You can now purchase Tile Tips all at once rather than waiting over six months for them! Just scroll down below the form and get it all now!
Over the past seventeen (almost eighteen it’s over twenty now! – damn I’m gettin’ old) years in the tile trade I have learned a couple of things:
1) People sometimes do not appreciate my sense of humor
2) I oftentimes think I’m funnier than I actually am
3) I sometimes end sentences with inappropriate auxiliary verbs (see above) or start them with a conjunction (see below)
4) And I’ve learned a thing or two about tile
Since the first three on the list are highly unlikely to change or help you I’d like to concentrate on the last – Tile Tips. Since you’re reading this I’m assuming one of two things: either you are interested in learning about tile or you enjoy really bad humor.
You’re in luck! I making both available in one little handy email format. Just sign up below with your name and email and whenever I sober up about twice a week you will receive a handy little tip, trick, or secret about tile installation. I’ll wrap these little tidbits up in really bad humor and shoot them right to your email so you can start your day off with either a chuckle and a helpful tip or one more person to hate.
These things help speed up your installation, make the installation easier and less stressful and help put professional touches on all the little things you may overlook. Things like how to eliminate grout haze, how to get dead-level and flat walls and how to eliminate hollow spots beneath your tile. I also include all the really important stuff that drives me absolutely insane(r) like how to keep your 5 gallon buckets from sticking together and how not to electrocute yourself with a drill while using your hole saw. Fun for the whole family!
This isn’t just for the DIY’ers out there, either. If you are a professional tile contractor it would absolutely benefit you to learn some of these little tricks that you may have just never run across. It’ll help keep your customers happy – that’s what we want, right? You can sign up too, I won’t give you any shit. Well, I might…
So how much is all this delicious jackassery?
It’s free. ‘Cause I’m just super-cool like that. 
Unless you want to buy them in the form of an ebook, if so just scroll down below the form. These will only be sent out once – not recycled like spam (the unwanted email – not the delicious breakfast pseudo-meat) so get yours now before I sober up long enough take enough time off work to make an ebook out of them and actually start charging people for stuff. Which I will do. Seriously. Get it now while it’s free.
I WANT IT NOW!!!
If you would prefer to simply purchase an ebook with 50 tile tips in it you’re in luck! You can do that now. Rather than waiting over six months for all this useless information you can now purchase all this useless information at once!
You can receive an immediate download link for a 90 page ebook in pdf format with 50 Tile Tips in it. You can get the same tips free, but they will be delivered to your email over the course of 6 months.
Entirely your choice.
Anyone who regularly reads my blog, my facebook, my twitter, or any of the other hundred places I’m lurking online, knows that I am an adamant supporter of Homes For Our Troops. So this is your chance to help out as well…
You can get all these tips for free – however, for every TileTips ebook purchased I will donate a portion of the sale to Homes For Our Troops!
Read all the details and go get it right here: Tile Tips of the Rich and Famous
Hi Roger,
I dry-fitted the Hardibacker for my floor today and plan to apply the thinset beneath it and screw it in tomorrow. Do I need to wait a day before I tape and mud the seams to let the thinset dry or can I tape and mud the same day?
Hi Eric,
You can tape and mud the same day if you want.
Thanks for the quick reply! Now I have two other questions: when laying 18×18 tile on the floor, can you use a trowel size less than 1/2″ – say 1/4″x3/8″? My other question is about sticking tile to the front of a step. I have one step and the riser is plywood. I want to put 4″x4″ porcelain tiles on the riser and was wondering which would provide better adhesion to the wood – mastic or thinset – and was wondering which you would recommend. I can’t put cement board on first as it would bring the riser out too far.
Thanks for your help.
You can use a 3/8″ x 3/8″, but the 1/4″ x 3/8″ may not leave enough thinset on your substrate. It may, it just depends on how flat it, and your tile, is. Nothing is going to stick to those risers long-term. If you paint the risers with something like hydroban or redgard you can go right over it with thinset and tile, but depending on where the steps are will dictate the durability of them.
Hi Roger,
I’ve finished laying the tile on the floor and there is one tile, in the middle of the room of course, that shifted a bit. The thinset is dry but the floor has not yet been grouted. I was wondering how difficult it would be to break out one tile and replace it without damaging the surrounding tiles, and what technique one would use to do it. I used a 1/2′ trowel over Hardi so they are stuck pretty well I’m sure. Not sure it is worth it but it is sure bugging me.
