Temperatures for Installing Tile

Ceramic, Porcelain and Stone Tiles

• The vast majority of hard tiles, including ceramic, porcelain and natural stone, all install at roughly the same temperature with some variations for thickness. If you are installing any of these materials, set the temperature of the room to anywhere between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with a suggested ideal temperature for most tiles of 70 to 75 degrees. Do this a minimum of 24 hours before you plan to install the tile. Leave the temperature at this level for a minimum of 48 hours after installation as well. To ensure that the tiles themselves are at the optimum temperature, store them in the room for 24 hours before installation to allow them to acclimate.

VCT

• Install your vinyl composite tiles, or VCT, at approximately the temperature you plan to keep the room at when in use, within a range between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. VCT requires an optimum temperature for its adhesives to cure, just like other tiles. It also requires an optimum temperature for another reason: The temperature of the room may affect the size of your VCT by expanding it slightly in warmer environments and contracting it when it's colder. Set the temperature of the room 48 hours before you plan to install the tiles, keep the tiles in the room during this time period and maintain the same temperature for 48 hours after installation as well.

Linoleum

• Like VCT, linoleum shrinks and expands with fluctuating temperatures. Unlike VCT, it can handle a greater degree of temperature range. Install your linoleum tiles in a room heated to between 65 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with an optimum temperature being whatever you plan to keep the temperature at when the room is in use. Set the temperature 48 hours prior to installation and keep it at this temperature until 48 hours after the work has been completed. Keep the linoleum in the room for 48 hours before installation to help it acclimate and expand as well.

Humidity

• Humidity plays an important role in tile installation as well. Like temperature, humidity helps dictate how fast or slow adhesives cure, which can affect their overall strength. The ideal humidity level in a room where tile is being installed should range between 30 percent and 70 percent. Humidity levels below this could lead to mortar and grout curing too quickly and cracking. Humidity levels above this amount will slow down the rate of curing, which could lead to tiles that have been improperly adhered to the substrate.