When you’re purchasing the tile, buy an extra package of tiles in case some get damaged while you’re hanging them. For instance, if the wall is 10 by 12 feet (3. 0 by 3. 7 m), it is 120 square feet (11 m2). Then, if each box of tile has 10 square feet (0. 93 m2) of tile, divide 120 by 10 to find that you need 12 boxes to cover the wall exactly. Then, you should add an additional box to account for potentially damaged tiles. Since the grout doesn’t take up much space between the tiles, and your tiles likely won’t fit in the space perfectly, you don’t need to account for it in your calculations.

It’s easiest to start removing tile from a corner or from the top of the wall so you can place the chisel directly on the grout, which tends to be weaker than the tile. Be careful while you’re removing the tile. It’s easy to accidentally make a crack or hole in the drywall if you’re not holding the chisel at a 45 degree angle while you work.

For cracks and holes larger than 4–5 inches (10–13 cm), you may need to patch them with drywall. If you’ve never hung drywall, ask a professional for a quote to see how much it will cost to fix that area. If the wall doesn’t have tile, it is probably painted or wallpapered. You can use the same method for repairing the drywall without removing the paint or wallpaper.

If you’re sanding a large area, it might be easier to use an electric sander.

If you’re working on a very large wall, you may need to replace the water after a few passes of the sponge to ensure that the water is clean and the sponge is picking up the dust.

The sealer prevents the water from seeping into the grout and the wall boards, which can cause rotting.

This is one of the easiest patterns to create, but it can look busy if the room is already full of designs and colors.

Overall, the appearance is that each tile is offset slightly but creates a staggered line. This is the pattern used for laying bricks and the popular “subway tile” pattern.

This pattern can have a stunning effect when done in large scales because it looks so natural and clean. If you’re using tiles with one color, this is a great choice for making a bold statement.

Consider shifting your pattern slightly if you need to trim any of the pieces to be smaller than 2 inches (5. 1 cm) wide. It will likely be too difficult to cut these accurately with a wet saw or nippers.

You may need to move the trowel over the adhesive a few times to ensure that it’s thin and level. Pre-mixed adhesive tends to be less expensive and work well for wall tiling. If you purchased a powder adhesive, mix it according to the directions until it’s the consistency of peanut butter.

Check the packaging of the adhesive to make sure you’re using the right sized notches for the tiles to stick to the adhesive. Most trowels will have 2 sets of notches that are different sizes.

Remember to work in small sections at a time, only applying the adhesive where you’re tiling. You may need to wipe off adhesive that oozes out from between the tiles with a damp cloth.

Some tiles have built-in spacers. Be sure to check yours before you buy spacers.

For large tiles, you may need to rent a tile-cutting saw, also called a wet saw, from a local home and garden store. You can cut tiles smaller than 2 inches (5. 1 cm) with nippers, which are shears that are used for cutting small pieces of glass.

If your tiles fit perfectly in the space and you don’t need to cut any of them, you should still use this method to do the outer columns and the top and bottom rows. This prevents the adhesive from getting on other surfaces or the pre-layed tiles.

If you leave the spacers in the adhesive for too long, they can become stuck. Adhesive dries and sets quickly compared to grout, so you may only need to wait about an hour, depending on the brand of adhesive you used. If your tiles came with spacers on them, you should still be able to pull them out of the adhesive. However, some of the spacers are permanent and meant to be left on the wall and covered with grout. Check the packaging for the tile to see if you can remove them.

The grout will cover up the tiles completely, but don’t worry. You’ll wipe away the grout from the surface of the tiles once it begins to dry. It’s especially important to work in sections if you’re grouting a larger wall. This will prevent the grout from drying too much before you get the chance to wipe it off.

After you finish the first section, wait for the second timer to go off so you can wipe the grout off of that section as well. Try to work with only 2-3 sections at a time to prevent yourself from getting confused.

If you can still see a film of residue, apply a tile cleaning solution over the tile after letting it dry for an additional hour.

If you want to test that the sealer worked, put a drop of water on a sealed tile to see if the water beads up. If it does, the sealer worked! If not, make sure the sealer isn’t expired and apply another coat. Let it dry for an additional 6 hours before retesting. [20] X Research source