When tiling your home, be it your kitchen or bathroom, you surely want to see professionally beautiful results. Fortunately, there are some tips on becoming better with tiles in just 10 minutes. These tips will help you install long-lasting, gorgeous loose tiles on the floors and walls of your home.
Tips to Become Better With Tiles
Using The Right Underlayment
Your tile installation is usually as good as the substrate below the tiles. An uneven subfloor or one that flexes can immediately transfer to your tiles. The best thing you can do is install a cement board on the floors or walls before laying down loose tiles. A cement board that measures 5 feet long and 3 feet wide can already be a solid base for your tiles and will not contract or expand.
Other acceptable underlayments for tiles include sheet vinyl flooring, slab concrete, and exterior-grade plywood.
Using Grout
Some people think that grout is just a form of filler for loose tile seams, but the truth is, it can help improve the tiles’ look. Using dark grout against light coloured loose tiles can give a stark and imposing look. Choosing a grout that matches the tiles’ colour melts invisibly away. Depending on your preferences, you can either opt for grout that’s the same colour but is slightly lighter or darker.
Using Symmetry in the Layout
Symmetry pleases the brain and the eye, and when the layout is asymmetrical, you can see that there is something not right with the installation but can’t pinpoint what the problem is precisely.
If you are installing tiles around the wall or the flooring, you need to make sure that the tiles bordering the corners are of the same size. It would be best to make sure that the opposite end wall tiles are of the same size. Avoid using half-size tiles and full-size loose tiles on the other size.
Using Full Loose Tiles In Prominent Areas
The cut tiles should be tucked away in less noticeable areas, including overhangs, borders, and walls. Installing them at the centre of the kitchen counter or bathroom floor is the worst place for the cut tiles.
Reduce Tile Cutting
Tile cutting is part of tiles installation; if possible, reduce tile cutting. It will not only improve the overall look of the structure but will also minimize the work. Small tiles in the field of tiles can look chaotic and cluttered, and the more you use whole tiles, the better.
Avoid Purchasing Low Quality Tiles
Oftentimes, low quality and cheap go together. Clearance and bargain tiles that are found at the end of an aisle display are often poorly made and thin. This means that the tiles can start cracking over time, and removing them after installation can become difficult to uninstall.
Tiles are hard to replace, so always make sure to purchase high-quality tiles that can last a lifetime.
These are just some of the tips on how you can become better with tiles in just 10 minutes. Thoroughly research the tiles you plan on purchasing and their testing standards to check their strength. Avoid buying low-quality ones to avoid tile problems from occurring just after quite some time.