8315 A. Burnet Road - Austin, TX 78757 - (512) 454-TILE - info@austinflooringstore.com
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How to Install Marble\Tile\Stone INDEX: INTRODUCTION INSTALLER/ CONTRACTOR/ OWNER RESPONSIBILITY TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES STEP 1: SITE INSPECTION STEP 2: PERSONAL SAFETY AND PREPARATION STEP 3: SUBFLOOR DEMOLITION STEP 4: REMOVAL OF PAINT,WAX AND FOREIGN MATERIALS STEP 5: LEVELING OF FLOOR STEP 6: UNDERCUTTING DOOR JAMBS STEP 7: PREPARING THE TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITE\ SLATE STEP 8: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BASE LINE STEP 9: SPREADING THE THINSET STEP 10: INSTALLATION OF FIRST TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITE\ SLATE STEP 11: END CUTS STEP 12: CONTINUING WITH TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITE\ SLATE INSTALLATION PROCESS STEP 13: CONTINUING TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITE\ SLATE INSTALLATION PROCESS INTO ANOTHER ROOM STEP 14: GROUTING STEP 15: COMMON SENSE CARE INTRODUCTION In our demonstration on how to install marble\tile\stone we will be using a 12 by 12 inch marble or slate at a 45 degree angle. At the same time, we will also be using 1\16 of an inch grout lines. For any marble, stone, granite, or travertine the normal use of 1\16 of an inch spacer is considered normal. Ceramic tile is normally installed with 1\4 of an inch spacers. Our findings show that installing ceramic tile in the same 1\16 of an inch spacing in between the grout joints makes a ceramic tile installation go up a notch. INSTALLER\CONTRACTOR\OWNER RESPONSIBILITY Ceramic tile, stone, granite, marble, travertine, and slate are to be considered a natural product. It may have defects from the manufacturing process or that of normal characteristics of nature. Ceramic tile also known as mud tile, is a manufactured product that may have manufacturer defects in the making of the tile prints or color. It is up to the installer\contractor\owner responsibility to comb thru material and call out any defects. 5-10% is the industry standard for overage in any marble, granite, stone, travertine, slate or ceramic tile project. You must order 5-10% over. Before any installation, the installer\contractor and\or owner assume all responsibilities with final inspection and quality control. You should never install materials that are not acceptable. Final grade inspection of make, finish and characteristic is sole responsibility of installer\contractor\owner. Installer\contractor\owner must exercise good judgment, common sense, and skill before, during, and after any ceramic tile, marble, granite, travertine, slate, or stone installation. Once any floor has been installed, it is considered to be accepted by the installer\contractor\owner. Any floor installed will not be Austin Tile and Wood's responsibility due to defects, lack of judgment, quality control, labor, ceramic tile, marble, stone, travertine, slate, or granite installation, and associated costs. The installer\contractor\owner must check for environment and quality of sub floor for proper and acceptable industry standards. Austin Tile and Wood declines all responsibility with any deficiencies associated with sub floor or job environment. TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES
Prior to tile, marble, stone, granite, slate installation, the building must be structurally sound and completed. All exterior walls, windows, and doors must be completed. STEP 2: PERSONAL SAFETY PREPARATION Personal safety preparation is essential any time conducting a project like and installation of a hardwood floor. Always wear protective clothing and dust masks for harmful dust. Eye protection is a must, always wear goggles. Exercise safety precautions for every situation, tool operational use, and method of movement during the installation. Use knee pads and back brace belt for heavy lifting. Use tennis shoes to minimize damage to marble tile and granite tile finish caused by buttons, metal tip boots or any foreign sharp metal or aluminum foreign objects on shoes or work boots that may cause damage to marble tile, and granite tile finish. If safety regulations in certain situations do not allow the wear of tennis shoes, beware of metal tip boots, buttons metal objects, or sharp foreign objects on shoes or boots that may cause damage to marble tile and granite tile finish. Fans are essential for dust control. Always put fans facing outside as to suck out dust. Cover up furniture wisely during demolition process. STEP 3: SUBFLOOR DEMOLITION Using a utility knife carefully cut out carpet in 3' feet by 3' feet squares or tiles. This insures carpet and pad may easily be handled and disposed of. Staking these carpet and pad tiles insures space reduction and obstruction. Once carpet and pad is removed from site, carefully