How to Install 16X16 Bathroom Wall Tile
- 1). Mark a horizontal line 16 1/4 inches up from the floor, using your level and pencil. Take the line all the way across the wall.
- 2). Find the middle of the horizontal line, and mark a vertical line up from there, from floor to ceiling, using your level and pencil.
- 3). Use your notched mortar trowel to spread tile mortar over the bottom of the wall, from the floor to a few inches above the horizontal line. You will still be able to see the horizontal line through the mortar.
- 4). Press the first 16-by-16 tile to the wall under the horizontal line and alongside the vertical line. Twist the tile slightly to get it firmly set in the mortar. The bottom edge of the tile should be ¼ inch off the floor.
- 5). Set the rest of the bottom row of tiles off the first one, working your way out to the sides along the line. Put spacing nubs between the tiles as you go. Cut the tiles at the ends as needed to fit against the adjacent walls, with ¼ inch of space left over.
- 6). Spread additional mortar up the wall, and begin tiling course by course, from the bottom up. Start each course at the middle vertical line. Put spacers between all the tiles. Do the whole wall.
- 7). Let the tiles set overnight. Pull out the spacing nubs.
- 8). Grout the wall starting at the top and working your way down, using a grout trowel to force the grout into the lines between the tiles. Don't grout the spaces around the perimeter of the wall, where it meets the floor, ceiling and sidewalls, but grout all the other lines. Use a damp sponge to take up the excess grout.
- 9). Let the grout set overnight. Caulk the spaces around the perimeter of the wall, where it meets the floor, ceiling and sidewalls. Let the caulk dry for a day.
