How To Lay Tile Around a Drain

Tiling around a floor drain requires precise measurements and cutting with a wet tile saw. And because floors taper toward a drain, you may need to cut larger tile into smaller pieces to accommodate the slope of the floor toward the drain. Take your time when installing tile around a drain. The time you take to cut the tile to fit well will pay off when you have a perfect fit around the drain.

Things You'll Need

• Level
• Pencil
• Latex-modified thinset
• Tiling trowel
• Tape measure
• China marker
• Wet tile saw
• Tile spacers
• Grout
• Grout float
• Penetrating grout sealer

Instructions

1. Place at least a 4-foot level on the floor right above the floor drain. On your hands and knees, look at the amount of open area between the slopes of the floor toward the drain and place a mark on the floor with a pencil where the slope begins. Mark the beginning of the slope in several places to allow you to draw a line where it begins around the whole diameter of the drain.

2. Begin installing the tile away from the drain working toward the drain. Use a high quality latex-modified thinset as your adhesive and use a tiling trowel to spread the adhesive over the subfloor. When tile approaches the pencil line drawn around the drain, stop until the rest of the tile is installed around the perimeter of the drain. Allow that tile to finish drying so you can work around the drain as needed.

3. Use a tape measure to find where the tiles need to be cut and mark the tiles with a china marker (also called a grease pencil). Use a wet tile saw to cut the tile to fit around the slope perimeter around the drain. The floor is still level outside of the perimeter line and the tile can be installed normally in those areas after they are cut to fit. The pieces of tile that are trimmed off at the slope perimeter can be used to begin tiling the slope itself.

4. Install each tile after it has been cut for the slope with the same thinset adhesive used to install the rest of the tile. Use spacers if possible to keep the grout lines straight and to keep them uniform around the drain.

5. Allow the adhesive under the tile to dry for a minimum of 24 hours. Mix sanded or non-sanded grout in a bucket to the consistency of peanut butter and allow it to sit in the bucket for 10 minutes. Then place some of the grout on the floor and spread it over the tile forcing it into the grout lines with a grout float. Allow the grout to cure for 72 hours before applying a high-quality penetrating grout and tile sealer over the grout lines. If a natural stone tile was used, the whole surface of the floor must be coated with sealer at least twice.

Tips & Warnings

• Tiling the slope with 2" x 2" mosaic tiles in a color that matches the rest of the floor tile makes this process much easier.

References

• How to Tile a Bathroom Floor