How to Tile a Small Entryway

Examine the entryway slab for high spots, depressions, cracks, and other defects. Work in sections with a 4-foot level and mark the defects. Fill depressions, level high spots, and roughen slick surfaces.

If your entry has wood subflooring, shore up the joists and the subfloor, if necessary, and prepare the surface with the same methods used for a slab. Mix enough thinset to allow you to use it within its working time (the time it takes to "skin" over) and trowel it on the floor, smoothing first with the straight edge of a trowel and combing it with the notched edge.

Screw down cement backerboard with the edges centered on the joists, offsetting subsequent joints and spacing the edges 1/8 inch apart. Drive screws into the backerboard on the edges and within the field. Tape the backerboard joints with 2-inch pregummed tape and spread a thin coat of thinset over the tape.

Bandage each crack in the slab with an isolation membrane. Apply the adhesive with a roller, let it cure (follow the manufacturer's directions), and cover the adhesive with the membrane.

Dry-lay tiles to test your layout, keeping small cut tiles to a minimum. Then use a chalk line to snap a reference and as many layout lines as the pattern needs. Starting at the first row of field tile near the door, trowel on thinset in a smooth and even manner. 

Set field tile first on the layout lines. You will do edge tile last. Insert spacers in-between each tile as you go and check the sections with a straightedge to make certain they're straight. If they're not, adjust as needed before thinset dries. Clean excess mortar from the joints with a utility knife as you go. 

When the mortar under the field tiles is dry, it's time to lay the edge tile. Mark and cut the tile as needed. Round the cut edges with a masonry stone to give them a finished appearance that blends into the full tile. Spread mortar and lay tile, using spacers as you go. When you're finished laying the edges, clean the joints and caulk the joint at the wall. Use your finger to smooth the caulk as it dries. 

Tile floors expand and contract with changes in temperature. Expansion joints cushion the expansion of tile against the wall and keep the tile from cracking. An expansion joint is a gap filled with a compressible material and topped off with caulk. Foam backer rod is available in a variety of thicknesses. Purchase backer rod that fits snugly.

On a slab, insert foam backer rod into any control joints in the field of the slab and also along the perimeter at the wall. Push the backer rod into place with a wide putty knife. On a wood subfloor, insert the backer rod into the 1/4-inch gap between the cement backerboard and the wall. Finish the joint with caulk colored to match the grout.

Let the edge tiles cure before you grout. Force grout into the joint with a grout float, let it set slightly, then scrape the excess off the surface. Be sure to use the tool suggested by the manufacturer so as to not scratch the new tile. Clean the grout from the surface, and wipe off the haze with rags. Let dry. 

If the threshold didn't require installation before the tile, install it now. Cut the threshold to fit the doorway, if necessary, and install it with fasteners recommended by the manufacturer.