1 comment(s):

• I just wrote a couple of paragraphs worth of advice on tiling to a friend. Thought I'd post it in case someone is trolling for tiling tips:
  
  The slope of your floor really isn't part of the equation. You can tile on any surface orientation and you can back fill any bumpiness before you start. You are correct about the smaller the tile, the sturdier it will be. The real issue is the flexibility of your sub floor. The purpose of cement board is twofold; 1. to provide a moisture barrier for showers and other frequently wet areas. Areas that will not be habitually wet, to the point where standing water can seep through the grout do not need cement board for this first reason. The second reason is to make the sub floor inflexible. Tile is inflexible. If the sub floor beneath it flexes, it will come loose. We found that the more solid, the better. We put cement board down even when the contractor said we could probably get away with just plywood. The cement board the contractors laid in the bathroom was nailed down and did not have mastic between the plywood and the cement board. The cement board we laid in the bedroom when down on top of plywood also, but we used mastic cement between the plywood and cement board and used special self-setting cement board screws every four inches like the books recommended. There is definitely a difference.
  
  I would recommend that you get up your linoleum and any other layers and see what’s below. If your plywood still looks good, or if you have anything else on top of your car decking that looks sturdy, leave it be. Fill any pocks with a white compound that comes in a green and yellow box. The name escapes me but you will find it near the tile in any hardware store. Its the bondo of home repair. You can use the same stuff to correct any depressions or sloping that you want corrected. If you can put down cement board without affecting the level of your floor in relation to the flooring in the area adjoining the area to be tiled, I would recommend doing so. Its cheap and really easy and you can really tell the difference.
  
  Other advice:
  1. get a wet tile saw. They're about a 100 bucks but will save you untold grief when trying to cut tile. If you don't have a tile cutter, you will find yourself doing things to get around the fact that you can't shave a little off one row. Then you'll look at what you did for years, saying "I shoulda got a tile saw...."
  
  2. Wear gloves when grouting
  
  3. Get some inexpensive knee pads. We got a cheap pair and an more expensive pair. The only difference we noticed was knee pads or no knee pads - big difference.
  
  4. Shop around for your tile. Look for the equivalent of Hippo Hardware in Portland or Restoration Hardware in Seattle. You can get really nice tile for pennies on the dollar.
  
  Hope that helps,
  SD
  
  

  By  Scott in Washington, at 10/12/2004 08:38:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home