remove tack strip with a crowbar or a chisel. Placing the chisel in front of each nail underneath the tack strip and tap it with a hammer until the concrete nail busts loose. Use careful precautions as not to tap to hard and missing, injuring yourself. The end of a crowbar is useful to pull up the nail. Remember these nails are nailed into the concrete maybe only 2\8" deep, so they are being held by high pressure in between the concrete. Concrete chunks the size of a quarter U.S. Dollar or bigger can fly in the air causing injury or damage. Exercise good judgment, common sense, and safety. Dispose of and remove from site tack-strip. Do not leave tack-strip exposed for safety. Tack-strip may be carefully wrapped within carpet or pad tiles previously cut from job-site, or disposed of in closed container. STEP 4: REMOVAL OF PAINT, WAX, AND FOREIGN MATERIALS Apply a small amount of water to floor to loosen up paint and foreign materials. This also helps the paint become heavier. In relation of being influenced by the weight of water, it does not become airborne as easily if it would to be dry and flaky. Scrape up with a floor scrapper, one that uses a 4-8" blade system. Take precaution when handling the blades, for they are razor sharp and can easily cut through anything, causing serious and unbearable injury. Dispose blades in a closed container such as a bottle and close tight. Some paint oils and wax may require a paint and oil remover. This can be acquired at Home Depot or local paint store. Carefully read and follow directions on can. Vacuum all paint and water residue. Steer away from sweeping, for this causes dust to elevate and can increase the airborne dust levels.container. STEP 5: LEVELING OF FLOOR Level flat within 3 \ 16 of an inch over 10 feet or 1 \ 8 of an inch over 6 feet. If leveling compound is needed use only portland based leveling compound from Parabond, Ardex, Mapei, or even Home Depot and Lowe's. Follow the tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate manufactures recommendations. Any area containing leveling compound must be dried before proceeding with any installation. High spots will have to be marked off on concrete slab and chipped down manually with hammer and chisel, or electric chipping hammer. Grinding down high spots can also be an alternative method but a messier one. Grinding down concrete produces allot of fine dust. If plywood or equivalent, the sub floor must be structurally sound and secured with nails or screws every 6" inches along joists to reduce the possibility of squeaking after the tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate installation. STEP 6: CUTTING DOOR JAMBS Door-jambs should be undercut with a proper door- jamb cutter. The notch should be 3 \ 16" of an inch above the thickness of the tile\ marble\ granite\ stone\ slate floor. Remove all baseboards if applicable. To re-install baseboards, follow the same nail hole pattern and same size nails used before, otherwise a stud finder will be necessary. One that also detects electrical and water pipe-lines, this way no water-lines get punctured with nails when re-installing base-boards. STEP 7: PREPARING THE TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITE\ SLATE FLOOR Open several boxes at a time to insure proper mixture of tile\ marble\ stone\ granite slate shade and color. The more boxes you open the better. This is also a good time for final inspection. Mark any defects the tiles may have and simply cut them out. Use the left over end pieces to either start a row or finish one. Opening and choosing from several boxes at a time maximizes the mixing of shades over all. STEP 8: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BASE LINE Nothing is more important than the base line. This is the first initial base line. The longest outside wall is the preferred visual effect. Outside walls are the true square of a house or building. Stack about 2 tiles as if you were going to assemble them without thinset. Place the 1\ 16 inch spacers in between the two tiles. Then take your measuring tape and measure the distance from one edge of the tile to the other edge. Take that measurement and add 2\ 16 to 3\ 16 of an inch for play. This will be called your baseline measurement. Mark you're measuring tape with a #2 pencil to insure measure. Add an additional 1 \ 2 " inch and mark the floor with the pencil in an arrow fashion indicating exact spot, pin pointing to the next 1 \ 32 " of an inch. Mark the floor at the right and left far end of the outer most longest outside wall. The closer to each corner, the more exact. Pop a chalk line with in these two pin points. This may take two people, one to hold one end, and the other person to hold the opposite end. Once the line has been established, check it to make sure the farthest walls from each other do not differ within 1 \ 4 " inch. If it does