Contents


Steps 1-17
Building the Frame

Steps 18-26
Laying Out Your Tiles

Steps 27-36
Mixing and Applying the Mortar

Steps 40-70
to be completed

First we will build a very small version of the framing or beams that support your wall or floor because this is probably what you will see on your own tile project.

You need (2) 96" long 2x4s, a cut-off saw, a hammer and (12) 16d framing nails.

Cut two (2) pieces 33-1/2 inches long and three (3) pieces 27 inches long.

The center piece is 16 inches on-center or 14-1/2 inches edge to edge.

When you assemble the frame there should be two 16d framing nails through each horizontal into each vertical on both the top and the bottom.

It is very important that the verticals are flat with the horizontal because if they are not when you attach the cement board it can crack when you screw it to the frame if the verticals and horizontals are uneven.

Hint: I like to pre-drill small holes in the horizontals so it is easier to hammer in the nails.

Next buy a 3 foot by 5 foot by 1/2 inch thick cement board at Lowes or Home Depot.

Handle it carefully because it can crack.

Why do I use 1/2 inch when 1/4 inch is so much lighter? Because 1/2 inch cement board is more likely not to crack on impact. Cracked cement board behind finished tile would be a lot of work to replace, the risk is not worth the cost difference to me.

To cut the cement board to fit the frame you have 2 choices.

You can score the cement board with a utility knife and a straight edge and snap the cement board over an edge and it works fine but the cut is very rough.

You get a very nice edge if you use a grinder with an abrasive. The grinder shown is available at Harbor Freight for around $20 and you can get the abrasive there too.

Using the grinder creates LOTS of dust so doing it outside with an N95 mask to protect your lungs is a very good idea.

Place the frame on the cement board and trace an outline with a marker.

Please remove the plastic film on the edge of the cement board.

Trim down the cement board and place it on the frame.

Please note that if you are planning to put tile in a bathroom it is very important to put a plastic moisture barrier between the studs and the cement board.

The plastic sheet prevents steam from getting into the space between the studs, condensing and causing a moisture problem.

Now mark the cement board to show where to drill holes to screw the cement board to the frame.

I use an L to make these marks because one side of the L is 3/4 inch from the edge because I want the hole in the middle of the 2x4.

The other side of the L is every 8 inches which is how close together the screws need to be to hold the cement board securely to the studs.

Where the two sides of the L meet is exactly where I want to drill the hole.

Why so many screws? The weight, when you finish this sample you may be surprised how heavy it is and to support this much weight you want plenty of screws.

Tools: You need a drill, a wood drill bit and stainless steel wood screws 1-1/4 inches long, phillips head.

Why stainless steel? Because the cement board is corrosive and regular screws might decay, stainless steel screws will not decay.

The wood drill bit probably will not be sharp after drilling masonry. You could use masonry bits.

Please drill a test hole in a scrap 2x4. You want a hole wide enough so that it is easy to screw in the screw. Please use a #8 or #10 phillips head screw.

Why phillips head? Because it is much easier to put in a phillips head screw without stripping it than it is to put in a slotted screw.

Please check the cement board to be sure it is aligned where you want it on the frame.

When you put the drill bit in the drill be sure the protruding part of the drill bit is at least as long as the screw so that when you drill the hole the hole will be as deep as the screw is long.

Please drill the holes through the cement board and into the frame where marked. Hint: To keep the cement board aligned with the frame as you drill you can put a 16D framing nail into your first drilled hole.

Now you are going to make the hole in the cement board, not the frame, slightly larger.

Choose a slightly larger diameter drill bit, drill a hole in a scrap piece of 2x4 and test it with a screw.

If the screw goes in and out of the hole without grabbing it should be fine, just don't make the hole too wide.

To drill the enlarged hole through the cement board only offset the cement board from the frame so when you drill you don't drill into the frame.

If we put the screw in now the head of the screw would protrude above the surface of the cement board.

This will cause problems when we use the trowel to spread the mortar and it could cause problems when we set the tile into the mortar because the tile can go no lower than the top of the head of the screw.

Easy to fix, change drill bits to the countersink bit and gently countersink every hole in the cement board. If the countersink isn't deep enough you can always go back and make it deeper but if the countersink is too deep you may have to drill new holes so shallow is better.

Now you are ready to attach the cement board to the frame.

You need 20 screws:

--- use stainless steel screws to avoid corrosion,

--- use #8 or #10 thickness screws,

--- use Phillips head screws so they are easier to screw in,

--- use 1-1/4 inch long screws,

--- use wood screws with a tapered head that fits perfectly in the countersunk hole.

Use a phillips head screwdriver to put in the screws.

Why not use a driver, it will be faster?

Because with a driver it can be very hard to gently tighten the screw and if the screw is overtightened you can easily crack the cement board and that is a big problem. Tightening the screw by hand makes it easy to tighten the screw just right.

This is what your screw should look like, just below the surface of the cement board so it will not interfere with the spreader or push up on the tile.

Congratulations !

Your cement board is now securely screwed to the frame.

Great looking tile depends on a correctly installed substrate and you did it.

Use a marker to mark center lines on your cement board.

You draw the center lines so that you can begin tiling in the center. Beginning in the center means that partial tiles will be the same size on the left and the right on the top and on the bottom.

