A colorfully-tiled bathroom is sure to delight any kid. So, when you’re laying ceramic floor tile for your kids’ bathroom, look around for ceramic tiles in your kids’ favorite colors. Cartoon patterns are also delightful. Or try to get them to contribute ideas for what designs they would like to have on their ceramic tile bathroom floor. And when you do go out to buy your tiles, remember: Younger children can be rambunctious, especially in the bath. Don’t use ceramic tiles that have a slippery glazed feel about them, similar to tiles commonly used for the kitchen. Be sure to pick ceramic tiles that have a lightly rough surface so your kids won’t slip accidentally on them.
Tiling specialists and home improvement experts generally concede that laying ceramic floor tile for a bathroom is much easier than on other household floors and areas like your kitchen, back porch, swimming pool, or the laundry room in your basement. Nevertheless, floor tiling no sweet chore — It’s a time-consuming project. Laying ceramic floor tile on your kids’ bathroom floor involves repetitive work of spreading thinset mortar, setting the tile spacers, pressing down the ceramic tile till it sets, waiting for that to dry, and then doing the grouting — and doing it again and again and again. So it requires a lot of patience, hard work and persistence. There’s no short cut to it, at all. But you can finish laying ceramic floor tile on your kids’ bathroom floor with the basic tiling installations below. Next thing you know, your kids might have too much fun to get out of the bathroom!
To be able to lay your tiles properly always use the right tools. Safety always comes first, so get a pair of safety glasses, heavy leather gloves, and long-sleeved work clothes and heavy work shoes.
You can start with your tiling project by estimating your tiling budget and to get your bearing when laying ceramic floor tile begins. Use a measuring tape to get the length and width of your floor. Draw chalk lines over them. Where both lines intersect, that’s your reference point. That point will also serve as your starting point for laying ceramic floor tile.
When you start the actual tiling process, get a tiling trowel (with one side notched and the other flat), a generous amount of tile spacers, and a tile cutter (which you could rent from your local tool rental shop), a pair of tile snippers, and sandpaper (for sanding down tile edges you’ve trimmed off — these edges can be deceptively sharp, so beware!). Then, using the reference point you made, you may then start laying ceramic floor tile, working your way to one end of the floor, and then, doing the same thing toward to the other end. Make regular checks when you’re and starting point for laying ceramic floor tile. That way, you’ll know if you’ve kept a straight line, or your tiles have drifted off to different directions. After laying ceramic floor tile on the bathroom floor, let it set overnight.
Another important aspect of tiling is the applying the grout. It keeps your mortar dry and the ceramic tiles in place. It keeps your tiles look clean as well as prevents moisture intrusion, which in the long run keeps the bathroom dry and sanitary. Use a rubber grout float to lay in your grout. When spreading the grout, hold it an angle and press down firmly. When you’re done, let it dry for half an hour and then, you can start cleaning up.
You can use a few buckets of water, some dry rags and sponges to clean your child’s newly-finished tile floor. By this time, your kids might be eager to pitch in on the effort. And it’s safe to let them help you at this final stage of the tiling. So let them help out with cleaning off the excess grout from their newly-installed ceramic tile bathroom floor. After you’re done, leave your new ceramic tile floor overnight to set thoroughly.
Always remember to keep your child’s bathroom safe yet kid-friendly. Try out different themes and designs — from beach, nautical or playground themes, to fishing boat and shell designs, to cartoon fish to and yellow duckies. There are a lot of possibilities available to you when you are laying ceramic floor tile for your kid’s bathroom.