than you may need to establish another line using the same outside wall one board width more or one board width less. Next you mark the chalk line just popped using simple arrows. Draw an arrow every 1' to 2' feet, pin pointing the line with these arrows. The arrows should be drawn the opposite side where you are going to spread the thinset. These arrows will insure that the base line does not get lost due to thinset or the tile covering it up during your first base-line installation. Next pop a line the opposite way. This means latitude or longitude, like a cross. Because tile\marble\stone have to parallel sides running latitude and longitude, a base line has to be established as well for the other side of the tile. Take an L shaped square preferably a big one, and lay the longest side directly on top of this base line. Decide where your end cuts will fall in the latitude\ longitude opposite wall and mark a line here. This line will be the crossing line. Take the chalk line and mark another line the other way. This will take 2 people: one to guide and pop the line and the other to follow guiding directions and hold the chalk-line. STEP 9: SPREADING THE THINSET Once you're base-line is established, the next step is to spread thin set within the baseboards or if you don't have baseboards within the sheetrock and the chalk line. For example: our floor tile measure 12 inches by 12 inches. That means that two tiles next to each other with the spacer of 1\ 16 of an inch would equal 2 feet and 1\ 16 of an inch. So add another 1\ 16 inch from the baseboard or sheetrock on the concrete floor for play. The room measures 10' feet by 10' feet. So now there is roughly a 24†inch by 10' linear feet which equals 24 square feet. The thin set will be spread for working with 2 by 2 square feet area. Follow manufacture's method of mixing thin set for installation of floor tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate. Normally the thin set should be mixed in a consistency of butter. Not to thick not to watered down. Hold the thin set trowel at a 35 degree angle and spread thin set evenly throughout. Always stay away from the base line as not to smear any thin set on the base line. If the thin set sags down too much after spreading it that would mean that it is too thin. Add a little more water. STEP 10: INSTALLION OF FIRST TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITEL\ SLATE Install your first tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate on to the base line intersecting the other base line. One edge of the tile is on one base line and the other edge is on the intersecting base line running across. Gently slap the tile with your hand or use a soft rubber mallet to gently tap down as to get the thinset to be absorbed into the tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate. If you hear a hollow spot on the tile's lift it up to check for proper thin set coverage. This will allow a second minor application of thin set. This process takes practice as to judge the amount that you will be adding. After gently lower the tile down and press on it again to insure proper application. The better of a job you did in leveling the floor prior, the less of this will take place. Sometimes adding to much thin set will make the thin set ooze out causing a mess. This extra oozing thin set gets picked up right away using your sponge or trowel. Make sure sponge is not too wet. Squeeze sponge dry. Sometimes the ooze comes out from in between the tile grout lines. This too has to be cleaned before continuing. Some times tiles seem higher than others, that’s when you have to decide two matters: Do you take away thinset or add? Usually when the majority of tiles are coming along at a certain level and the tile you just installed seems lower in a corner or an edge, then you must take a trowel or a straight edge screwdriver and pry up the tile. There you must add a little more thinset at least 3 inches before actual corner. The amount depends on the severity of the tile and how far down it really is. STEP 11: END CUTS Now it is time to cut tile \ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate make sure that before you continue you don't lay more tile than you can reach to measure and make the end cut or corner cut. If you prefer to leave the cuts till the very end that’s ok too. Just be sure to clean off from the tile\ marble\ stone\ granite edges. Here you can utilize the end of your trowel. The side of the trowel should always be the straight edge. This allows a clean cut maneuver in which this set is not in any way protruding upwards. Measure from the wall to the edge of the tile. Add 2\ 16 of an inch to that measurement. 