FAQs & Reviews

Yes we can, and it can look amazing. However, it takes a very skilled installer to do a great job of mitering tile together, so it is usually expensive. It also weakens the edge of the tile, and can be prone to chipping when bumped hard by something. Then you are left with an expensive repair.

There is no straight answer to that question, because really small tiles are time consuming and large format tile are also time consuming. The best way to answer that is to say that a standard size tile is the cheapest to install, which falls in the 12”x12” or 12”x24” category.

There are challenges with large format tile most people don’t understand. In order to set a large tile flat, you need to have a flat surface to work with. That is rare these days, so proper surface preparation is necessary. Larger tile need more expensive saws, greater amounts of Thinset, and precision cutting to do a professional job. Often installers use a leveling clip system to help set the tile flush, and those systems aren’t cheap. A larger waste factor is needed for optimum layout options, so material costs are higher too.

It can be. Glue down vinyl can be installed on a floor that isn’t level, but the bigger question is whether your floor is flat. Gaps or high corners in the floor sheeting and dips between the floor joists can cause your vinyl to not sit flat. In the morning or evening sun, the irregularities are highlighted and the vinyl looks awful.

Proper floor prep is essential. Sometimes hitting the high spots with a floor grinder and patching gaps and low areas is enough. Really bad floors may require sheeting with a subfloor, or using self-leveling concrete to even the floor out for a better finish.

The short answer is no, you don’t need tile edge. You can terminate a tile without any sort of finished edge. It will be functional, but it will look unfinished.

We use tile edge for 2 reasons. It protects the edge of the tile from chipping, and it makes the job look complete. It hides the unfinished cut edges and Thinset buildup that may occur under the tile. Tile edges have recently evolved in a variety of shapes and colors that can enhance the tile installation.

Grouts have come a long way with technology. The old sanded and non-sanded grouts stained easily and showed their age quickly, becoming blotchy. The new grouts are made with very fine glass beads, making them stronger and pack denser. You can make them easier to clean by sealing them with a quality penetrating sealer after installation, or adding an additive while mixing and installing the grout.

For heavy traffic areas like kitchen backsplashes and showers, there are new single component grouts that are completely stain proof. They cost a little more, and require some special installation instructions, but they come premixed, and you won’t need to seal these products. Even cooking oils or red wine won’t stain them!

If you still have troubles getting the stains out, there are great PH neutral tile cleaners available to purchase that are very good for cleaning stubborn dirty grout. These cleaners do not break down grout like diluted vinegar or bleach can.

It’s hard to beat the durability, water resistance, style and value that tile offers. Grout that is easier to clean than old-school grout makes tile an easy choice. For more details on choosing a grout, or any other tiling questions you might have, give us a call.

Yes it is, if you have tools and a left over tile to replace it with. Safety is a priority here. You should have kneepads to kneel on, safety glasses to protect your eyes from tile fragments, light gloves, and hearing protection. **Hot tip! Determine if there are heat cables underneath your tile first! So you can take precautions not to damage them during removal.

To replace a tile, you need a utility knife to cut the grout out around the tile. By doing this, you reduce the chance of cracking or chipping a surrounding tile, because it isolates the vibrations from the removal. Next, take a hammer and break the tile into smaller pieces, continuing to work on the tile fragments with a chisel. Remove all the old Thinset as well, getting down to the original subfloor. Wet the subfloor surface with a sponge to remove any residual dust, and apply a Multi bonding primer to maximize your tile adhesion. Lastly, with a proper notched trowel and a small batch of Thinset, reset the tile. Wait 12 hours for the Thinset to harden appropriately and then finish with your grout.

It sounds like you have moisture in your basement concrete slab. Many older homes were built on poor draining soils, or backfilled with improper perimeter drainage. Either can result in water saturation of your concrete slab. If there wasn’t vapor barrier put down before the concrete was poured, there is nothing stopping water from wicking up. When it does, it carries the white salts from the concrete and deposits them on top of the permeable grout. It’s called efflorescence.

It takes impermeable products like porcelain tile or vinyl to cause the negative pressure needed to wick water vertically. The best way to avoid this from happening is to hire a professional to conduct a moisture test on you slab before installing your flooring. If the moisture readings are high, there are many ways to effectively solve wet slabs.

The first question to ask yourself prior to any tile installation is “What is the condition of the concrete underneath? Does it have any visible cracks?” If the cracks are significant, you should consider installing a crack isolation membrane. There are many great products on the market to choose from. Some are paint on, peel and stick, or use Thinset. These products are all designed to absorb any concrete movement and protect your tile and the Thinset bed above the concrete.

To do a repair, hopefully you have enough tiles left to fix the cracked tiles, or can still source some new ones. You need to remove the cracked tiles, grind down the crack, add a paint-on antifracture and fabric, and retile.

Yes you can, but it’s a much different process than tiling indoors. Inside your home, the climate is controlled and held steady, so you can permanently set your tile to the floor with very little risk of movement and failure. Outside, you are either battling extreme heat and expansion, or extreme cold and contraction. You need to install tile with a floating system so it can move independently on the deck with the changing seasons. We have 2 very innovative systems that can do that.

