How to Keep the Wall and Floor Tiles Level When Installing?
While installing tiles on your walls and floors, a common question pops up in many people’s minds is how to keep wall and floor tiles level when installing? There are various methods of maintaining your tiles level, each using a different procedure.
Apart from this question, another thing that raises curiosity in people’s minds is the process of laying tiles. How to lay tiles and use a tile leveling system are also pretty public questions. This blog will provide a detailed answer to all your questions with pertinent information.
How to Keep Wall Tiles Level?
Maintaining a wall tiles level is more challenging than floor tiles level. Before beginning the procedure, get your hands on some spirit level and mallets. They are highly beneficial, mainly when you perform the leveling correctly.
For the wall tile leveling, use the mortar directly on the wall instead of applying self-leveling. With the mortar on the wall, you can use the tiling trowel’s flat side and smoothen out the uneven wall surface. As a comparison, hang a thread directly in front of the wall and keep it at a constant distance.
You can even use the spirit level for better results if you want. You don’t have to worry about marks or scratches since the area undergoing work will not be facing the front but instead the back. So, therefore, small spots won’t hurt.
Now after the mortar has dried, start placing the tiles. Apply the spirit level flush on the tiles before putting them, and use a mallet to press them a bit. Push each tile into its correct area with the help of the mallet. Once the tile placing is over, use the best tile leveling system kit for further procedure.
The kit contains a set of specialized spacers that you will use to fill up the gap between the tiles. It locks all the adjacent tiles with each other with the help of these spacers, and therefore it aligns the tiles properly.
After installing the spacer, you can insert the tile wedges beneath the spacer. The wedge pulls and pushes the tiles from top and bottom, respectively, to connect the tiles and secure them in their place.
How to Keep Floor Tiles Level?
Handling the leveling of floor tiles is much easier when you compare it to the walls. Use self-leveling concrete in the sub-floor to ensure the best tile leveling system for the floors. The self-leveling concrete has a low viscosity and dries quickly but is similar to concrete. It serves as an excellent adhesive making the entire process much faster.
After drying the concrete, start laying the tiles on the floor using the mortar. Spread the mortar using a teethed trowel and then use the spirit level to place the tiles accurately. Finally, after laying down all the tiles, use the leveling kit, place the clips and tile leveling wedges in between, and allow everything to dry for a perfect and even finish.
How to Lay Tiles?
Before laying tiles, gather all the required items like a trowel, adhesive, sponges, and tile backer boards. After collecting the items, determine the type of underlayment you will use depending on your subfloor.
Clean your wall/floor using a damp cloth and eliminate all the dirt, oil, and dust particles. Plan the layout of your tiles and ensure that nothing will look messy or unfinished after the final placement.
Now you will have to prepare your thin-set or self-concrete. You will have to work with it quickly since it tends to harden quickly. And once it gets hardened, working with it becomes impossible and hence you will have to throw it and prepare a new one. Therefore, complete all the planning before mixing the thin-set.
Apply the thin-set to your wall or floor and spread it around using the trowel. Make sure to spread it in the same direction for the entire surface. If you want, you can even apply the self-concrete or thin-set mix at the back of your tile.
What Happens After Spreading out the Thin-set?
Once you spread out the thin-set entirely, the most integral part arrives, the laying of the tiles. Remember that when you place the tiles on the spread-out concrete, you must apply firm pressure for proper placement. Using force ensures that the tile sticks to its place and does not get tilted or misaligned.
Along with placing tiles, keep putting the clips in between them. By placing the tiles simultaneously with the clips, your tiles will remain even and look quite neat with proper spacing between them. If there is an extra thin-set coming out of between your tiles, use a cloth to wipe it off since if it hardens, the surface will become bumpy.
After cleaning off the excess thin-set:
- Remove the tile leveling wedges that you inserted between the clips. You can push them with a bit of force using your legs, and they will come off.
- Prepare your grout mix and start applying it to the tiles for the final finishing.
- After it sets, use a dry cloth or sponge and wipe off your tiles for grout haze.
- Do not use water since it will smear it.
- Smoothen and clean the surface.
Available Products
D300312 3MM(3-12MM) Clip
This tile leveling clip can level a tile with a thickness of 3 to 12 mm and a grout space of 3.0 mm. Usually, tiles are within this thickness, but you can also use these clips for tiling fixing. They are affordable, strong, and available in different sizes for different tile thicknesses.
DF Pliers For Floor
DF Pliers is fully easy to use. It is a plier made of iron used to insert the tile wedges into their slots within the clips. They are sturdy and ensure good fixing of the wedge. Available in other colors and materials, these pliers are used mainly for floor-level tiling. The pliers are affordable and won’t break since they are iron.
