[Rockyt]

I've laid tile before but it was outside and I didn't have a wife at the time Now I'm laying them in my living room family room ,and kitchen. AND I have a wife now so it has to look PERFECT!! My question was ,I was told to use a beat block, is that necessary? And is it just a 2x4 a hammer and tap on the tile after there in place? Also I was told to "snap a line" ? Can't I just measure to find the middle of the room and work my way out? Any helpful hints would be great. Thanks.

[kp2171]

I'm a fan of chalk line grids... if nothing else, snap a couple critical lines to ensure the rest flows from that... but I still think a few more reference lines is better than not. Don't know about yours, but my walls aren't perfectly square.

a 2x4 with a carper remnant stapled on one side works for me with a rubber mallet.

[Rockyt]

This might sound funny but what is a carper remnant? And you say a few reference lines? I thought it was just to find the middle?

[kp2171]

remnant = piece of leftover carpet. Scrap. Could fold an old towel over. Something to soften the blow at the tile side.

you can do it a number of ways. With 12 in tile you can lay a grid out with 2 ft squares... then each tile is matched up to 2 lines, 4 squares per box.

you can also simple snap 2 lines, perpendicular to each other and lay everything off that, sure. You just should still check for square from time to time. If the tile is laid parallel to a long run and you get off square you'll be able to see it. Most importantly, your wife will notice.

[bhayne]

I did the tile in my kitchen and my wife was quite pleased.

I may have got lucky but this is some key pointers:

1) I used marble tiling.
2) I used 12" tiles.
3) I sketched it on graph paper and bought the correct amount of tiles.
4) I used 1/8" spacers. They leave a 1/4" finish that looks great. My friend used 1/4" spacers and they leave a 3/8" finish that looks kind of funny (the gaps between each tile look too big). That was my main reason for using marble. Ceramic tiles recommend the 1/4" spacers.
5) I finished by cutting tiles at the counter. These tile were covered by a 4" overhang and allowed me to cheat if some of the tiles were cut short (all cuts are made with a diamond blade). Of course, the house doesn't have a square corner in it so the overhang helped a lot.

I used no hammer. I just moved the tiles back and forth to seat, slide them in place then install the spacers.

[skiberger]

You don't need a beat block. Use the side of your fist to set the tiles. Its much more quick.
Use the properly kntoched trowel. (see thinset instructions)
As for layout, just get your center lines and work from there. Use 1/8" spacers like bhanye mentioned. Gives a better looking grout joint.

Dont buy premixed thinset, mix your own. Usually the $9.00 thinset is good enough (white or gray). Mix this to a consistency of whipped butter.
Make sure your subfloor is nailed or screwed down to all joists and its clean before tiling. Unless your on concrete then make sure its clean. If your tiling over concrete and there is an expansion joint in the slab you will need an expansion joint in your tile over the concrete joint.
It is best to install a subfloor over the existing plywood. (If you have wood) This can be 5/16" concrete board or an equivalent.

Buy a tile cutter and rent a tile wet saw. It makes life easier.

After your done tiling and grouting, install 3/4" quarter round along the basebaord and rubber base under the kitchen cabinets. This helps hide any incosistant grout joints along the walls

[Rockyt]

Wow that was a lot of info .Thanks I got all of that except the end.3/4 round what? Also there is tile down already that I have to pick up. Do I have to do anything to the old thinset if it doesn't all come up? (it on concrete)

[Rockyt]

You guys are great thanks so much. As long as your wife liked it then I should be OK. My wife actually wants all the lines straight!!

Thanks again