How to Lay Slate Tile
Slate tile is a durable, attractive flooring for kitchens, bathrooms and walkways. More expensive than ceramic tile, slate is a natural flooring that is waterproof, resists slipping and is available in many natural shades of gray, red, green and brown. Slate tiles are available with a natural, contoured surface or honed to a smooth finish. Installing slate tile is as easy as installing regular ceramic tile.
What You Will Need
- Slate tile.
- Mortar for slate tile.
- Tile grout.
- Tile spacers.
- Trowel.
- Level.
- Wet tile saw. This can be rented from Home Improvement stores.
- Measuring tape.
- Chalk line.
- Tile sponge.
- Bucket of water.
- Sealant for slate tile.
- Use the tape measure to find out how much tile you will need. It is a good idea to buy a bit more tile than you need to make up for broken or mis-cut tile.
- Use the measuring tape to find the center of the room you are going to tile. You will start to tile in the middle of the room as it is more aesthetically pleasing to have the tile centered in the middle of a room.
- Snap two chalk lines, one running vertically through the room, and the other running horizontally. The lines should form a cross on the floor with the center of the cross being the center of the room. These chalk lines will be your guide for laying your first line of slate tile flooring.
- Lay the slate tiles in a “dry run,” or using no mortar. Start the first tile with a corner of the tile placed in the center of the room where the two chalk lines intersect.
- Lay a dry run of tiles in a line until you reach a wall, fixture or cabinet. This will give you an idea of how the tile will look, how the natural patterns of the tile appear and how many tiles will need to be cut to fit.
- Stack your dry run tiles near where you will lay them and in the order that you will use them.
- Lay down a thin layer of mortar with the trowel along the chalk line where you placed the dry run tiles. Only lay mortar for a few tiles at a time so that it does not begin to dry before the tiles are laid.
- Lay your first tile on the mortar with the corner placed where the two chalk lines intersect.
- Use the level to make sure that the tile is level. If the tile is not level, tamp it lightly with your fingers until it is level.
- Place the tile spacers around the tile.
- Lay the second tile next to the first, right up against the tile spacers. Use the chalk line to keep the tile in a straight line.
- Check to make sure the two tiles are level.
- Place tile spacers around the second tile.
- Lay the rest of the tile from the dry run, using the chalk line to keep the tiles in a straight line, and using the level to maintain a uniform surface across the tile.
- Cut the last tile in the line as needed with the wet saw.
- Tile the rest of the floor, a small space at a time, placing the cut pieces around the edge of the room.
- Allow the mortar to dry completely per the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Remove all of the tile spacers.
- Use the trowel to place the grout in the lines between the tiles, grouting only a few lines at first.
- Use the damp sponge to lightly wipe the excess grout off of the tiles. The grout should stay in between the tiles, flush with the top of the tiles. This process is called floating the tile.
- Rinse the excess grout off the sponge in the bucket of water.
- Grout the rest of the tiles, applying grout to a small area then floating it. Do not get too far ahead with applying the grout; you do not want the grout to start to dry on the top of the tile. Grout gets harder to remove the drier it gets, and it will start to get into the cracks if your slate tile has a contoured surface.
- Allow the grout to dry completely according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
- Apply the sealant to the slate tile as instructed by the sealer’s manufacturer.
- Allow the sealant to dry completely before walking on your new slate tile floor.