All Forum Posts by: Brian S

"Anything else needed besides bucket,trowels,mastic,tile cutter,grout,and spacers,and a level?? Tiles of course."

Skill ?

Originally posted by L T:

do you all think that tile upstairs would better mitigate any water issues from the usual suspects, toilet leak, sink, I have seen it all....I mean as opposed to carpet or wood upstairs. (Downstairs have tile already)

tile and cement grout will most definitely hold up better to a small overflow although cement grout is not waterproof and will absorb the water, plus depending on how big the flood is it might make it out the door and down the steps.

As a tile contractor I will tell you to tile before the cabinets go in.

The cabinet guy has to level his cabinets up with shims and install the toe kick to hide it.

Tiling after creates a grout joint and cracks will appear around the sides of the cabinets from movement. Also it's better for the dishwasher clearance under the counter.

Center islands can be attached on the tile by a inside perimeter box out of the cabinet in 2x4's using L anchors or liquid nail and then cabinet dropped over it and nailed, toe kicks installed.

I also wouldn't use muriatic acid in your home to clean tile.
there are better less toxic chemicals out there to use.
Try Restore from Stonetech Pro (DuPont). its a self neutralizing cleaner.
You could also find a company that steam scrubs your tile and grout to clean it which will be the safest and best way.

Also there is Sulfamic acid crystals which are not as bad as muriatic.

* to neutralize muriatic acid just pour some baking
soda powder into it, stir and it will neutralize it.

You should wear a respirator or mask while working with or neutralizing muriatic acid to avoid breathing in fumes

Hi Fred,

I deal with the following online Glass mosaic tile companies.

http://www.mosaictilesupplies.com/
http://www.modwalls.com
http://www.mosaictilesupplies.com/

we just completed a recycled glass backsplash.
http://ceramictec.com/glass-tile-backsplash
the recycled Green products are becoming very popular as you probably have seen.

be careful of cheap glass tile that is clear or opaque as it will show the thinset behind it and ruin your application if not installed correctly.

I know this post is old but would like to still answer to help someone with this same situation......

As J Scott said, all concrete home slabs settle and will crack. Proper control joints in the slab with a soft expansion joint in the tile would be needed during the initial install of the tile. Also a crack membrane should and could be used over the slab as insurance against small slab cracks.

Concrete is always curing from the day it was installed and thermal expansion from hot to cold seasons will play a part with ground and slab movement.

you could remove tile tile in the affected area, add a thin liquid crack membrane or sheet membrane and re tile. If you just patch the tile without one of them the crack will probably transfer back up and crack the tile or shear the tile from the slab and they will become hollow and not bonded.

good luck.

Hi all, My name is Brian and I am the President of Ceramictec Tile Contractors in Tampa, FL.

I came across BiggerPockets while reading a post and I wanted to help out by explaining the problem with the tile floor to the poster.

I love being a tile contractor and have been for the past 20 years. I like helping others get the perfect tile installation they want and being creative in my trade. I work with homeowners on residential remodel tile projects and also work with Realtor's, Brokers and Management companies they upgrade old homes with new tile installations.

I know most of you are all in the selling/flipping part of homes so if you have a tile flooring problem or questions don't hesitate to point me to your post or ask me a question. Hopefully I can help someone out with my knowledge.

:green:

Welcome John, I'm also from Tampa Florida.
I was born and raised in NJ, it's a little different down here in Florida. :cool:

Welcome Johnny, I am also new and from Tampa, Florida.

Welcome All, I am new and from Tampa, Florida.