Flooring Tile - where do I end the tile?

OK, I'm finishing a bathroom in my basement. Rectangular room, concrete floor, level & smooth. Should be pretty straightforward to tile. I've got 12 x 12 ceramic tile. Here is my question. The door isn't hung yet--how far through the opening should my tile go? exactly halfway? Can I just end the tile there or do I need a transition to the carpet?

Also how much fudge room do I have around the toilet sewer stub out? Can I just cut the corners of the tiles to make a diamond around it?

If my grout lines are 1/4 inch should the ones on the margins be the same? Even against the tub?

One last thing. What's the best way to cut the L-shaped tiles to go through the doorway?

you may want to do a mat test to check for moisture before proceeding with tile,if already done then disregard.

Also you want to isolate any saw cuts ,or cold joints as they are sometimes called with a membrane.

You want the tile to end at the center of the door when closed,so if the door swings into the room one way then the tile needs to end under the door not in the middle of the framing.

Cut within an 1/8 of an inch at the tub and caulk,do not grout.

Cut pretty tight to the toilet flange,you only have about a half inch to play with on the sides.

Get a wet saw for the corner cuts:cool:

Totally concur with floorman. Also you can get a schluter metal transition piece to terminate tile at center point of door. They sell them at the Home Depot. This piece gives a clean discreet edge while protecting the edge of the tile.

Thanks for your help guys. The caulk at the tub thing sounds important!

Don't understand this though:

>>>Also you want to isolate any saw cuts ,or cold joints as they are sometimes called with a membrane.

What membrane, how?


>>>Get a wet saw for the corner cuts

Oh, yeah, that's what I'll do with that extra $300 in the budget!!!

I thought of one other thing. Other than the moisture test, do I need to do anything else to prepare the floor, or will the thinset adhere to that finished concrete floor OK?

i did'nt mean to go buy one silly!You can rent one or some of the stores like h.d. or lowes will cut them for you for about a buck apeice.

You can make sure there is no dust or oil or anything that will hinder the tile from sticking to the floor,and mix just a little on the wet side for good trnsfer to the slab.

They make rbber membrane for these cracks to go over them so the crack does not trnsfer through to the tile,there are also roll on membranes that you kinda paint on the floor.

Oh yea, and the grout won't stick to the tub so you will see a crack there that will drive absolutly nuts if you don't caulk it:cool:

Thanks again! no cold joints so I won't have to worry about that. Having those two tiles cut is a great idea. I guess I'll just lay out the first row of tile with the spacers and mark the cuts and take them to Lowes to have the cuts made.

I don't have the closet flange installed yet for the toilet, so that gives me some wiggle room for the cuts around there.

When setting the metal tile edging on a concrete floor (where the tile will border a carpeted area), is the metal edge set with the tile adhesive or something else?

Yes, it is set with mortar, with the lip under the tile.

You could also buy one of those $88 wet saws at Home Depot. I have one that I use for small kitchen/bath tile jobs. It works great.

I had another inexpensive one a few years ago. I did all my house remodel tile with it and sold it for almost what I had paid for it. Way cheaper than renting. :D

Hate to prolong the subject but I have a simple question about caulking along the tub. Could you put Schlueter against the tub and then have a grouted joint between the the Schlueter and the tile?

the reason for caulking versus grout at the tub is that the grout will not dtick to the tub it is plastic and i'm not sure i've ever seen anything of a cemntitious nature stick to plastic:cool: