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fixitup 

Jun-30-2007 23:45

Putting tile on wall that formerly had three layers of wallpaper, have removed 2 layers, but tested last layer and it takes wallboaard off- can I tile over the wallpaper?

Dear FIXITUP: If this is in a dry area like a back splash in a kitchen you could use a mastic adhesive. Gerald Sloan NTCA

jp270 

Jun-30-2007 19:09

I need to replace a few tiles on my bathroom wall but I am having a hard time finding the color to match it and I do not want to change it all. Do you know anyplace where I can find old tile styles from the 60's?

Dear JP270: You may check with your local tile dealer and maybe they can help. Gerald Sloan NTCA.

Jerry 

Jun-30-2007 14:05

I would like to know if you can give me a quote for approximately how much it costs for a tile man to tile a kitchen counter. It is a U shaped counter with 69 square feet. An approximate price is all I'm looking for. Thank you.

Dear JERRY: A local tile distributor could probably give you a square foot price for countertops in your area. it really varies depending on the geographic location you are in. Bart Bettiga

Betsy 

Jun-30-2007 13:08

We have an old 1960's, 36" x 36" neoangle shower in our small bathrm/lower level/w cement floor. We would like to rip out & start over. Plastic tiles on walls are popping off so obvious shower is leaking. The neoangle base & drain of the shower seems very stable. Do you suggest tearing this out and using tile base? or? We also need to find an experienced tiler. Any suggestions?

Dear BETSY: I think you need an experienced tile installer. Go to our website at www.tile-assn.com and try to find a contractor near you, or contact a local distributor for a recommendation from them in your area. Bart Bettiga

Unfinished floor 

Jun-30-2007 07:59

We require a ceramic floor tile Black with a Grey pattern they are made in Spain and are 13" x 13" on the back is the name Azulejos Incea Alcora - Gres Monococcion - Revestiminentos Y Gres - the pattern is Venice-N STD C4 T 10 that is all the information on the back of the tile - do you know where we can obtain some more ?

Dear UNFINISHED FLOOR: No, we really don't. There are so many manufacturers, you need to go back to where you saw the tile and got the sample and find out how to order it. Bart Bettiga

rehab 

Jun-29-2007 20:33

RE:10075. Didn't hear from you, so I went ahead and tried the sulfamic acid crystals, dissolved in hot water. The grout was pretty high and really messed up, so I dissolved 1 lb of crystals into 1 1/4 gallons of water; sponged it onto the tile, waited 10 minutes or so, and with a stiff wire brush, went to work cleaning off the excess grout. Stinks a little, but with rubber gloves, and later clean fresh water, the grout cleaned up nicely. I am happy with the results. I read all about the sulfamic acid from previous posts. I was dreading that I would have to go with some other type of grout remover. I used phosphoric acid before, but the sulfamic acids worked out way better. thanks for a really good and informative site. Tile sort of gets in your blood, and after a few jobs, almost goes to become sort of an OCD thing with only one limitation- all of the floor space to try new designs is really limited.

Dear REHAB: Glad it worked out for you and thanks for complimenting our website. We are working hard to answer all of the questions. Bart Bettiga

Mark 

Jun-29-2007 14:09

Hi Tileman! I've put 1/2" plywood over existing subfloor, then 1/4" hardibacker over that. I used regular thinset applied with 1/4" trowel and recommended screws/spacing for the Hardibacker. I also wetted everything down before I went to mix the thinset. I have found what appears to be a hollow "bounce" in a section about 6" X 2' under the Hardibacker when I tap a hammer to it. I think there may be a void under it. Is this normal? Is it worth it to remove that section of Hardibacker, thinset, then replace that section? Thanks, Mark

Dear MARK: If you see no obvious failure, I would not remove this. Many things can cause a hollow sound that does not necessarily mean the floor is failing. However, if the tile or grout is cracked, loose or popping, then you would have a likley failure scenario and removal and replacment would be recommended. Gerald Sloan

Les 

Jun-29-2007 13:39

I would like to locate a source for Oriente Sabia A-38 18"X18" floor tile on the West coast preferably in Oregon

Dear LES: I am sorry, you need to get more specific in your request and I would look at the same search engines that you would in trying to source products at different distributors around the country. Bart Bettiga

joack 

Jun-29-2007 10:20

I'm looking for the ratio of sand to portland cement for mud in 3x5 shower basin

Dear JOACK: This would generally be 4 to 1 sand to Portland cement. in small areas like this, a 3.1 mix is probably acceptable as well. Gerald Sloan

owner 

Jun-28-2007 23:04

does thinset get old?

Dear OWNER: Yes, unmixed in a bag it does. It can vary from six months to a year and a half shelf life depending on dry storage conditions. Gerald Sloan

faye 

Jun-28-2007 18:55

i have looked and looked, and cannot find solied red,yellow,and blue 4in by 4in tiles for my kicthen table, please help.

Dear FAYE: I am sorry, I don't know of any suppliers of this at the top of my head. You will have to keep searching. Bart Bettiga

levelheaded 

Jun-28-2007 15:58

where can I buy levelrock underlayment for floors?I am in tampa Fl.