Hi Eric,
Take a hammer to the middle of that tile and pry out the pieces beginning from the center and work out.
Hi
I am having a glass/stone mosaic tile installed as a backsplash behind my bathroom vanity all the way to the ceiling. My question is how do I then install my mirror over the tile? Do we drill into the grout lines or remove a piece of the tile where the hanger will go? The mirror has two D ring hangers on back to hang with. Thanks Cheri Morgan
Hi Cheri,
You can drill into the grout lines, drill through the glass, or remove tiles where you need. Any of which will work just fine. I prefer drilling the grout lines when possible, it’s easier and if you ever change the mirror it’s easily fixed.
Hi Roger. My wife wants the tile in the kitchen removed and new tile put in. So I figured I would surprise her and do this job while she and my daughter were in Orgeon. The tile in there now is installed on hardibacker board. I tried to search for info on removing old tile & re-prepping the surface to re-tile, but didn’t find anything. I have tiled floors before, but never had to remove and prep a tile floor to lay more tile. Can you please give me some tips on how to proceed after removing the tile? (which I believe will be the most fun part of this procedure. I think I would rather just lay a floating wood floor over it…lol).
Any and all help that you can give with this would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks
Orlando
Hi Orlando,
The least expensive way is to use a hammer and crowbar, and I’ve done thousands of feet that way.
It sucks.
I bought a bosch bulldog which is essentially a mini-jackhammer. It’s one of the best tools I’ve ever purchased.
Roger, Getting ready to tile tub surround with Hardie backer and 12×24 tiles and wondering if I should use my 1/4×3/8×1/4 trowel or a 1/2″ trowel. Also, do I mud and tape seams with thinset or silicone the seams? Thanks!
Hey Dave,
Use the larger one. Silicone the gap in the corners, then tape and mud all your seams with thinset (including the corner ones over the silicone).
Roger, you’re killing me. I’m so confused.
When tiling a tub surround or a shower using Hardi and Redguard, I thought you were recommending tape and mud the corners now. So am I understanding correctly that I should silicone calk the corners and then tape and mud them?
Hi Linda,
You feel like I’m killing you because you are apparently applying the methods used by everyone who asks a question here to your particular installation project. Don’t do that.
Dave is not using redgard. You are. The methods are different. If using hardi with a barrier I silicone the gap in the corners before taping and mudding them. With redgard sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. When I do it is dependent on the size of the gap I’ve left there. I do not want excess thinset in the corner gap if my tile is bonded directly to the backer without any type of membrane between them. They are little nuances that differ slightly from method to method depending on the waterproofing. Not every nuance is needed with every waterproofing method.
You’re overthinking things and you’re gonna drive yourself nuts.
If you want to put silicone in the corners first – do it. It won’t hurt anything. But it isn’t REQUIRED. Most contractors don’t use silicone in the gaps with any methods, it’s mainly something I do and it’s not common to begin with.
Roger,
New to site. In planning phase of my project. Appreciated the information on this site.
Design: Shower is in corner of the room next to tub sitting in a deck. I want to continue the dect straight thru the shower, become thinner, curve and be a soft ‘L’ shaped bench. I want to use glass blocks I salvaged from a factory to make the two outside walls, no curb, no door.
Request: I want to run the plumbing for the shower on the inside of the full lenght glass block wall, exposed from floor up. Supported occassionally with out of mortar ties, if required. Do you have any experience with such an installation and any input be it positive or negative?
Should the doorless opening be so you walk into the shower with the shower head on the left or right but no the same wall nor opposite?
What kind of expansion is required for glass block walls where they meet the outside walls?
What are your suggestions for the glass block mortar? Can I grout over the mortar to match the tile grout if it is back enough?
Please and thank you.
Only comment for improvement of this site would be if the posts had date/time stamps on them.
Hey Keith,
I’ve never done nor seen anything that had the pipes exposed. If it’s the look you want I see nothing wrong with it so long as they are placed where they won’t be bumped into or exposed to any type of movement.
The shower head can be anywhere other than on the wall directly opposite the door opening.
You need 3/16″ to 1/4″.
I like mapei’s glass block mortar. You should be grouting the glass block as a separate step, you can do it any color you want.
Posts don’t have date stamps because the information is accurate whether it’s a week old or five years old. If and when anything changes I update anything that needs it.
