If you’re attempting to tile your shower floor yourself you can achieve it quite easily by following these steps below. By the tools needed to do the project are relatively cheap and readily available.
1. What tools will you need?
The tools needed can be purchased at most hardware shops and are relatively cheap.You will need a tile cutter,tile clipper, rubber mallet, spirit level, troffel and a plastic bucket to mix the tile adhesive and grout in.
2. What materials will you need?
Materials wise you will need cement to level out the base of the shower, tile adhesive to bond the tiles to the cement and tile sheets. I’m referring to tile sheets instead of individual tiles as it’s easier to work with and you don’t need tile spacers to space the tiles evenly on the shower floor. Tile sheets are usually available in sizes of 300mm x 300mm or 100mm x 100mm. I prefer using the 300mm x 300mm tile sheets as they cover more ground quicker when laid. There are 6 tiles on this sheet that are 45mm long and wide and the 5 spaces between the tiles where the grouting comes each has a width of 5mm.
3. Make sure the shower base is level
If your shower base isn’t level it will be very difficult to try level the tiles with the tile adhesive so use your spirit level and make sure your base is as level as possible. To do this place your spirit level on the shower floor from corner to corner and side to side to make sure. If it’s not level mix some cement and screed the floor with it until it is. After you’re done screeding the shower floor make sure you clean the cement off the wall tiles where they meet with the shower base. If you don’t clean the cement off while it’s still well you’re going to struggle getting off the wall tiles when it’s dry. After you’re left the cement to dry for at least 24 hours you’re ready to lay the tiles
4. Laying the tiles
Before you apply tile adhesive to the cement base and lay the tiles you need to plan how you want it to look. I usually work my way from the shower drain outward toward the shower walls because I only need to cut out four tiles in the center of the tile sheet to fit the sheet over the drain perfectly. After you’ve placed the rest of the tile sheets next to one another and cut the edges of the sheet that connect with the shower wall to fit in perfectly you are ready to apply the tile adhesive.
Remove all the tiles you’ve laid out on the shower floor and place them in the same position on the floor in the bathroom. This is so that you don’t get mixed up with which sheets fits where. Next mix the tile adhesive and apply it to the base of the shower with your troffel. Don’t make it too thick you don’t want the adhesive to seep through the spaces between the tile sheets when you lay them as you need to fill those spaces with grouting. If some adhesive does seep through clean it as you lay it before it dries.
5. Doing the grouting
This is my favorite part of the tiling process and it’s almost like glory for the suffering. Mix your grout in a clean bucket, especially if it’s white grout, until it’s a thick paste and apply it in the spaces between the tiles with the troffel. Once done take a clean white wet cloth and clean the white grout of the tiles and you’re done.