6 Steps To Tiling a Basement Floor

Tiling a basement floor is about one of the best things you can do to it if you have a basement that is prone to either flooding or other possible water related issues. This is one of very few basement flooring options that are truly waterproof. Now I'm not talking carpet squares here or carpet tiles. What I'm talking about is truly tile flooring. You know, ceramic, stone and porcelain. The real stuff. Sure it's a little heavy to lug around and get down to the basement. Of course it's going to be a little messy to install as you are dealing with some concrete mortars and grout that will require a lot of initial cleanup, time and persistence to get it done. But after tiling the basement floor, it's my guess that you'll be quite satisfied with the outcome and worry free in case your basement does ever flood (well, at least for the floor).

For starters, just about any type of tile will work in a basement. It really just depends on whether or not you are going to hire the job out or do it yourself. If you are going to do it yourself then it depends on whether or not you've done this sort of work before, how comfortable you are with it and what your skill level is. Take for instance if you want to have a stone flooring look. It's certainly acceptable to install stone tile flooring in your basement, however it takes a bit more skill to get it all right and done properly using varying shapes of stone flooring.

If this is your first time installing tile, you might want to stick with the standard square tiles that come in either porcelain or ceramic. Larger tiles tend to work best and require a little less work and time versus smaller tiles. I'm talking pieces like 12-inch square or 14-inch square tiles here. They do come all the way up to 24-inch square pieces but those are a little more bulky to handle.

There are all kinds of patterns and designs to choose from so just pick one that you like.

The first thing you've got to do before tiling the basement is to ensure that the concrete floor is acceptable to install tile on. If you already have a flooring material installed, you're going to do best by ripping it all up first. Be sure to sweep, mop and vacuum the entire bare concrete surface to remove any and all dirt and dust.

Inspect your floor to see that it is free of cracks and holes. If it has them, you'll likely want to fill them now.

Also, inspect the floor to see that it is mostly level. It shouldn't be more than an inch out of level across the entire basement floor. If it is, you are going to need to fill the low spots with a self-leveling concrete filler to get the floor to level. See the video just below for a demo on how you can do this.

Lay out 3 tiles side by side in a row with the appropriate amount of room between them for the grout (tip: use your spacers). Measure the distance between the left edge of the first tile to the left edge of the third tile include the room for spacers. This is the distance you are going to need to make a chalk line grid on the floor to follow.

Pick your starting wall and go to the corner. Start measuring off the marks where you are going to snap your line. Go to the opposite wall and do the same. Get a buddy and begin to start snapping the chalk lines.

Repeat the process on the other two walls.

Mix up all the thinset you are going to need in a bucket and take some tiles and go back to the starting corner where you first started marking. Using a tile trowel, scoop up some thinset and begin to spread it in the first section of the grid. Take a tile and spread a little thinset on the back of that. Starting in the corner (leave enough room for grouting towards the wall), push the tile into place and give it a little wiggle to set it good. Put your spacers on the corners and repeat the process with the next tile.

Once you've got that grid square done, move on to the next. As you get more comfortable, you can start working larger areas but take your time and get it all square.

By this point, you've tiled the entire floor. Now it's time to let the floor sit for at least 24 hours to setup properly. You need it to do this before you move on to grouting the tile.

By now, the tile has set and you need to mix up the grout. Grout comes in a lot of colors, but just remember colored grout can be hard to clean off a tile, especially red. While you can use this, I'd suggest keeping to a taupe or beige.

Going back to your starting corner, take a glob of grout and a sponge and start working it into the grout joints. Don't go directly down the grout line. Work the grout in at an angle. Again, don't do more than you are comfortable with at a time.

You are going to need a bucket of water and another sponge to wipe up the excess grout off the tile. Be sure not to damage the grout in the joints while you do this. You will likely need to change out the water a few times during this process.

After you've done the entire basement floor, you are going to need to wait another 15-20 minutes and repeat the sponge rinsing process one more time to get more of the grout film off the tile.

After another 24 hours, the last step in the process is you'll need to give it a good "cleanup" mopping to get the remaining film off the tiles. Use a cup of white vinegar to a gallon of water and wet mop the entire floor one more time.

The vinegar helps to cut through and pick up any remaining grout as well as dust off the surface of the grout joints. After it dries, do one more mopping with just water to get the vinegar up.

Brands: Daltile, American Olean, Florida Tile, Marazzi Tile, Interceramic
Stores: Amazon, Lowe's, The Tile Shop, Floor and Decor, Home Depot