Write an article based on this "Mark the midpoint of the area to be tiled. Lay out the tile design. Mix your thin-set mortar. Apply the thin-set to a small area. Apply the first tiles. Place spacers. Check for level placement. Wipe excess thin-set as you go. Cut tiles around baseboards."
Whether you're tiling flooring or a backsplash, you want to mark the midpoint of the surface. This is to ensure that you're starting with the focal point of the room and that the tile feels symmetrical across. For flooring, you want to mark both the X and Y axis along the flooring in order to find the exact center of the room. Make chalk lines and double check the angles with a carpenter's angle. For a backsplash, you only need to find the horizontal middle, but mark this middle with a vertical chalk line down the wall. Use a carpenter's level to ensure the line is straight. With the floor prepped and the center marked, you can lay out the design of the tile. Start with the center gridline(s) and place additional tiles leaving the appropriate amount of room for the spacers, which will later be grout lines. For a backsplash, you will have to measure the exact space and lay the tiles out on the ground to match it since you cannot hold the tiles to the wall to check the design. For floor tiling, you can use the space you left for the grout to chalk in an entire grid for the project if you so choose. You will not be able to mix the thin-set for the entire project at once. Instead mix small batches in a five-gallon bucket. As you get going, you'll gain a pretty quick understanding of the pace you go and how much you use. Whatever you mix must be used within two hours. Regardless of whether you're installing floor or wall tiling, the thin-set should have the consistency of mashed potatoes when you mix it. Start with the area where you measured your initial chalk lines and spread enough thin-set to place two or three tiles to start. Use the edge of a V-notched trowel at roughly a 45-degree angle to spread the thin-set. You want to have an evenly, thinly covered space before putting down a tile. You want to actually scrape the trowel along the surface slightly to achieve the even spread. There will be slight furrows in the thin-set from the notches in the edge of the trowel. They are supposed to be there as they help air escape as the mortar sets. Place the first tile flush with your chalk centerline(s). For a backsplash, the process is easiest to do in rows. For a flooring job, it's easiest to start at one of the 90-degree angles in the center lines and work in quadrants based on those lines. As you place the tiles, make sure you're putting spacers between each to help keep consistent lines for grouting later. Every two or three tiles, use a carpenter's level to ensure flat, even placement of the tiles. If you want to take extra precautions to maintain the level surface, you can also purchase a leveling system, which consists of threaded pegs that go between the spacers and knobs that you can gently tighten down against the tops of the tiles to help perfectly level them and hold them in place. Don't worry if any thin-set ends up on the top surface of a tile as you trowel it. You can use a damp sponge to wipe it away. As you work toward the edges of your surface, you will likely have to cut some of the tiles to fit them. Take the exact measurement to which you need to cut the tile accounting for any spacers and transfer the measurement to the tile with a pencil. Then use a wet saw to make the cuts. If you are unfamiliar with how to use a wet saw, then you can find more at Use a Tile Saw. Since the saws aren't cheap, you will probably prefer to rent one from a hardware store for your project. For dealing with placing tiles around electrical outlets, you can find more information at Tile Around Outlets.