Thanks for the response, I appreciate the ability to talk to a professional. Comment about the dates was only in reference to knowing if a thread was old or not, wasnt sure where to post a comment. I will ask more as the project progresses, right now I am thinking through designing my own linear drain…
Roger,
Here is my scenario. Hardibacker in the shower area. Redgard over it. We are using 9″x 12″ porcelain tile on the shower walls directly over the Redgard. What size notched trowel would a pro such as yourself use? Why? Should I backbutter these tiles too?
Thanks for you help
Hi Erik,
I normally use a 3/8 x 3/8 trowel for larger format tile. The correct choice, however, is whichever trowel gives you the required 90% coverage. All tile should be backbuttered.
Hi elf,
My question which I think you already answered
Is if I need to adjust tile height slightly, can I just add thin set mortar where I need to on back of tile?
all the info so far says the substrate needs to be perfectly flat before beginning to tile however I still
Have a 1/16 gap here and there,
I figure if I start
Tiling at the highest point then I can add extra mortar where it’s low. Does this
Make sense?
Hi Human,
Yes, that will work fine. Your substrate doesn’t HAVE to be flat, it just makes installation a hell of a lot easier because you don’t need to do what you need to do. KnowWhatIMean?
If it’s only 1/16″ or so just use a larger trowel, like a 3/8″, and begin wherever you want. The larger trowel will give you more thinset and, in turn, more room for adjustment where needed without needing to figure specific areas for more thinset.
Roger !
I’m currently remodeling my parents bathroom and just started tiling. I used dense shield drywall (has the cement facing and fiberglass backing). The place where I purchased it said that I could tile directly to it without filling the screw holes or anything. The manufacturer recommends filling the holes with some sort of silicone. I’m not worried in the rest of the bathroom, only the shower. My plan was to silicone the corner seams and then just tile the rest without filling the holes (just burning everything ). The shower is roughly 4’*4′ and 7′ tall. I used the dense shield on the ceiling as well. It will all be tiled with a glass door and vent right outside the door on the ceiling. I’m using 16’ ceramic tile and put a 5′ rubber mat / moisture block behind the dense shield.
nate –
16″ tile haha sorry…
Hi Nate,
I don’t see a question in there at all.
You’ve described what you’re doing well, so I’m assuming you’re asking if it’s correct or acceptable? If so – no, you need to cover the screw heads and seams with silicone. While it’s best to do that as you install it, you can simply fill the corners and seams with silicone and smooth it out, and place a dab of silicone over each screw head and smooth it out. If you do that you’ll be just fine.
I have no idea, however, what you mean by putting a 5′ rubber mat behind the densshield? What is that?
yeah I guess I didn’t clarify. I put a 5′ rubber lining behind the dense shield, just the one they sell at hd. My question meant to be what you would do with the screws and on the seams. Also, I’ve heard of people putting on waterprofing membranes over the dense shield…..I thought that was the purpose of that particular product. ie: They used dense shield and then put laticrete waterproffing membrane over it….Is that necessary ?
If you put the silicone on your seams and screw penetrations then no, it isn’t necessary.
Still unclear on the ‘rubber’ lining. Do you mean plastic? Or are you actually talking about the gray (maybe blue or red) thick rubber shower floor liner? If that’s what it is that really needs to be removed, it’s only for the floor pans, not the walls.
Rog,
Appreciate your help. One last question. What size of trowell would you suggest for the wall tile and ceiling for that matter? I’m using the 16″ ceramic tile with versabond fortified thinset. People have been telling me to use the same 1/2″ trowell I used for the floor. That seems like overkill to me. I was planning on using 1/4″ by 3/8″. Is that alright ? Also, any tricks you would recommend for the wall and ceiling install ?
nate’
I wouldn’t use the 1/2 on the walls, no reason for it. Your 1/4 x 3/8 is fine. Do your ceilings like this: Installing tile on a ceiling
Hi Roger,
How long should I wait after grouting to seal the grout? My 15 year old can of Aquamix sealer (not water based) says 48 hours but I thought I read 3 weeks somewhere. Also, is it okay to still use this 15 year old can of Sealers Choice?
Hey Linda,
I would go with the recommendation on the sealer container. The company doesn’t want their product to fail, they won’t give you false information.
However (!), I would NOT use a 15 year old bottle of sealer! Get some new stuff.
Roger,
I enjoy your site a lot. I spend the other day quite some time visiting your site. And if I remember correctly there was an entry about glass tile in a steam shower. You did not recommend that type of application. Today I’m tried to find it again without any luck. Could you please redirect me to that part again?
