Tiles for the first course had to be scribed around the threshold of the door.
Starting the first course with a quarter-size tile in the corner, the author put a full tile over the most trafficked area of the threshold, which helped to minimize the chance for cracking. Avoiding a grout line in the doorway also looked much better. The author marked the end scribe on the full tile and then flipped the tile over to mark the strip he needed to remove along one edge.
Next, he carefully cut the strip lengthwise in a tile saw.
He flips the tile over, and finished the cuts from the back.
Installation of tile over this uncoupling membrane required two passes of dry-set mortar—thinset that needs to be used over the membrane. The first pass with the flat edge of the trowel forced thinset into the cavities of the membrane.
The second pass with a 3/8-inch-by-3/8-inch square-notched trowel combed the thinset perpendicular to the long edge of the tile.
The author applied a skim coat of thinset to each tile.
Before pressing them into place
As the author pressed each tile into place, he pushed it side to side about 1/2 inch.
The perpendicular direction of the trowel lines allows air to escape along the long side of the tile as it beds into the thinset. Every few courses, it’s a good idea to lift up a tile and check the coverage of the thinset. For large-format tile, the coverage should be at least 85% for interior applications and 90% for exterior ones.
To finish each four-course section, the author marked the lengths of the last tiles in place before cutting and installing them, making sure to leave a 1/4-inch expansion space near the wall.
The second four-course section was laid out like the first, with a wall-to-wall guideline using the measurement from the initial dry layout
After completing each section, the author tapped down the ends of the tiles to minimize lippage. A short length of 2x6 with a scrap of flexible shower-pan membrane glued to it served as a beating block.
He tapped the ends of all the tiles with the block and a rubber mallet until their edges were even.
The floor of an adjacent hallway was slightly out of level, and for this small area, the author opted to use a mechanical “Lippage Tuning” system from Miracle Sealants. First, he cut and dry-fit all the tile for the hallway space.
Then, as he bedded each tile into the thinset, he inserted a flat, 1/8-inch spacer at each grout-line intersection.
After all the tiles were in place, he pushed plastic caps down over the protruding tabs.
Then he used a proprietary tool to “ratchet” the caps onto the tabs, aligning the intersecting tile surfaces.
Each spacer has a breakaway point; once the thinset had cured, a gentle tap with a mallet broke off the tab below the grout line.