How do you put down ceramic tile and cut it??

Question

I am wanting to do a very small bathroom by myself, and this is my first attempt. Do I have to take the toilet and the sink out of the bathroom, or do I somehow cut the tile to fit around it? What about the corners of the baseboards? How do I corner the tile? I really want to try and do this myself and make it look nice so please be descriptive with your answers!

Answer 1

Toilet  comes out and a vanity can stay as an option although it looks better if vanity goes atop it but you open more worms by having to redo the vanity.. If its a pedestal sink then yes it has to come out and set atop the tile.  One option is to leave the baseboards in and then add a shoe molding but as long as your careful taking off the base you can reuse it easily. Put down the cement board w/ a thinset under it is the proper way and then nailing it down. You can reset the stool w/ a double wax ring if needed w/o the expense of a plumber.  As for cutting  tile for a novice rent a wet saw when your all set to tile the floor. Having the board all layed and tile layed out so you know how your doing it. The actual laying of the tile can be done in 1 day for a rookie ( on  a small bath like you say)So figure 1 day to rip 1 day to prep the floor and 1 day do set the tile just plan ahead.. Grout will only take a hour for a small bath for a rookie 1st timer so take your time and GL

Answer 2

Yes, you should take out the toilet. This is actually very easy to do. The vanity can stay but the baseboards should come out.

Go to Home Depot and get a book on flooring - it will show you the steps for prepping the floor and laying the tile. It will explain things like how to deal with corners and edges (corner tiles and bullnose tiles, respectively.) They also often have classes for DIY-er folks like you.

The biggest part of the job really is getting the surface prepped. You should take up the old flooring and put down cement backerboard underlaymernt to make a good, hard surface. Otherwise you'll get cracking.

Answer 3

best if you take vanity and toilet out in case either one has to be replace later on, also have plumber raise flange on toilet.home depot has saturday classes to show you how+ books