There will be situations where you don't want the partial tile on the top and bottom or the left and the right.

Here's an example from a bathroom.

In the corner you can see the partial tile. If you tried to put the partial tile on both the left and the right sides the tile would be a sliver --- too small to work with.

So this tiling did not start in the center, it started on one side so the entire partial tile would be in the corner.

Even if the partial tile were big enough to put on both sides in this case it is less visible in the corner and much more noticeable if it were on both sides so there may be cases where you want the entire partial tile on one side only and when that happens you start the tile on one side or the other but you don't start in the center.

Place your tile with the spacers on the cement board and add a second tile.

Mark where the tile overhangs the edge so that you can cut the tile to size.

I prefer to put the marks on tape so I don't need to worry about whether or not I can erase the marks from the tile.

You will need 6 tiles cut to this size.

On a larger surface you would want to wait until you put in all of the full size tiles and only then take your measurement for cutting the partial tile.

Put the same mark on 6 tiles so that you can cut them all down to size on the tile saw.

The tile saw uses a diamond blade to cut the tile. The blade must be lubricated at all times to protect the cutting edge.

Safety first:

As you push the tile through the blades fingers should be to either side of the blade, never in line with the blade. That way if the tile pushes forward fast your fingers will not be cut.

Always wear goggles, always wear ear protection. No distractions while you are cutting, eyes on the blade. The tile saw is very safe and a pleasure to use. The fence can help in making straight cuts, try it and see if you like it.

Take a look at the cuts with and without proper lubrication.

The cut with lubrication is much better with much less chipping. You want plenty of water coming off the turning blade.

Please check the water pan regularly to be sure it is not running low on water.

Lay out the 6 tiles on the cement board after you have cut them.

Lay out the tiles to overhang the left and right sides.

Mark the tiles with tape and a line so you can cut them on the tile saw.

When you have cut the tiles lay them out on the cement board with the plastic spacers.

You are ready to mix the mortar !

Note the hole in the side of the bag.

Home Depot and Lowes sometimes sell damaged bags for much less and the damaged bags are very often more than half full.

Big savings.

The bag tells you what mortar coverage to expect using different trowel sizes.

We will use the 1/4 x1/4 trowel size. This refers to the size of the notches in the trowel.

So you have a 50 pound bag of mortar but you don't plan to use anywhere near that much or you like to mix it up as you use it.

What do you do?

Cut the numbers in half until you get to the coverage you think you want. Here about 10 square feet is about 3 feet by 3 feet which should be about right.

But the mortar will go on both the cement board and the back of the tile so we might expect to use twice ten square feet.

For this project that means 12.5 pounds of mortar mixed with 7 cups of water.

I translate the pounds to grams so I can weigh it out on a gram scale from Harbor Freight (about $15). You could also use a bathroom scale from Wal Mart (about $12). You can measure the water with a kitchen measuring cup.

Using not too much and not too little water is VERY important. If you use too much water it will weaken the mortar, if you use too little water the mortar will be plenty strong but it will be very hard to mix. So following the manufacturers instructions is very important for a great looking tile job.

WARNING ABOUT MORTAR:

It is not healthy to breathe the dust so please wear an N95 mask.

It is not healthy for the mortar to contact your skin so please wear waterproof gloves.

It would not be healthy for the dust to get into your eyes so please wear goggles, not safety glasses.

If the mortar gets on leather shoes it can damage them, please wear old canvas shoes.

You will need a 2 gallon or more bucket and a solid piece of wood to stir with.

For larger amounts you can buy a stirrer from Harbor Freight that you can put in a drill. This is a small amount and we can easily stir it by hand.

Please mix together 12.5 pounds or 5,670 grams of mortar and 7 cups of water.

When you mix the water and the mortar after a few minutes you will notice a change in the consistency as the two react. When the mortar and water are thoroughly mixed please allow an extra 5 minutes before puttingthe mortar on either the cement board or the tile.

Using the trowel with the 1/4 x 1/4 notches spread the mixed mortar on the cement board.

Using the 1/4 x 1/4 trowel spread the mortar mix on the back of the tile.

Place the tile on the cement board with the rows of mortar on the back of the tile going in the opposite direction of the rows of mortar on the cement board.

Use plastic spacers to maintain the same distance between each tile.

Don't worry that you can't see the lines on the cement board anymore, the mortar is very slow to dry so you will have plenty of time to push the tiles over if they are not centered correctly on the cement board.

Use a block of wood and a hammer to gently tap the tiles down into the mortar.

Overlap the wood onto adjacent tiles so that one tile is not above or below the adjacent tiles.

The mortar will ooze into the spaces between the tiles.

When the mortar dries it will be more difficult to remove and we want as much depth as possible for the grout.

Please use a flathead screwdriver to remove as much of the mortar as possible from the space between the tiles.

If mortar got on the surface of the tile it is also more difficult to remove when it dries so please use a moist, not dripping wet, sponge to clean the tops of the tiles before the mortar dries.

We mixed 12.5 pounds of mortar and this is all that is left. Very good.

The instructions say that in 24-48 hours the mortar will reach about 60% strength, so let it dry for about 5 days with no vibration and no use and it should be fine.

A very good reference book on tiling.