The first is a suspended tile deck that sits on adjustable pedestals. These pedestals are extremely durable and adjust to the decks slope so your tile stays level. There is no grout, the ¾” thick tiles can be lifted or adjusted at any time. You can hide wiring, plant irrigation piping or gas lines under the tile as well.

The second is a floating membrane tile system. The membrane lays loose on the deck, and is waterproofed and sealed with an all-weather membrane tape.

The tile is set with a 2-part flexible urethane adhesive that moves with the deck. There is no cement component, and is freeze/thaw resistant.

Hardwood and tile. And here are 3 reasons why:

Disposal. Carpet, vinyl and laminate products do not break down fully in the landfill, and leave plastic, rubber and foam in the environment. Hardwood is a biodegradable product, and breaks down quickly. Tile is basically baked clay, so it is treated like concrete or gravel, causing no ill effects to the environment.

The second way to look at it is where is it manufactured? Vinyl and laminate are most commonly manufactured overseas, where environmental laws are typically more relaxed, and shipping across the ocean creates a larger carbon footprint. You can easily find sustainably manufactured hardwood and tile in North America.

Third is Durability. Quality North American hardwoods can usually be refinished at least once, because the wood lamella layer is thicker. Tile is by far the most durable, because it doesn’t shrink, warp or scratch. They are more expensive to purchase and install, but you should get longer life out of them to offset those costs.

Let’s start with Durability. A properly set tile can withstand an impact much greater than hardwood, vinyl or laminate. It also doesn’t dent or scratch if you have to move the fridge or stove around. If a tile does get damaged, it can be replaced easily without affecting the other tiles around it.

Grout is much better than it used to be. There have been many innovations in stain proof grouts that keep the cleaning maintenance down significantly.

Heat! Tile is the easiest to install heat under. It does not require costly self-leveling concretes, and it conducts and retains heat much better than other flooring options.

Style: The colors, shapes and sizes of tile are unlimited. When choosing tile, you have the most options to find the look that suits you.

Traditional tile backerboards were cement board and mold resistant drywall. Both of those backerboards need paint-on waterproofing membranes before tiling. The drawbacks to those methods is it’s time consuming to do 2 coats of waterproofing, and the board is heavy and messy to cut.

The new shower systems are much improved. The tile backerboard is made of a foam core and a waterproof coating overtop. They are easy and light to install, and you only need to waterproof the seams and screw penetrations. There is almost no chance of leaking. They cost a bit more money, but you get a system warranty for some peace of mind. These systems also have pre-sloped shower floor pans, drain options, niches for soap and shampoo, curbs and benches.

These new shower systems are do it yourself friendly…. The entire installation of these shower systems can be found on many manufacturers’ websites. Beware of random U-tube videos, they aren’t all correct.

Leveling clips are plastic clip spacers that are used with wedges to keep tiles level during installation. The plastic clip has a foot that slides under 2 tiles, and an opening above the tile that a wedge fits in, forcing both tiles to the same height.

The benefits of these clips are :

• They are a great product to micro-adjust larger tiles smooth that have sharp rectified edges
• They space the tile grout joints consistently
• They save time initially during the install by not having to lift and adjust already set tile.

The negatives to these clips are:

• On bumpy floors, they can force the tile corners up too much, creating voids in the Thinset bed making the tile weak and prone to cracking
• They require more cleanup time prior to grouting.
• They add cost to the job, and are more of a luxury than a necessity.

My advice is, if the floor is relatively flat, and you use a heavy notched trowel that will create a thick bed of Thinset, lash clips will speed up the installation and provide you with a near perfect smooth tile floor. It evens the playing field for an amateur tile setter.

Thinset isn’t as scary as people make it out to be. Thinset is a smooth concrete-based adhesive fortified with sticky acrylic polymers. It was developed to stick tiles of all kinds to various surfaces. Here are some tips to get the mixture right.

The mixing instructions are on the back of theag. However, most DIY’s won’t be able to use up a full mixed bag of Thinset before it starts to harden and become unusable. We always recommend mixing half bag amounts because it’s easy to convert water mixing ratios in half, and you won’t throw away as much.

Another tip when mixing Thinset is to consider temperature conditions. When its warmer out, mix the Thinset to be a bit looser by using a bit more water. It will key into your substrate better, and you will get longer working time. Using cold water gives you longer working time as well, as it delays the cure.

Our last tip is this: once the Thinset gets old and starts to firm up in the bucket, do not add more water. Adding more water after the initial mix will weaken the Thinset, and accelerate the hardening process. The best thing you can do is just restir it with your mixer or throw it out and mix some more.

A successful tile project can transform a space. Bathrooms, kitchens, fireplaces, entryways… today’s wide variety of tile means the possibilities are almost endless. Done right, your finished project will last for years. For more tips and helpful advice on how to get it right, stop by and talk to one of the experts in our showroom.