- 1). Sand the whole floor with your belt sander to take the shine off the vinyl. Vacuum up the dust.
- 2). Spread carpenter's glue all over the back of a piece of cement board. Set the board in place in one corner of the floor. Sink 1 1/2 inch galvanized screws about every square foot through the surface of the board and into the subfloor, using your screw gun. Lay the rest of the cement boards in the same manner, setting them end to end and staggering them from row to row. Cut the end pieces with your jig saw as necessary.
- 3). Roll mesh drywall tape out over the seams between the cement boards. Spread thin set mortar over the mesh tape with the flat side of the trowel, making it smooth. Let it dry overnight.
- 4). Snap a chalk snap line over the middle of the floor, from the middle of one wall to the middle of the wall across from it. Stretch snap line in the opposition direction (between the two other walls) to intersect the first line. Square the string to the previous line using a carpenter's square, then snap the line.
- 5). Lay thin set mortar over the intersection of the two lines with your notched trowel, covering a few square feet. Set your first floor tiles into place at the intersection, along the lines. Put spacers between them.
- 6). Install the rest of the tiles, spreading more mortar and building out toward the walls. Put spacers between all of them. Cut the tiles by the walls with your tile cutter as needed. Let the tiles dry overnight.
- 7). Remove the spacers. Spread grout over the floor with your grout float, squeezing it into the joints between the tiles while scraping it off the tile face. Use a damp sponge to wipe off the excess. Let it set for three to four days.
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