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How to Lay Mexican Saltillo Tile on a Concrete Slab

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how to lay mexican saltillo tile

Step 1: Prep the Concrete Subfloor

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Step 2: Dry Lay the Saltillo tile

Grout Joint Widths

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Step 3: Apply Thinset & Lay Saltilllo Tile

    Step 4. Grout Saltillo tile 

    Grout Color Selection

    Step 5. Clean Saltillo tiles

    Step 6. Topcoat Seal the Saltillo tile floor.

    Once your installation is complete, cleaned, and is _thoroughly _dried, you can apply the tile sealer’s topcoat.

    Learn more with our best advice about Spanish tile.

    A Few Final Tips

    •  Check out Why You Should Buy & Install only Sealed Saltillo Tile.
    • Do not soak pre-sealed Saltillo tile before installation. Just don’t. Ever.
    • If you are installing unsealed Saltillo tile, you can soak these before installation or apply several coats of Saltillo tile sealer before installation. It’s better to seal the tiles than to soak the tiles.
    • Do not dry stack Saltillo tile in installation.
    • Do not skip the crack isolation membrane step. No one wants to repair hairline cracks in a tile floor because slab cracks were left untreated.
    • We strongly recommend applying a waterproofing membrane across the full surface area of a slab in an outdoor tile installation.  This will reduce the possibilities for efflorescence & ongoing maintenance.

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    2 thoughts on “How to Lay Saltillo Tile on a Concrete Slab”

    1. I have some questions about replacement of a few mexican 12x12tiles that are 30 years old. Could you send me your email address so I can send you pictures to see if tiles you have will match?

      John Giacomazzi

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