Instantly Upgrade Your Home: An Easy Guide to Installing Tile Baseboard

Installing tile baseboard is an easy way to protect your walls from wet vacuums and mops and to enhance the look of any room. The steps may look intimidating, but with a little know-how, you can have your tile baseboard professionally installed in no time.

Before beginning, use a measuring tape to determine the desired height that you want your new baseboard to be and mark it or have it marked for you by a professional. Then, it’s time to cut the tiles for your baseboard using a tile saw. When completed, you should have two tile baseboards for each tile you will install.

Now it’s time to clean the walls. Get your feather duster or brush out and get rid of any debris, like dust, grout, or thinset, that is already present on the walls. Then, vacuum to make sure the walls are properly prepped for the tiles. This will ensure the tiles are installed properly and securely.

Next, spread the acrylic mastic on the bottom part of the walls and put the tile spacers between the tiles and baseboards, and make sure they line up evenly with the floor tiles. Spread the acrylic mastic with a v-notch trowel, making sure you do not spread too far ahead or you may have to refit it or have it re-cut. Allow the acrylic mastic and the tiles to set for at least 24 hours before proceeding with the next section.

Once the mastic and tiles are properly affixed, mix the grout together until it is the same consistency of peanut butter and spread it on the grout lines using a grout trowel. You may have to force it in some cases. Wipe off any excess grout from the tiles with a damp sponge and allow the grout to set for at least 72 hours.

The last, important step is to apply two to three layers of grout sealer, which will protect the grout and keep it from cracking. After this step is complete, all the work has been done and you can now step back and admire your professionally installed tile baseboard.