I never planned to replace the ceramic tile at our rear entryway; installing a new door would be enough of an upgrade. But plans change — quite often in the DIY world. When we removed the existing door, rot was everywhere beneath the threshold and even on the bottoms of the trim studs and king studs. That meant busting up the tile floor and lifting the subfloor so we could replace the rotted portions of the studs, sill rim and sill joist. And that left us with a mess.
Rather than attempt to replace individual tiles near the door, my wife and I decided — mostly because the area was small — to retile it all. For several months we’d been intrigued by SnapStone tiles. Each of these porcelain tiles has an interlocking plastic tray with a nonskid, sound-deadening grid. The grid eliminates the need for thinset and allows you to install tiles directly over hard, flat surfaces such as vinyl, concrete and hardwood floors. This seemed the perfect chance to give them a try.
Subfloor adjustments
Once I’d replaced the rotted wood (see Entry Door Rescue) and the door with a new fiberglass door by Pella, I put down 3/4-in. plywood for the subfloor. The door had been installed so that the new tile would fit nicely under it. For the two spots where the tile didn’t fit under the door, I used a Fein MultiMaster oscillating tool with a saw-blade attachment to trim off a hair’s width of the doorway’s bottom (photo 1).
The entryway leads to stairs to the basement, so an end cap was needed for the transition where the floor ends and the stairs begin. Tile shops carry these marble pieces and will cut them to your specifications, but I faced a complication: The end cap was thicker than the tile. I subtracted the thickness of the tile (9/16 in.) from the thickness of the end cap (13/16 in.) and came up with 4/16 in. This meant that if both the tile and the end cap were placed on the unaltered subfloor, the end cap would be 1/4 in. higher. To avoid a tripping hazard, the subfloor area under the end cap had to be lowered so that the top of the end cap would be level with the top of the tiles.
To remedy this, I set a circular saw at a cutting depth of 1/4 in. and marked a line on the subfloor at the rear side of the end cap. I used the circular saw to cut that entire line. Then I used a hammer and chisel to dig out the plywood to the depth of the saw cut (photo 2). With this plywood subfloor, the layers lifted up easily. I caulked adhesive onto the bottom of the end cap and easily tapped it in place (photo 3).
Cutting and laying tile
Not having to apply mud to the SnapStone tiles saves on installation time. The plastic grid on one tile interlocks tightly with the grid on adjacent tiles; you just use a rubber hammer to lock them into place (photo 4). The floor floats, but the edges of the plastic dig into the subfloor to sufficiently anchor the tiles. The hard plastic edges are somewhat sharp, so wear gloves when handling the tiles.
Using a rented tile saw (photo 5), I found that cutting the porcelain SnapStone tiles was like cutting any other tiles; the plastic was not a factor. When the tiles butted up against something other than another tile (such as the end cap, which, of course, did not have the grid to lock into), I used the tile saw to pare off the plastic tabs that protrude from the sides (photo 6). Then I set the tiles the same distance from the end cap as the space between the tiles when the grids normally interlock.
Special techniques
Laying the tiles went quickly, which was gratifying. However, there were areas, such as in corners, where cutting the tiles meant removing the interlocking tabs on one or more sides. At least one side of these tiles needs to interlock with another tile so that there is more than just grout holding the corner tile in place. So here are three suggestions for locking the tiles when it’s difficult to pull them with your hands or tap them with a rubber hammer:
1. Use a scraper/pry bar to reach the far end of the tile and pull it into a locking position (photo 7).
2. Poke a long screwdriver or spike into the gap between the tile and the wall; then pull the tile into a locking position (photo 7).
3. Place a hammer flat on top of the tiles so that the butt end of the handle and the hammerhead are braced against the wall (photo 8). Place a screwdriver blade next to the hammer handle and the tip into a slot between the plastic tabs. Then move the screwdriver handle toward the wall, and the tile will snap into place.
Grouting
Once you have all the tiles in place, only grouting remains. Use SnapStone’s grout, and apply it the same way you apply any grout. Place grout on the floor and, holding the rubber grout float tilted at about a 45-degree angle, move the grout diagonally over the tiles (photo 9). This forces the grout into the gaps. When you’re finished, wipe away any excess with a sponge.
Let the grout dry, and now you have a fine-looking, easy-to-install tile floor.