1\ 16 of an inch is for the spacer and the other for play against the wall. Tiles should not be any more than 3\ 8 of an inch away from the wall for normal industry standards. Cut the straight cut with a board cutter for easier access or a wet saw. Use a maquita if necessary. For marble tiles and granite tiles marking them with a No. 2 pencil will not be enough. The finish on the actual tiles does not allow this pencil mark to stay in tack. So for such instances use blue tape or masking tape. Place the tape on the tile where cut is anticipated and mark the tape. When cutting use a dry cut maquita. Follow manufacture's directions when using any tools. STEP 12: CONTINUING WITH TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITE\ SLATE INSTALLATION PROCESS Drop a line every 3 to 4 feet for a guide, always maintaining the constant grid on the surface floor. Never force spacers. Sometimes, tile can come a little too big and a spacer seems to move the other tile out of alignment. When this occurs remove the tile or forced spacer and continue with installation this time relying on the proceeding tile as a guide. This will allow correction to take place now rather than throw off alignment and every spacer from then on will not be forced. STEP 13: CONTINUING TILE\ MARBLE\ STONE\ GRANITE\ SLATE FLOOR INTO ANOTHER ROOM\HALLWAY By now you probably have already installed a room and are nearing to the continuation of the tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate floor installation into another room or hallway. Stop the installation right before continuing into another room or hallway. Pick out about 2 tiles. Assemble them on the floor with out any thin set with spacer. Trace the far end of the last tile. Now a line is traced on the concrete floor with you're pencil. This is a temporary base line because it is too short to be used as a primary base line. Next stretch out the base line by popping a chalk line on top of it the length of the room or hallway, re-establishing base line again. This time instead of going off the outer longest exterior wall, you're going off of the same initial traced line. Door ways are usually only 30" to 36" inches in width, which isn't allot. The only way to stretch this base line marked on the floor, is to pop another chalk line again. Take you're chalk line, laying directly on top of this temporary base line marked with a pencil. Stretch the chalk line all the way to the far end of room or hallway. This procedure takes 2 people. One to hold the end and the other person is to hold the other directly above this short temporary base line. The person above the temporary line is to direct the other to gently lower the chalk line, avoiding to pop it or tap it hard on the floor. This person is to also direct instructions in which direction to move the chalk line until it is fine tuned and the temporary penciled base line disappears underneath chalk line. Pop the chalk line. The base line is complete. Double check base line with walls making sure its parallel within 1 \ 4 " inch. If the base line is not parallel by 1 \ 4 inch, remark it. Adjustments are tolerable here because, although tile is straight, it can be manipulated to flex over a long stretch, the base line is broken up by various tiles. Remember walls are not always straight, don't be misled. Check walls to see if they are straight. Walls are usually parallel to each other within 1 \ 4 " inch. Walls that are off by 1 \ 2 " inch or more should be taken into consideration. Common sense and good judgment should be exercised. STEP 14: GROUTING Clean all grout lines until all thin set is gone. Mix grout according to manufacture. Spread with out letting it flash to long. Clean with a clean damp sponge. Make sure the sponge is not dripping wet; this can cause the grout lines to discolor. This is because excessive water bleeds thru grout in its drying stages and changes the water and grout mixing ratio. Periodically change out water. This allows grout to be picked up more cleanly. Wipe one side of sponge and turn it around immediately as not to saturate it with grout and spread it all the way around. Rinse and repeat. STEP 15: COMMON SENSE CARE Keep all tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate floors free from dirt, water, food, grease and other spills that can damage finish. Clean floors periodically using only leading brand cleaner made for tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate floors. Read directions carefully. Do not use ammonia, polish, oil-based wax, abrasive cleaners, or furniture cleaners on floors. Install floor protectors underneath chairs and furniture or other items that may sit directly onto of tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate floor. This may reduce damage done by accidental sliding of furniture. Regularly sweep, dust mop or vacuum to prevent dirt build up or grit scratches. Wipe up spills promptly with soft, dry cloth. Congratulations on your new tile\ marble\ stone\ granite\ slate floors. |
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