Doing an Inlay Floor With Tile

Sketch your ideas to map out your design before you actually begin the flooring. Take measurements of the width and length of the room with a tape measure and decide how large you want your inlay to be -- one row or several rows. You can use graph paper as well to help you decide how many pieces of tile you'll need. Scale the squares on the graph to 1 foot square to represent your tile and then fill in the inlay areas.

Remove all the items from the room, tear up the existing flooring and make sure the surface is clean and dry.

Lay down the mortar in an area that is small, no more than 3-by-3 feet, and use your trowel to create a mortar bed. Flip the trowel over and run it across the mortar to create the ridges that help the tile adhere better.

Lay down the edge tile first, pressing it firmly into the mortar. Use grout spacers in between each piece. Finish the first row and keep working, adding your inlay pieces according to your design. Once your first section is done, move to the next until the entire floor has been laid. Inlay designs are commonly done as a border or as a center motif, like a compass rose.

Remove each row of grout spacers once the mortar has set and grout between the tile. Wipe off any excess grout from the tile with a damp cloth as you go. Let the mortar set and your floor will be complete.