Thank you very much.
Hi Carlos,
Was it the answer to Marci’s question here: Different thickness of tile (second question)?
Love your website
I am going to install a kitchen backsplash. Do I have to use cement board?
Hi Ruth,
No, you can rough up the paint on the drywall and install directly to that.
I have a 4 year old bag of Superflex latex modified thinset mortar. The hardieboard is ready for the tile. Yes, for 4 years I have done nothing to finish the job but now I am feeling ready! So what are the risks and consequences if I use the 4 year old bag? Or do I pay another $60 for a fresh bag?
Thanks,
Carl
Hey Carl,
The absolute longest you should store an unopened bag of thinset is two years, and that’s normally pushing it. The thinset will actually absorb vapor from the air. You need to get fresh stuff.
hello just wondering for the bathroom ceiling, i want tile on the ceiling, do i install cementboard on the ceiling and what kind/. tx
Hi Linda,
If you don’t have a steam shower you can install backerboard up there or just go over the drywall. Vapor in a regular shower will not penetrate enough on a shower ceiling to do any damage. Backer, however, is a better option. I prefer hardibacker. The layered cement boards work better than the durock-type on ceilings in my opinion.
Hi Roger,
After grouting my kitchen floor I am ending up with a whitish residue/grout haze on the grout. This is the second time it has happened with this Bostik grout I am using (dark tan color), and it doesn’t happen when I use a lighter color grout. I think it is because I am letting my grout sit too long before I go back and wipe the grout lines (after I’m done grouting the floor). I’ve gone back a day or two later and scrubbed the lines with a tile brush and water, and this helps a little, but the grout still is much lighter in color than it should be and much lighter than the matching calk. There is also still this haze on certain parts. Any suggestion on what to do or what products to use to remove this? I’m also wondering how long, in general, you wait before going back over your grout lines with a sponge.
Thanks, Linda
Hi Linda,
Has nothing at all to do with waiting too long if the lighter color is on your grout lines rather than on the face of the tile. It’s efflorescence. It’s most commonly caused by using too much water when you wipe the grout – not wringing out the sponge enough. It should be almost dry, as much water as you can get out of the sponge. It is especially problematic if you have hard water. It is from the minerals in the water being left on the surface of the grout after the water evaporates.
Take a drywall sanding sponge and go over the grout lines very lightly, it should remove most of the efflorescence. And wring your sponge out more.
I wait about 15 – 20 minutes before wiping the grout.
Roger,
I agree with you that the problem seems to be efflorescence. However, the drywall sponge didn’t help. I was thinking about using the Bostik grout stain that is the same color as the grout (was suppose to be). I was wondering if you’ve ever used a product like this and your opinion on this idea. Some areas of the grout are lighter than others, though it sounds like the stain may cover this as well as seal the grout.
Thanks, Linda
The grout colorant will work fine. I’ve used them a couple of times – not for this reason, but they do work.
The local tile store is scaring me away from the grout stain, so in doing more research, I’ve found the 50/50 combo of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits as a way to darken grout. The Bostik website actually lists this as an option. Wondering your thoughts on this. If I go this route, should I use a solvent based grout sealer afterwards? And if so, how long after should I wait before applying the sealer?
Heard of it, never done it. Never would. Adding any type of oil or any foreign substance to grout that isn’t made specifically for that purpose compromises the grout. I have no idea what type of sealer you’d need after doing that, you should call Bostik and ask them that.
Roger,
I am an HVAC contractor trying to do my own home renovations. I have decided to relocate my laundry room to the second floor and wanted to ensure the most water protection I could in the event that the washer, or a hose failed. I installed a floor drain and beefed up an existing 5/8″ OSB subfloor with 1/4 ply that has been put down with PL and screwed every 4″. I then treated the ply with a bonding primer as recommended by my local Home Depot flooring department. After that I put down non modified thinset and embedded Ditra into that by pressing with great force in all directions and smoothing at the same time with a grout float.
I let this set for a week (I own my own business so this is a weekend warrior thing) then I covered all the joints in the ditra with kerdi band and did a strip around the room in the baseboard area with the kerdi band sharing it half up the wall and half on the floor.
