A newly tiled floor in a fresh room never fails to make me giddy. We’re absolutely smitten with our new laundry room flooring, and the process—especially the cutting and fitting—was satisfying from start to finish. Here’s a clear walkthrough of our laundry room tile installation, from subfloor prep through grouting and sealing.

Before laying tile, the subfloor needed cement board to provide a stable, tile-ready surface. Cement board comes in large sheets; in this room I fit two full pieces plus additional strips. I cut the boards by scoring with a utility knife and snapping them along the score line—fast and clean.

With all the cement board pieces dry-fit, I adhered them to the wood subfloor using thinset. A thinset layer prevents movement and flex between the cement board and the subfloor, giving a rigid base for the tile. I used the same thinset I planned to use for the tile, mixed with water according to the bag instructions and blended with a drill and mixing paddle.

I spread thinset with a 1/4″ notched trowel: coat the surface with the flat edge, then comb grooves with the notched side. I pressed each board firmly into the thinset and left an approximately 1/8″ gap between the boards and the wall.

To secure the cement board during drying and long-term use, I fastened the edges with cement board screws about every 6–10 inches and added screws in the field about every 12–16 inches. Instead of fully mudding seams immediately, I applied mesh tape to the seams and planned to embed thinset during the tile installation. That approach helped avoid ridge buildup at seams or screw heads.

Next came the dry-fit of porcelain tiles to plan the brick-pattern layout. We initially centered the pattern but found it would leave very thin tile slivers at the walls, so we shifted the layout slightly to the left. This allowed full tiles on one side and larger cuts on the other, which will ultimately be mostly hidden by cabinetry and the door swing. Dry-fitting and adjusting the pattern helped ensure the best visual flow for the veining and movement in the tiles.

Tile cutting became much easier once we upgraded to a full-size wet saw. After years of using a small tabletop saw, the larger saw with a stand, rolling tray, water pan, and laser made straighter, faster cuts and significantly reduced fatigue. The rolling tray in particular made feeding tiles through the blade simple and consistent.

We sorted tiles before installation to place the best pieces in the most visible spots. With veined porcelain tile it’s worth taking a few minutes to pick favorites for focal areas and reserve less desirable pieces for behind appliances.

Basic supplies used for laying tile included:

• Bucket for mixing thinset
• Drill mixing paddle
• Margin trowel for scooping thinset
• 1/4″ notched trowel for spreading thinset
• Square and pencil for marking cuts
• 1/16″ spacers for consistent grout joints

I intentionally mixed the thinset a bit looser than my usual preference—closer to a pancake-batter consistency—to ensure good coverage. I worked two rows at a time, cutting as I went, and used a long level often to keep the tile flat and even. The straightforward cuts at row ends were simple: hold up a full tile, mark, and slice with the wet saw.

Once I started placing tile, it took less than two hours to get the field laid. I left the tile to set and waited roughly a day and a half before removing spacers. I kept a painters tape protection around the dryer plug while grouting to prevent grout from getting into the outlet area.

We aimed for a near seamless transition to the adjoining hardwood. That required routing the hardwood a bit into the doorway so the finished heights would match. Fortunately, the careful subfloor planning paid off and the tile and hardwood are exactly flush at the threshold—no added transition piece needed.

After 48 hours for thinset cure, we grouted. For grout we used a non-sanded grout suitable for joints under 1/8″ in a color called Dolorean Gray. Tools for grouting included a small mixing bucket, margin trowel, grout float, sponge, and water.

Grouting large tiles goes quickly—use the float to force grout into joints, then scrape at an angle to remove excess. I was careful with water: keeping the sponge only slightly damp helps avoid washing out the grout color. After initial sponge passes the haze can remain. Letting the grout set about 90 minutes and then buffing with a dry microfiber cloth removed most of the haze.

We allowed the grout to cure for three days, then used a grout haze remover in spots that still looked cloudy. After rinsing and allowing the floor to dry for about 12 hours, we applied a penetrating sealer to the tile and grout to protect against stains. Wiping on sealer with a sponge and removing excess is quick and makes a big difference in final appearance and durability.

Cost summary for this laundry room tile project:

• Cement board & screws: $48
• Blast Anthracite 12 x 24″ porcelain tiles: $353
• Thinset: $29
• Grout (Dolorean Gray): $13
• Buckets, sponges, trowels, spacers, float: $8 (we already had most tools; estimate $25 if you need to buy)
• Haze remover and penetrating sealer: we had leftovers (retail ~$9 and ~$13 respectively)
• TOTAL: $451

That breaks down to roughly $350 for tile and $100 for supplies. We excluded the wet saw purchase since it’s a tool for ongoing projects rather than a single-room expense, but upgrading from an inexpensive saw made a noticeable difference in speed and quality.

With the floor finished, we can start installing cabinets and bringing appliances back into the space. We’ll hang upper cabinets before moving in the washer and dryer to avoid dropping anything on costly appliances. After everything’s installed, we’ll be back to washing at home—finally—and enjoying a practical, beautiful laundry room floor that should last for years.