How to Replace a Tile Kitchen Floor
Replacing a tiled kitchen floor can be a long, labor-intensive project, but it need not be a complicated one. While you won't need a great deal of home improvement experience, you will need sharp attention to detail and patience. Taking the process step by step, you can replace your floor with as little muss and fuss as possible. And the result of a tile replacement job well done will be a new surface that's not only long-lasting, but which enhances the look and value of your kitchen. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Hammer
- Chisel
- Electric chipping hammer
- Long-handled floor scraper
- Framing lumber
- Nails
- Concrete grinder or floor sander
- Concrete patch
- Thinset
- Stiff putty knife
- Tiles
- Spacers
Instructions
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1
Remove the old tile floor. Use a hammer and chisel to break up the grout around the tiles. You'll want to remove as much of the grout as possible. If your tile rests on a concrete subfloor, use an electric chipping hammer to break the tiles themselves. A good solid blow with the hammer should be sufficient to break most ceramic tiles. If the tiles are on a softer subfloor surface, place the chisel in the grout line at the edge of the tile and tap on the chisel with a hammer, moving along the edge of the tile, forcing the tile up.
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Take a long-handled floor scraper and pry up the broken tiles along the tile edges. This should also remove any remaining grout as well. Trash the broken tiles and grout.
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3
Clean the floor, removing any old adhesive. Adhesive can be removed using a power grinder, grinding at the floor surface until you reach the subfloor.
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4
Check the surface of a wood subfloor to ensure that the floor is stable and doesn't flex. If the floor seems to give way slightly beneath you when you walk over it, then when tiles are installed they will be subject to constant bending and may break, so you'll need to stabilize the floor before laying the tiles.
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Stabilize the wooden subfloor by removing the subfloor panel and sistering the joists (sandwiching the original joists by screwing a joist of the same size and length to both sides with framing lumber). You can also bridge joists to stabilize the floor, adding a wooden block between neighboring joists to strengthen the area. Finally, check that all panels in the subfloor have been nailed solidly down, reattaching panels where necessary. Replace the subfloor and then begin leveling it.
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Level your subfloor. Leveling of concrete can be done using a concrete grinder to remove rises in the floor, and a concrete patch mix to fill in depressions. Wood subfloors can be sanded level.
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Position the tiles. Find the center of the room by measuring the centers of the width and length walls of the room and connecting opposite points; create two intersecting centerlines, for length and width, through the middle of the room, marking the lines with chalk. Make sure that the lines are square, with 90 degree angles.
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Mix a batch of thinset mortar with a stiff blade to the consistency of pancake batter. Thinset is a mixture of Portland cement powder and fine silica sand that makes a thin concrete. Beginning at the center of the room and working towards a wall, apply a layer of thinset to the floor, using a notched trowel edge. Lay the tile into place on the subfloor, pressing it firmly. Lay tiles along each line. Place plastic tile spacers between the tiles, two per edge, leaving ¼" of space at the walls to allow for expansion. Cut and place edge tiles as needed. Continue this process with the remaining floor surface, using a carpenter's level every three rows to level the surface. Allow the thinset to dry.
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Fill the spaces between the tiles with grout, and wait 10 minutes. Remove any excess grout from the tile surfaces using a damp sponge.
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Tips & Warnings
Mix only enough thinset material to last for 15 minutes, to prevent the thinset from drying out.
Always wear protective goggles and gloves when breaking ceramic tiles, as jagged flying shards may form.