Everything seemed to be going well. I picked a tile, measured and figured out my layout so that all my cuts and perimeter tiles would be relatively even. I mixed more non modified thin set and began laying my tile. I decided to use these lash clips (tile leveling system to help prevent lipping) and this is where the problem began. I was laying a 12×12 porcelain tile so I used a 1/4×3/8×1/4 square notched trowel as recommended by the thinset manufacturer. I think my thinset was mixed properly since my ridges of thinset would stand and not slump. I made sure to spread thinset to fill the pockets in the ditra before spreading and combing out the thinset where I was about to lay my tiles as I went. I didn’t think I needed to back butter this size of tile. Anyhow the tile didn’t bond. I have been told that I should have used a 1/2×1/2×1/2 trowel with the lash clips since they have a tendency to lift the tile back out of the thinset if its any less than that.
So I have a bit of a mess on my hands. I was thinking that I could save the ditra by putting a self leveling cement product over the thinset. The issue is when I was lifting the tile I found that some of the thinset didn’t seem to band to the ditra. I can take the edge of a margin trowel and scrape alot of it loose but the stuff in the pockets stays. I can’t put a leveling product on the thinset if it hasn’t bonded to the ditra because then the whole mess won’t be bonded.
Anyhow any advice you might be able to give would be greatly appreciated. I am really hoping Im not going to have try pull up the ditra and start over. I look forward to your response.
Hey Sean,
Go ahead and use the slc over the old stuff. You do need to use a bigger trowel with the lash, they shim up the tile quite a bit due to the thickness of the clips, not because they are ‘lifting’ the tile out of the thinset, the tile simply can’t get full bond because the clips are holding it up that far.
Thinset does not bond to ditra – it isn’t supposed to. The ditra allows the tile to bond to the floor through a mechanical fastening rather than a chemical one. With a normal installation over, say, backerboard, the thinset bonds to the tile as well as the backer. This is a chemical bond (not technically, but for the purposes of this description we’ll call it that…)
When using Ditra, on the other hand, the thinset bonds to the back of the tile then the dovetail cavities lock the bottom portion of the thinset into them. This is how the tile is attached to the ditra. This allows in-plane movement without debonding the tile. The tile can move side to side without compromising the installation – because it isn’t ‘chemically’ attached to the ditra. The fact that the thinset in the cavities would not come out means you did it correctly.
When using the slc, it will bond to the thinset in the cavities then the thinset will bond to it. You still get in-plane movement separated from the substrate, you’ll just have a thicker layer between the tile and ditra.
Arghhh here’s the crown pic
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i411/kali2024/ScreenShot2012-12-09at85555PM.png
Hi Monika,
It looks to me like they have a mud wall substrate (which adds about 1/2 to the existing plane of the wall) and they simply mitered the crown around that 1/2″ and butted the pencil right up to the bottom of it. I can’t see very much detail in the photo, but that’s what it looks like to me.
Roger,
Do you have any idea on how they transitioned this crown over that pencil molding? I’m considering doing something similar with this tile from home depot..I figured you know all the tricks so I might as well ask.
tile from home depot
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-202663577/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=jeffrey+court&storeId=10051#.UMVKqqWFdSV
Floor Elf!!
What came first the chicken or the egg? Or as is the case in my master bath reno, the marble 2×12 tiles with marble crown above it or the mirror?! We are so close to finishing up my master bath reno (thanks for all the invaluable info you’ve provided on your site!) but we are stuck on the backsplash above the vanity and the mirror. The tile contractor believes the mirror should go in first due to potential wall imperfections and wall not 100% plumb. He feels he can then make adjustments with thinset to conform to what the mirror is doing on the wall. Our plan is to put 2×12 on top of marble countertop and then a 2 inch marble crown above that. The mirror will go in above the crown. The crown will then travel up the sides of the mirror and across the top creating a frame. Mirror installer thinks tile should go in first because mirror needs to rest on something to be supported. We are so close to the end (it’s been 8 months!!)! Please tell me which is the best way to proceed. Many thanks! Erika
Hi Erika,
Aaah, a circular reference query in which the parameter must be used to measure the parameter. That is, of course, if you are only referencing a chicken egg! In my mind, and my common answer, is that the egg came first because there were dinosaur eggs long before there were chickens (or chicken eggs). Always wanted a physicist’s answer to that question, haven’t you?
The best way to do the mirror is to do the bottom row of tile first, with the mitered corners at the exact width, then install the mirror, then complete the tile. This gives the mirror a stable platform on which to rest as well as allowing the tile to level any imperfections in the wall plane along the remainder of the mirror.
Roger: can you tell me anything about Laticrete “220” ? Is it ok to use on travertine for a shower ?
