Floor renovation step by step: the order of work and a shopping checklist
By Michał Białas · Last updated
Work from the bottom up: remove the old floor, fix the subfloor, prime, level or screed, wait for it to dry, waterproof wet areas, lay the finish, grout, and fit the trim last. Buy materials in the same order, and plan the waiting times — a screed can take weeks to dry, and that usually decides the schedule.
The order of work
- Plan and measure. Measure the room, decide the finish, check the door heights and how the new floor will meet the floors next to it (how to measure a room).
- Remove the old floor, baseboards and transitions. Check what is underneath.
- Assess the subfloor. Check flatness and level (how to check if a floor is level), look for cracks, damp and loose areas, and fix the structure if a wood floor bounces.
- Install heating pipes, insulation and edge strip if you are adding radiant heat or a floating screed.
- Prime the slab where the next layer requires it.
- Screed or level. Screed for thick layers and slopes, self-leveler for thin ones (screed vs. self-leveling compound).
- Dry and test. Wait out the drying time, run the heat-up schedule on heated floors, and test moisture.
- Waterproof bathrooms and showers (waterproofing a bathroom floor).
- Lay the finish. Tile with thinset, or underlayment and planks.
- Grout and seal tile; use flexible sealant at walls and corners.
- Fit trim: baseboards, corners, transitions (estimating trim).
Waiting times that set the schedule
| Step | Typical wait | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primer | About 1 hour to a few hours | Lay the next layer within the window on the label |
| Self-leveler | Walkable after about 24 hours | Ready for tile often within a day or two |
| Sand-cement screed, 2 in (50 mm) | About 60 days | Rule of thumb; test moisture |
| Fast-drying screed | About 1 week | Per product |
| Liquid membrane | Hours between coats; about a day before tiling | Per product |
| Thinset before grouting | About 24 hours | Rapid-setting products: a few hours |
| Grout before light foot traffic | About 24 hours | Full strength after about a week |
All values are typical; the product data sheets decide. See screed drying time for why thick screeds take so long.
Example shopping lists
Here are two complete lists from the floor renovation calculator, one per unit system: a room with a 2 in (50 mm) unbonded sand-cement screed and tile on top.
Example 1 (feet): 12 × 10 ft kitchen, 2 in screed, 12 × 24 in tile, one 32 in door
- Preparation: poly separating sheet, 138 sq ft → one 250 sq ft roll.
- Screed: 2,581 lb of sand mix → 33 bags of 80 lb.
- Tile: 66 tiles → 9 boxes of 8 (144 sq ft).
- Thinset: 162 lb → 4 bags of 50 lb (1/2 in notch, back-buttered).
- Grout: 3.4 lb → one 10 lb bag. Leveling clips: 264 → 3 bags of 100, plus 2 sets of wedges.
- Trim: baseboard 45.5 ft → six 8 ft pieces; 2 tubes of adhesive; one 3 ft transition; one 8 ft tile edge trim.
Example 2 (meters): 4.0 × 3.0 m kitchen, 50 mm screed, 600 × 600 mm tile, one 0.8 m door
- Preparation: PE separating membrane 13.8 m² → one 25 m² roll.
- Screed: 1,260 kg → 51 bags of 25 kg.
- Tile: 37 tiles → 10 boxes of 4 (14.40 m²).
- Thinset: 52.8 kg → 3 bags of 25 kg (10 mm notch).
- Grout: 1.47 kg → one 2 kg bag. Leveling clips: 148 → 2 bags of 100, one set of wedges.
- Trim: skirting 14.52 m → seven 2.4 m boards; 2 tubes of adhesive; one 0.9 m transition; one 2.5 m tile edge trim.
Both lists also show a tip to add a thin self-leveler layer on the screed under large tile, and a suggestion to prime before tiling. Switch them on under the screed card and Extras if you want them on the list.
Shopping checklist
- Preparation: primer, separating membrane or vapor barrier, edge strip, waterproofing membrane, sealing tape, corners and collars.
- Leveling: screed (bags, or cement and sand, or ready-mix), self-leveler, fibers if specified.
- Finish: tile (plus a spare box from the same batch) or planks with underlayment.
- Fixing: thinset or flooring adhesive, grout, spacers or leveling clips and wedges.
- Trim: baseboard, corners and end caps, adhesive or clips, transitions, tile edge trim, flexible sealant.
- Tools: mixing paddle and buckets, notched trowel, spiked roller for leveler, screed rails and straightedge, laser level, tile cutter or wet saw, tapping block and pull bar, miter saw.
Mistakes that cost the most
| Mistake | Cost |
|---|---|
| Laying the finish on a wet screed | Loose tile, swollen planks, a second renovation |
| Skipping the flatness check | Hollow tiles, broken click joints |
| Ordering tile batch by batch | Shade differences across the floor |
| No waterproofing in the bathroom | Water damage under the floor |
| Forgetting door heights | Doors that scrape the new floor and need trimming |
Frequently asked questions
Should I paint before or after the new floor?
Usually before, so drips don’t land on the new floor, with a final touch-up after the baseboard is fitted.
Can I lay the floor before the kitchen cabinets?
Tile often goes under cabinets; floating floors usually stop at them, because heavy cabinets would pin the floor. Decide before you order.
How long does a whole floor renovation take?
With self-leveler only, a room can be done in a few days. With a new sand-cement screed, the drying time adds weeks, often more than everything else combined.
Do I buy everything at once?
Buy the screed and leveling materials first, then the finish once you know the drying date, but order tile early enough to get one batch for the whole floor.