Tile

Using Glass Tile as an Accent

Glass! Awesome! (I like glass tile…) It is, however, fairly spendy. It is also a highly specialized installation when used for the whole installation. You need to understand the type of glass (there are three different manufacturing processes), acceptable processes, proper installation procedures and what type of glass can be used where. It’s a lot. [...]

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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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Magnetic Access Panels in Tile Installations

See that tub right there? Find the access panel. It’s there. Really. When you tile around a jacuzzi or heated tub you need to have an access panel in order to work on the motor or heater or fix any problems that may suddenly appear with your brand new fancy-pants uppity bathtub. You also need [...]

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How to Drill a Hole in Tile

Make a hole!!! Ummm, sorry, had a little flashback there for a second. Where was I? Oh yeah, drilling a hole in a tile. When you tile your shower wall you will usually have at least one or two holes that need to be taken out of your tile. This is often a huge pain [...]

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Tile and Stone Types – Honed, Rectified, Gauged

We, meaning us evil, scheming people in the tile industry, have a bad habit of using words that are not easily understood or recognized by the general public – and that’s a bad thing. Well, I think it’s a bad thing anyway, since the general public are the ones buying the tile – Hello, McFly??? [...]

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How to Build a Niche for your Shower – Part 3

Installing the tile So now that you have a big waterproofed hole in your shower wall whaddya gonna do with it? (If you do not have a waterproof hole in your wall start with Building a Shower Niche Part 1 and Building a Shower Niche Part 2.) I’ll just kick back and finish my beer [...]

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Does my Floor have to be Level to Install Tile?

Before installing tile on your floor you must make sure your floor is properly prepared.  A properly prepared floor does not have to be level. It must, however, be flat. The only time the levelness (is that a word?) must be taken into consideration is when drainage is an issue, such as on a porch [...]

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How Large Should Grout Lines Be?

The size of grout lines for tile is something that comes up on almost every tile installation. The secret no professional will tell you is there is really no set or absolute proper size for your grout lines. There are some guidelines that need to be followed but the actual size is more of a [...]

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Using the Correct Type of Grout

There are three basic types of grout available for your tile installation. They are: Non-Sanded (also known as Unsanded) Sanded Epoxy Choosing the correct grout for your particular installation will not only complete the job correctly, it will also cut down on maintenance. Properly installed and sealed grout will last for the life of your [...]

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Which Tile to Choose

Which tile to choose depends mostly upon where you plan to install it and, of course, whether or not is has the look you want for that specific application.For the former I will explain several things to take into consideration. The latter is entirely up to you (unless you’re the husband, in which case it’s [...]

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How to Re-grout your Tile for about $25

If you are unable to clean your grout discoloration or staining to your satisfaction, the next thing to do is re-grout your tile. Don’t panic! Re-grouting your tile is not as difficult as you may think, although it does require some work. The first thing you have to do is remove all the old grout. [...]

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Tile is NOT Waterproof

A common misconception about tile and grout is that they are waterproof. Once you install tile in your shower you have a big waterproof box that will last forever. Ummm, no. Tile and stone (as well as grout) will actually retain water. How much water it retains is directly related to the density of the [...]

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