How to Use Bricks for Kitchen Floors
Installing brick on a kitchen floor can add a lot of charm to your home. Traditional bricks are very thick and often not compatible with the adjoining flooring in your home, unless you have the subfloor lowered to accommodate the thickness of the brick. Quarter-inch-thick brick pavers are a good choice for indoor flooring application. They are installed just like ceramic tile and are manufactured for use inside the home. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Paver tiles
- Adhesive
- Tile cutter
- Measuring tape
- Trowel
- Paver sealer
- Grout
- Grout float
- Grout sponge
Instructions
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1
Vacuum the floor thoroughly. Make sure that the subfloor is level and sturdy enough to support the tile. Install cementboard for better support if the floor is uneven.
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2
Measure from wall to wall to determine the center of the room. Begin your brick installation, just like tile, at the center of the area to be tiled to provide better visual appeal and ensure that the tile will be centered in the room. Starting at one edge of the room may mean that you end up with lots of partial tiles on one side of the room, but not the other.
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3
Cover the back of your first brick paver with adhesive, using the trowel. Press the tile firmly into place in the center of the room. Wipe up any excess adhesive with a wet sponge.
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4
Apply adhesive to and set the four tiles surrounding the center tile. Begin laying and setting tiles to the perimeter of the room until you get close to the edges and will need to cut tiles to fit. Use spacers to keep the tiles straight and evenly spaced.
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5
Measure and cut tiles to fit the perimeter of the kitchen. Measure to accommodate grout on all sides of the tiles. Cut the tiles using a scoring-type tile cutter or a wet saw. Set the cut tiles in their places at the edges of the kitchen. Allow the adhesive to dry overnight.
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6
Seal the paver tiles using paver sealer. Use a good-quality paint brush to brush sealer on each tile. Allow the sealer to dry.
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7
Mix the grout. Choose a grout similar in color to the mortar used to set brick. Grout should be mixed to the consistency of toothpaste. Use a grout float to spread the grout into the space between the paver tiles, making sure to completely fill the space. Use a wet grout sponge to clean off the excess grout.
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Allow the grout to dry overnight before allowing foot traffic on your kitchen floors.
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Tips & Warnings
Bricks can be laid out in any pattern that you like. Make a detailed drawing if you plan to create a design or use varying colors of tiles to create borders.
