What Lies Below
This short article and others that follow will be committed to home repair work and improvement handling various areas from roof to basement.
If you are going to re-do the bathroom floor-- this suggests using up your tile, sheet vinyl, or ceramic tile and underlayments you must make certain there are no indications of water damage to the subflooring and check to see if it is solid throughout. When putting down a brand-new flooring the primary question is always can I lay tile over the existing floor or do I need to pick up the old one initially? If the flooring is level and sound you can typically just tile right over it with plastic or vinyl floor covering, but remember how much space you have for the bathroom door, door frame and wall molding (if any) you might have to open or close the door from time to time!
If the underlayment is strong however not quit level you can utilize leveling embossers (like mortar) to fill-in low areas to make a level surface, otherwise place a brand-new underlayment over it, if you can. I have seen home owners doctor it up with thin plain wood strips do not do it! All materials need to be water and moisture resistant as possible. Constantly use a minimum of a 3ft level to insure surface is not slanted in any way.
For a normal ground level home like a ranch without any basement, floor foundations are 'framed', suggesting the flooring rests on joists with 2-by's (stills) running perpendicular to the joists along the foundation. 'Girders', (metal rods) at or near the center of the joists assist in assistance. Above the framing lays the subfloor, generally a 3/4 ″ tongue and groove particle board, plywood or comparable product. Above that there is a1/4 ″ plywood or cement board (wetness resistant) thats called the underlayment and may likewise have a sheet of roof felt or similar product for included cushioning. Take additional caution when laying underlayment over the subflooring since the floor may split if the appears compare so it's best to stagger the seams.
Ceramic Tiles: Because this kind of tiling has actually ended up being popular in cooking areas, bathrooms, halls and even living rooms for its resilience and design, I want to commit this section on the subject.
Installing ceramic tiles in the restroom will alter the height of fixtures like toilets, vanity sinks and cabinets as well as the door and adjoining space it is best to eliminate whatever and start from scratch. This suggests removing the old underlayment as well. You have to produce a level surface or the tiles will crack or break. Most ceramic floor tile is thick so you will have up to added to the old Plumbing Troubleshooting Guide floor presuming you had plastic tile or vinyl to start with. You will be offsetting the height of the old fixtures and the door so a bit of cutting might be essential (If you are changing fixtures-no problem).
For tiling restroom floorings these steps will give you great results:
* Using a 3/ft level check if the floor even throughout.
* Lay out a row of tiles, with spacers (cross formed inserts for grout lines) along the length and width of the space to gauge how many tiles you are utilizing. This is also to see the number of tile cuts you will have to make near walls.
* Lay down cement board, cut to fit area and utilize a little layer of mortar to connect board to subflooring. Use screws every 6 to 8 inches along the edges of board to secure in location. Usage mesh tape over the joints and cover with a thin layer of mortar.
* Utilizing a trowel apply mortar about every 3 1/2 at a time and use smooth even strokes.
* insert cross shaped spacers on end between each tile to guarantee rows are even. At corners lay spacers flat and butt tiles at the angles (dont concern, it will be very same with). You can also stand the spacers upright against walls.
* When you follow this link get to the closet flange (toilet hole in flooring) you will require a tile nipper or tile saw to cut a partial circle. Do this for all sides and lay tile down as before. You must do this likewise for sinks and cabinets.
* When all the tiles are down you must wait a least one day for it to set appropriately this is an important step before you put down the grout. When all set, mix tile grout to cover about of the space at a time, this will give you time to do to right. Take out the cross spacers and apply grout with a grout float, then holding float at an angle squeeze off excess grout. Do this with action with the rest of the room.
* The last action is to dampen a clean sponge with water and wipe off the access grout, washing the sponge frequently.