How to Install Ceramic Tile on 2nd Floor Wood Flooring
- 1). Go over the floor with a hammer and flooring nails, sinking them anywhere the floor boards move at all. Follow up with liquid leveler, pouring it slowly over holes, gaps or cracks in the wood. Let it level out completely, so the surface is solid and unbroken. Let the leveler set overnight.
- 2). Use the chalk snapline to snap two intersecting lines dividing the floor into four squares. The four squares should meet at the center of the floor.
- 3). Spread thinset over a few square feet of the floor at the middle of the floor, inside one of the four corners at the intersection. Press a tile in the thin set, at the corner. Press a second tile next to it, putting spacers between them.
- 4). Spread additional thin set and press in more tiles, putting spacers between them. Build out from the middle of the floor to the edges of the room, using the lines to keep the layout straight. Cut the tiles at the perimeter, as needed, to fit along the walls.
- 5). Allow the thinset to dry for 12 hours. Pull out the spacers.
- 6). Grout the floor with a grout float, pressing the grout into the gaps between the tiles. Use a damp sponge to wipe up the excess grout.
