Do-It-Yourself Tile Laying

Use a chalk box to cordon the floor into four squares, with two intersecting chalk lines from the middle of each edge of the floor to the edge across from it.

Apply thin-set mortar over the center of the floor, using a notched mortar trowel. Keep it lined up inside one of the corners formed by the intersection of the lines.

Lay two or three tiles in the mortar, keeping the edges of the tiles lined up with your layout lines. Put spacers between them.

Continue spreading mortar and laying tiles, building from the middle outward to the edges, first along the lines you snapped and then out over the rest of the floor. Use a tile cutter to cut the tiles at the end of each row as necessary to fit along the walls.

Let the mortar set for at least eight hours. Pull out the spacers.

Lay grout over the surface with your grout trowel, forcing the grout into the gaps between the tiles and filling them up. Scrape the excess grout off the surface, using the edge of the trowel. Wipe up the residual grout with a dampened sponge. Let the grout set for one to two days.

Apply grout sealer to the grout, using a foam brush.