How to Build a Sloping Tile Floor

Sweep all surface debris from the floor with a push broom. Clean the floor with a wet mop to remove the remaining dirt.

Combine three parts sand with one part Portland cement in a bucket, or add a mortar floor mix to a bucket. Add water to the mix a little at a time, stirring the contents as you add the water until the mixture sets up so that it all holds together and remains firm.

Spread the cement or mortar mixture to the floor that you want to slope with a flat trowel. Smooth the cement or mortar down against the floor so that you create the slope in the floor that you desire. Allow the mixture to dry for 72 hours and then clean the surface of the sloped floor -- once it sets up -- to remove accumulated dust.

Measure down each wall of the sloping tile floor if you have an open sloped floor, such as in a kitchen or basement, and find the center of each. Snap chalk lines between the opposite walls to find the floor’s center.

Mix a batch of thinset mortar according to the packaging directions. Spread the thinset mortar over the sloped surface you created with a notched trowel at the lines in the center of the floor for an open floor or at the front edge of the surface for a shower floor.

Lay tiles into the mortar. Place the first tiles on an open floor against the chalk lines to ensure a centered tile floor. Place the first tiles in a shower floor at the front of the shower so that the cut tiles will be hidden in the back.

Continue laying tiles outward from the first tiles. Use tile spacers in between all tiles and cut tiles with a tile saw as necessary to make them fit into the space. Once the tiles dry, apply grout in between tiles and caulking around the edges of the tile job.