Thanks
Chuck
The 220 is great stuff. It is a medium-bed mortar ideal for natural stone such as travertine.
I know this is crazy but I would like to put a fountain inside my house but what can I use on the walls around it and the floor under it to prevent any water splashing.
Hi Brenda,
There is nothing you can put around it to prevent splashing but you can waterproof around it with a topical membrane such as kerdi or redgard to prevent the water that does splash out from doing any damage. Is that what you meant?
Wow, what a great site !! I looked at all the posts for tile installation and got all my questions answered ( regarding Ditra over backerboard for floor )
“except” for one …….Do you have to use “expansion joints” such as dilex ? or can you just set ditra and tile 1/4 ” away from walls and vanities for movement ? New to your site, but looking forward to reading it weekly.
Thanks,
Chuck
Hey Chuck,
The dilex expansion strips are not required at all. As long as you have perimeter joints you’ll be fine.
Roger,
I’m new to the grout game and stumbled upon your site while digging around. I have two questions.
First, I’ve been told that non-sanded grout used to have lead in it. I am in Chicago and you have these brick buildings built in the 20’s and 30’s and if you find one with the original tile, the stuff is strong as rock. If you go into a home that’s 10-20 years old, it probably already needs to be re-grouted. Was there lead in non-sanded grout?
Second question is what do you think of using a color seal and/or concrete stain on grout (either type)?
I like your sight and will definitely be back!
Hey Ron,
It’s a very good possibility that some craftsmen back then added ground lead to grout to enable installation into smaller grout lines. Most companies had their own recipes for grout. The base was simply sand, cement and water. However, when a specific color, texture or anything needed above and beyond a regular grout mixture was needed companies would add certain things and shaved or ground lead was one of those. It enabled a thinner and stronger grout for smaller grout lines and it was likely used in lieu of sand.
So as a general rule – no, lead was not a standard component of grout from that time period. However, it is likely that you may run into grout which does contain lead in some form as part of the mix. It isn’t in all of it, but it is in some of it.
Grout colorants work fine. I simply prefer not to use them unless absolutely needed. When I do use them I prefer the dye for coloring lighter grouts and making them darker. To make darker grouts lighter you have to use the topical ‘paint-on’ type.
Hi Roger,
We have a ceramic tile floor in our kitchen, which the Landlord put in maybe a year and half ago. Within the first month of living here the grout started cracking, along with the tile. My Landlord says it is doing that because my dogs are licking it up…she is not real smart. I have told her time & time again that isn’t the reason. I try to explain to her that the subfloor is crooked and the installation was not done right. Please tell me if I am correct in saying that. Also, I have asked for the contractor’s name, but she refuses to give a name and says he is out of business. We know she just used guys off the side of the road that work day to day for money. Please help me fight this women with the facts. Thanks so much for your time.
Hi Tammy,
If your grout and tile are cracking it has absolutely nothing at all to do with what your dogs are licking.
I do have to say, however, even after over 20 years in this profession I still hear new stuff. That right there is a new one on me! (Don’t even know how the logic of that works…)
If your grout and tile are cracking it is indicative of either an excessively moving substrate – which indicates improper installation preparation – or improper coverage and/or bond of the tile to the substrate – which, again, indicates improper installation. Either of these causes is due to lack of proper installation by the ‘contractor’.
It has nothing to do with your dogs. Thanks for the laugh, though!
Hi
Just installed a new ceramic floor in my kitchen.The grout is to light. Can I put baby oil in the lines to make it darker? If not what do you suggest?
Thanks !!
Hi Shirley,
You can, but it will eventually compromise the integrity of the grout – so don’t do that.
The best thing to do is figure out why it’s lighter first, that will give you the proper solution. If you scratch the very surface of the grout is it the correct color all the way through? If so, it’s likely efflorescence. Get some drywall sanding sponges and go over the grout lines LIGHTLY until the proper color shows. Like burnt toast – scrape it to the color you like.
If it is the same deeper down you can try an enhancing sealer (not baby oil) and this should darken it a bit, as well as seal the grout for you. (The sealer thing will work for the first problem as well, you can just use the enhancing sealer regardless and it should help)
Roger:
You sent a previous TileTip about reinstalling the toilet and leaving the caulk open at the rear of the toilet. I wanted to send it to David and now I can’t find it in my inbox. Can you resend it to me please?
Nope!
Wait, I already did. Nevermind.