How To Lay Mosaic Tiles On A Slope Yourself

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 22:24

• Preparatory work
• Laying mosaic tiles
• Required tool
• Surface marking
• Tiling process
• Grouting and sealing
• Conclusion

A fairly popular option for decorating a bathroom is ceramic mosaics. That is why it becomes an important question how to lay mosaic tiles. A particularly important factor is the installation with a slope, which is especially necessary when arranging the coating in the shower room, as well as in order to avoid the accumulation of water in hard-to-reach places.

Preparatory work

Before you start laying the tiles directly, you should carry out a number of preparatory work.

Of course, it is necessary to dismantle the old coating, remove the debris, and the most important thing is leveling the floor, namely, the screed at an angle. It is she who will determine the slope of the tile. Let's talk a little more about this:

1. In the case of filling the entire bathroom, the slope is performed either to one wall, respectively, to one side. Or it is carried out towards the center of the bathroom, respectively, it causes a slope in four directions from each wall.
2. A screed for a shower room is performed in a similar way, but here the direction of inclination is determined by the location of the drain for draining the water.
3. The difference in the height of the floor level must be made at least 1 centimeter at a distance of 1 meter. Accordingly, the greater the angle of inclination, the faster the water will drain. But at the same time, you should not make it too large, since it will be uncomfortable to stand on the floor, and in addition, there is a risk of slipping and falling.
4. And last. An equally important stage in the preparatory work is the waterproofing of the bathroom floor. It is performed mostly using two-component compositions, in addition, in several layers.

Important! Waterproofing is performed not only on the floor surface, but also extends to the walls in height by at least 10-15 centimeters.

This completes the main preparatory work. After the waterproofing material has dried, finishing preparation is additionally carried out, which is the final leveling and priming. Alignment in this case is carried out using tile glue, respectively, after it dries, the surface is primed.

Laying mosaic tiles

Now, accordingly, you can go directly to the laying work. First, you need to determine what type of tile is used. In particular, there are several types of mosaics:

1. In the first case, the tile elements are glued to the wrong side of the synthetic mesh.
2. In the second, they are held with the front side on a paper base.

To properly stick the material, it becomes an important factor to correctly determine its type.

Required tool

Now let's look at what it takes to lay the tiles. To lay the mosaic, we need the following fixtures:

1. Brushes or roller for priming the surface.
2. A set of spatulas, including regular, notched and silicone. The size of the trowel teeth should be at least 2.5 millimeters, which will help to lay the tiles without unnecessary contamination.
3. Container for glue.
4. Roulette and pencil.
5. Rubber roller.
6. Building level.

After the instruments are prepared, you can proceed to the next stage of laying.

Surface marking

You will need a tape measure and a pencil to mark up. The mosaic tiles are laid directly from the far wall to the door. We carry out a preliminary layout, and with a pencil mark the places where each sheet should be laid.

In some cases, considering how to properly lay the tiles with your own hands, it becomes necessary to trim the sheets. They are cut with a painting knife, since the sheet itself consists of many small parts, it is enough to cut the layer of material on which they are fixed in order to divide it into the necessary parts.

The layout must be carried out in such a way that there are no elements requiring cutting directly from the tile itself. As a last resort, it is necessary to reduce their number as much as possible.

Tiling process

Now it's time to consider how to glue the tiles. Let's consider the whole process in the form of step-by-step instructions.

1. In order to lay the tiles on a slope, all the conditions are met, therefore the installation process itself is very similar to finishing with standard ceramic tiles. We dilute the glue in a container according to the instructions on the package, after which we begin to apply it.
2. Note that in this case, a special white glue is used (especially if glass mosaics are laid, you can learn more about this type of glue in a separate article).
3. Using a standard painting trowel, we arrange a 3 mm layer of glue, after which we distribute and level it with a notched trowel. This helps to create the desired relief of the layer, which helps to better lay the mosaic tiles.
4. The glue mixture is applied strictly to a small area slightly larger than the tile sheet itself (if you have been laying this not for the first time and are sure that you can complete the work quickly, then you can provide for applying three to four sheets to the area).
5. Now we put the mosaic sheet on the distributed glue and press it down with our hands so that the glue is better distributed.
6. Next, we immediately roll out the mosaic using a rubber roller (do not apply strong pressure on the tile during rolling, since you can strongly seat it on the glue, which will require you to lay the sheet on a new one in the future). You can also use the device for this purpose as shown in the photo.
7. In the same way, the rest of the sheets are gradually laid: apply glue, apply a sheet of tiles, roll out with a roller.

Now you have learned how to lay a mosaic tile with your own hands, but this is not the end. Although the installation itself is complete, there are still several processes left.

Grouting and sealing

We now move on to the last stage, considering how to put the mosaic tiles in the bathroom. Namely, this stage involves grouting, as well as sealing.

The actual work of this stage is carried out after the tile is completely dry. The grout itself can be carried out with several types of mixtures, in particular, these are epoxy and cement compounds. When considering the choice of a mixture, several factors should be considered:

1. The cement composition is quite different, it can be made in absolutely any color, and in addition, over time, it can be replaced or renewed, which is not available in the case of epoxy compositions.
2. Among the disadvantages of a cement mixture, it can be noted that it absorbs dirt and rust, which contributes to its darkening and contamination over time, it is precisely for this reason that it is undesirable to use a white mixture.

The application of the cement mortar is carried out with a silicone spatula over the entire surface of the mosaic. All joints must be thoroughly filled and after the grout is dry (which usually takes 10-20 minutes), rinse with a damp sponge. The tiles are washed until they are completely cleaned from the remnants of the composition. Finally, it is wiped with a cotton cloth.

Considering the epoxy composition, its application is somewhat more difficult, and not every specialist knows how to properly handle it. It also has a number of features:

1. All mixing proportions of the grout components must be perfectly observed.
2. The method of application is similar to the cement one, but everything must be done much faster and almost immediately wash off the remnants of the composition from the tile, since the speed of its hardening is much higher.
3. In no case should the composition be allowed to harden, since it is almost impossible to remove the remnants of dried grout from the surface.

And another important factor is the sealing of the seams, which is necessarily carried out at the joints of the tile with the walls and in the corners. Also, if possible, it is possible to seal the tile joints of the entire coating.

Impregnation CT 10 is used to treat grout-filled tiles to make them water-repellent and antifungal, inside and outside buildings. It is used on claddings subject to periodic or constant moisture - in bathrooms, showers, toilets, kitchens, on balconies.

In the case of cement grout, this will ensure its durability and protect it from the contamination noted above.

Conclusion

Now you have learned how to lay tiles on a sloped floor, and what is needed for this. Now it remains only to arm yourself with time and tools to carry out an independent repair. But, in addition, this knowledge will help you when working with a hired specialist. In particular, thanks to such knowledge, you will be able to point out employee mistakes. And in conclusion, we suggest watching several videos, which clearly show each stage of installation and also provide additional recommendations.