How To Tile Your Bathroom

How do you tile a bathroom yourself?

Tiling can be a costly exercise. With the Selleys White For Life range and a methodical approach it is a job you can do yourself, at a fraction of the cost, and get a result you will be proud of.

The sequence is: mix the adhesive, spread about a square metre at a time with a notched trowel, bed each tile before the adhesive skins, level them, clean the excess off within 20 minutes, and keep off the floor for at least 24 hours. Grouting and sealing come afterwards, as separate stages with their own waiting periods.

What you will need

• Selleys White For Life Powder Tile Adhesive
• A bucket and a paddle mixing bit
• A notched trowel
• Tile spacers
• A rubber mallet
• A blade or knife
• A silicone scraper or spatula
• A soft clean cloth and a sponge

For small tiling jobs and repairs, Selleys White For Life Ready To Use Tile Adhesive removes the mixing stage — it is a high grab wall and floor tile adhesive supplied ready mixed.

Before you start — planning

Order extra. Add an extra 10% for waste and cuts, or 15% if you are laying diagonally. Diagonal layouts generate far more offcuts, and running out of tile mid-job with a discontinued batch is the worst outcome in the whole project.

Dry lay first. Always dry lay your tiles without adhesive before tiling, to work out your placement. It is the best way to avoid mistakes and to confirm you have the right number of tiles, and which ones need cutting, before anything is permanently glued.

Pre-cut where you can. Pre-cut the tiles where required, and make sure you cut each one smaller than the space to allow for even grout joints. A tile cut to exactly fill the gap leaves no joint, and a joint is not decorative — it is what absorbs movement and dimensional variation between tiles.

Step 1 — Mix the adhesive

Add water to the bucket, then slowly add the White For Life Powder Tile Adhesive powder while mixing with a paddle, ensuring there are no lumps. The ratio is 600 mL of water to a 2 kg powder bag. A paddle attached to a drill makes mixing easier and faster.

Allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes before use.

Powder into water, not water into powder — that is what prevents dry lumps forming in the middle of the mix. The five minute stand lets the powder wet out fully, and mixing again after it gives a smoother, more consistent adhesive.

Step 2 — Spread the adhesive

Spread the adhesive evenly onto the surface using a notched trowel, working on about one square metre at a time.

One square metre is not arbitrary — it is roughly the area you can cover and tile before the adhesive begins to skin. Spread more than that and the far edge will have formed a surface skin by the time you reach it, and tiles bedded onto a skinned adhesive do not bond.

Do not use the spot fixing method. Dabs of adhesive under the corners of a tile leave voids behind it. In a wet area those voids fill with water, and the tile is only supported at four points. Full notched coverage is the method.

Step 3 — Bed each tile

Place and fix each tile in position before the adhesive forms a surface skin. Adjust and bed the tile by sliding it roughly perpendicular to the notch pattern, to ensure full coverage on the back of the tile.

That sliding action is the whole technique. The notched ridges have to collapse and spread into a continuous bed. Sliding along the ridges leaves them standing; sliding across them flattens them out.

Some larger or deeply keyed tiles will also need buttering — adhesive applied to the back of the tile as well — to ensure full coverage. Use spacers to keep the grout joints even.

Step 4 — Level the tiles

Check that the tiles are level and use a rubber mallet to tap and level them lightly if required.

If the mortar rises up between the tiles as you place them, the bed is too thick and you need a smaller trowel. Adhesive squeezing into the joints is not a sign of good coverage — it is a sign the notch size is wrong for the tile, and it makes grouting far harder later because the joints have to be raked out.

Step 5 — Clean off the excess

Remove excess adhesive from the face of the tiles and from the joints with a damp cloth or sponge, before the adhesive sets (20 minutes).

Twenty minutes is the entire window. Adhesive left on a tile face past that has to be removed mechanically, and doing that on a glazed tile risks the glaze. Clean each square metre as you finish it rather than at the end of the day.

Step 6 — Leave it alone for 24 hours

Once the tiles have been laid, they must not be disturbed and must not be subjected to foot traffic for at least 24 hours.

This is the step people compress and it costs them tiles. An adhesive bed that has taken a footfall before it has set does not recover — the tile sits fractionally proud or drummy, and it will come loose eventually.

Where to start on a floor

When tiling a floor, it is recommended to start from a central point and work your way out to each corner, one at a time. Starting centrally puts the cut tiles at the perimeter where they read as intentional, and keeps any accumulated error out of the middle of the room where the eye goes.

Plan your exit as part of the layout, so you are not tiling yourself into a corner.

What comes next

Tiling is the first of three stages, each with its own waiting period. Do not compress them:

1. Tile — then leave 24 hours with no foot traffic.
2. Grout — mix, work into the joints, let firm up 10–15 minutes, sponge off, buff after 24 hours, then leave a further 3 days before exposing the grout to water in a shower.
3. Seal the grout — two coats of White For Life Grout Sealer, one hour penetration each, at least 24 hours before water, and re-seal every 12 months.

For ongoing maintenance afterwards, Selleys White For Life Tile & Grout Cleaner removes dirt and stains from tiles and grout.

Common questions about tiling a bathroom

How much water do I add to the adhesive?

600 mL of water to a 2 kg powder bag, added powder-into-water while mixing, then left to stand 5 minutes.

How much adhesive should I spread at once?

About one square metre — as much as you can tile before the adhesive skins.

How many extra tiles should I buy?

An extra 10% for waste and cuts, or 15% if laying diagonally.

Why do I have to slide the tile when I place it?

Sliding roughly perpendicular to the notch pattern collapses the ridges into a continuous bed and ensures full coverage on the back of the tile.

Can I just put dabs of adhesive on the corners?

No. The guide is explicit: do not use the spot fixing method.

Adhesive is squeezing up between my tiles. What is wrong?

The bed is too thick — use a smaller trowel.

How long before I can walk on the floor?

At least 24 hours, and the tiles must not be disturbed during that time.

How long do I have to clean adhesive off the tile faces?

20 minutes, before the adhesive sets, using a damp cloth or sponge.

Should I cut tiles to exactly fill the gap?

No — cut them smaller than the space, so there is room for an even grout joint.

Where do I start on a floor?

From a central point, working out to each corner one at a time.

When can I grout?

After the tiles have been left undisturbed for at least 24 hours. See 6 steps to grouting tiles.