper amount of thin set.
A few things to check:
- Has your mortar dried before you placed your tile? Don’t delay in getting your tiles on there or it will start to dry and harden, which is bad for adhesion
- Are you being thorough enough with your thin set? This is not the time to skimp with materials. Make sure you get enough cement on your surface so that you can see evenly raised trowel lines
- Try back buttering. This is a technique to help ensure that your tiles do get an adequate and even amount of thin set. It can be especially helpful when working with large tiles.
This is literally like buttering toast: you’re going to apply the thin set to the back of the tile with your trowel so that you get full and even coverage.
What to do with the tub gap?!
Ah, the tub gap.
It is quite the challenging area. It’s rare that your cement board will line up perfectly with it. If it does,
consider yourself very lucky.
Usually, the cement board sits over the flange as both things are attached to your wall’s studs, and the
cement board is thicker than the flange.
So you’ll not only have the ¼” space that is standard between cement boards to allow for movement,
but you’ll also have an indent underneath the cement board all the way around the tub.
I’m sure there are many ways to go about this (and please remember that I am NOT a professional), but
here’s what I did:
Cement tape
While you’re taping the remainder of your shower, go ahead and tape the tub gap as well, making sure
that the tape is only on the tub flange and does not venture too far into the actual tub. This is to ensure
that the tape it is not visible after the tiles are installed.
Thin set
Thin set then covers the tape on your cement board. Get it in that gap as well. You can start to build up the gap using your thin set to make it more level with the board. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just make sure it doesn’t stick out further out than the cement board.
Let it dry completely
Waterproofing
I used Redgard to waterproof my shower. I really liked this stuff. It was easy to apply, dried fast,
and for a visual person like myself, it was easy to tell if there were spots that needed another layer or
weren’t dry yet.
It also worked wonders on the tub gap. I painted it on over the now-cemented concrete board tape. It
makes a thick film and gives so much piece of mind knowing that the gap is completely closed and
waterproofed, while still allowing the cement board room to move.
At this point, it still wasn’t completely level with the cement board, but it was much closer than before
and completely waterproofed.
Then it was time to tile. I used thin set to attach my tiles and made sure to really fill in the remainder of
the gap with thin set, and ensured that the tiles were sticking securely to the cement board, instead of
just floating over the gap.
It worked out well for us, but I did come across multiple solutions when researching how to do this. Be
sure to research as this can be a problem area in a tub/shower and every job is different from the next.
Clean up
One of the most annoying parts of tiling, in my opinion, is cleaning up your mess. The actual tiling
process can be quite enjoyable, but not the clean-up. I do not like the clean-up.
I did find a few tricks to make the task a little bit easier.
First is to avoid making a huge mess in the first place.
The cardboard boxes that your tiles come are great for keeping your space clean throughout the
process. Open the boxes at the seams so they can lay flat and then use it as a resting place for tools
when they weren’t in use.
This will keep thin set or adhesive from getting everywhere.
Have a sponge and a bucket of clean water handy to clean up any thin set from your tub, shower pan, walls and tiles as you go along.
This will both keep a neater space while working, which will prevent you from further spreading it, but
will also prevent the thinset or grout from drying over your tiles. It is much easier to clean it up
immediately than to wait until after it’s dried (especially for grout!).
How to clean out your bucket
When you’re all done with your tiling for the night, the boxes also come in handy to scrape out any
remaining thin set from your buckets to dispose into contractor bags.
Take the time to get as much thin set out of those buckets as possible. Ripping the cardboard into smaller pieces or finding a straight edge on the cardboard helps to easily clean the sides of your bucket. You can also use the cardboard to get thin set off your tools.
Never, ever put cement down the drain! Even if it’s watered down, the cement will collect and harden at the bottom of your pipes, which will cause major issues and a large bill from your plumber.
Then you can use your bucket of water that you used for your wet sponge while tiling, to clean off all
your tools. Start with your sponge while your water is still somewhat clean. Get all the excess thin set
off and squeeze out the dirty water.
Then work on your trowel and any other hard tools you may have used by putting some dish soap in the
water and utilize an old sponge to scrub them clean.
This process also helps to clean off your hands and arms, which will ensure less cement gets down the
drain when you shower.
Dump the water from the bucket (not down your drain!)
Then in your cement bucket, add some dish soap and use the same old sponge to scrub down the bucket
after the thin set is removed with your cardboard. This is a pretty easy process.
Especially if you’re tiling multiple things or need multiple days (I did for both), you don’t want to just
throw out a bucket every time. While it’s tempting, it’s worth the trouble (for the environment and your
pocketbook) to take the time to clean your buckets.
Just do it.
And don’t wait an hour after you finish tiling to do it. Clean them out immediately before the cement
dries.
Lastly, clean up the rest of your space.
It helps so much when completing a DIY, to maintain a tidy space. When living through a DIY, it is impossible to have a perfectly clean home, but keeping everything in one designated space, preferably
behind a closed door, can drastically improve your quality of life.
A DIY is stressful enough. If you also must come home from work to a house littered with tools and
materials, it can get incredibly discouraging quickly.
For more tips on how to maintain your sanity during a DIY renovation, see our post here.
So go fourth and conquer, my DIY friends. Tiling is a challenging, though enjoyable job which can bring huge impact to your space.
Remember these simple tips for a professional-looking tiles:
- Prep
- Have the right tools
- Read the directions
- Do not buy quickset and make small batches of your thin set
- Have a plan but be willing to adjust
- Do a test tile
- Own the tub gap
- Waterproof
- Clean up after yourself
Questions? We’re here!
Leave any questions or comments below, let us know your tiling tips and tricks, and tell me what you’re working on so we can inspire and motivate each other 😊
