durability

Tile and Stone Sealers (Part 2)

Proper Expectations and Applications In Tile and Stone Sealers Part 1 I explained how sealers work. If you haven’t yet read that please do so. It will give you a base understanding of how they get into your tile and what they protect against. It will help you understand what you’re looking for and also [...]

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Modified Thinset – A Brief History

What is the difference between modified and unmodified thinsets? Which unmodified thinset is better? What makes a modified thinset modified? Why do you drink so much beer? These are questions I get asked a lot, along with ‘why is my dog on fire’ (because you used the incorrect product for a specific installation). Unmodified thinset [...]

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Shower Tile Basics or Shower Tile 101

I get a LOT of questions from my readers about basic shower construction. I understand that my readers don’t consider this stuff basic and there’s no problem with that. The problem is that I end up answering the same questions over and over and over… So, to save what very little is left of my [...]

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Effects of Improper Ditra Installation

I am not writing this to tell you why your tile is cracking or why your grout is cracking – I have other posts that may tell you that. (Click on the pretty little links ) If you happen to have Schluter Ditra as your substrate, this post will tell you why either one of [...]

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How to install a control joint in a tile installation

In my previous post I beat you to death with the reasons why you absolutely need a soft joint (control joint) in certain tile installations. Sorry about that, I have a hard time expressing how important they are without being a dick. They”re important – really. So now that I’ve properly reprimanded you it’s time [...]

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The Importance of a Properly Installed Backerboards

I know there are some people out there (not my regular readers like you!) that read what I write and think to themselves ‘okay, but I’m sure that won’t happen with my installation’. So periodically I’m gonna post things like this that show exactly what happens when things aren’t built correctly. And yes, it will [...]

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Can You Install Floor Tiles on a Wall?

Yup. End of post. Fine, I’ll elaborate . . . To understand this you should understand what designates a particular tile as a ‘floor’ tile. A couple of different things determine this including the PEI Rating and Static Coefficient of Friction (that’s just fancy ass talk for how slippery a tile’s surface is).

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Determining the Surface Durability of a Tile

When picking out your tile how do you make sure that the surface is durable enough to last in that particular area? Well, being a hands-on kinda guy I use to walk into the tile shop with a belt sander and test it. If the sandpaper wore out before the surface of the tile we [...]

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