Dear LEVELHEADED: Go to the US Gypsum website (United States Gypsum) and find their nearest LevelRock distributor in the Tampa area. Bart Bettiga

SHARON 

Jun-28-2007 12:55

I purchased an older home that has brick tile on the floor of one room. The tile is dull and has rust spots on it that I can't get off. What can I use to clean this off and make the floor look new again?

Dear SHARON: You might have to talk with a brick supply yard and ask for someone who has technical expertise. There may be some acids that would work but they would more than likely need to applied by a professional. They have to be careful to not damage the tiles in this process. Gerald Sloan

--TRUCX-- 

Jun-28-2007 03:37

Dear Tileman, How much does it cost to tear out a tub and do the plumin and install a new tub and do the backsplash on it and the tile is 6x6 and its about 30 feet to do the backsplash on it

Dear --TRUCX--: You must get an estimate from a local tile contractor. I would suggest our website at www.tile-assn.com and clicking on our Member Locator. Local rates vary too much for me to give you any worthwhile estimate here. Bart Bettiga

kerryh 

Jun-27-2007 20:09

I plan on laying new ceramic over the old ceramic. Several sites I have visisted say to abraded glaze and clean with a degreaser. I tried using sandpaper to scuff the glaze and that do not work. My question is how do you remove the glaze?

Dear KERRYH: You don't have to remove the glaze, you just want to rough it up and remove debris to create a good bond for a high polymer modified thinset mortar. Gerald Sloan

westing 

Jun-27-2007 15:40

Hi, We installed poreclain glazed tile (13" x 13") onto a basement, poured concrete floor (home is two years old and the floor only had the typical small gap around perimeter). We used flex mortar. I've been reading your site and now regret not doing a perimeter expansion joint. I think my tiles have room to expand as there is probably some space between perimeter edges of tile and basement walls (also poured concrete) (and this expansion "space" would be located beneath the raised / blocked sheetrock walls). We just pushed as much grout as we could into where there were small spaces between the tiles and the baseboards (another not so bright move, we installed the baseboards before the tile floor). The baseboards and tile look pretty good together now, but I wonder about the few small spaces that remain (and spiders, etc. entering as it's a basement). Should we do a perimeter caulk job now (and now it would have to be on top of the tile as the tile has been installed) and then maybe use quarter-round to hide the above-tile perimeter caulk? Thanks!

Dear WESTING: This is probably your best idea at this point. If you could remove the grout first, and then caulk, this would make me even happier. Gerald Sloan

MikeM 

Jun-27-2007 15:25

My wife and I want to put ceramic tile down on our basement floor. We removed an old rug that was in the basement and underneath the rug were vinyl tiles and, in one small area, linoleum sheeting. All of the tiles and linoleum have been removed. The age of the tiles / linoleum / and rug are all unknown but the house was constructed in 1961. On the concrete now is leftover tile adhesive and, in some areas, adhesive on top of paint. Can we put the ceramic tile down over this adhesive or must it be removed first? Also, since the tile is going down in a basement and the basement is below grade, do we need to use a particular kind of mortar & grout (e.g. bathroom grade) to counter any potential moisture issues? Thank you.

Dear MIKEM: You should remove as much of the adhesive that you can, by mechanical means like scraping or sanding. Then use a high polymer modified thinset that recommends installing tile over painted concrete and existing adhesives for vinyl tiles and sheet goods. As far as moisture, if there is not a problem with standing or high alkalinity in the slab, the ceramic tile and this recommended should be fine. Bart Bettiga and Gerald Sloan

sticky saltillo 

Jun-27-2007 15:01

I have pretty extensive saltillo tile flooring and in some areas I have used area rugs on top, with a chusioned pad underneath. Now I am preparing the house for sale and I find that the waffle-weave, rubber (synthetic of some kind or other) underpad has left a checkered pattern on the tiles! I thought it was part of the pad stuck on, but I have tried everything in the house to remove the "checks," and nothing works. What do you advise? I'm beginning to worry that maybe the tiles are actually discolored. If the tiles are wet, the checkered pattern just shows up even better. In one area, where the tiles were recently sealed, the checkered pattern is actually sticky and I tried a light sandpaper on a test spot. It worked, sort of. What do you advise??

Dear STICKY SALTILLO: There is a finish on this material that can be stripped, cleaned, dried and reapplied. A high quality stripper may remove this, and it may require scrubbing with it. Make sure that the tile is very dry before you reapply the sealer recommended by the saltillo manufacturer. Use a stripper recommeded by them as well. Gerald Sloan

jasonaron 

Jun-27-2007 09:26

The previous owners of the house I am purchasing used one of those huge cement stairways meant for outdoors inside of the house. I have no way to remove it, so I was thinking of tiling it to make it look more appropriate in the space. It is all cement so it should be easy except I am perplexed about one aspect of it. It has rounded edges on the stairs and around all the corners and they are bullnosed out so I was wondering how I can tile these?

Dear JASONARON: This sounds like a job for a professional tile setter, to see what available options you have to tile around these stairs. I think this calls for a skilled tile setter. Gerald Sloan

rehab 

Jun-27-2007 02:45

I have browsed a lot of your replies concerning sulfamic acid crystals, yet have another query: I want to remove some of the surface of grout that was left to harden, before any cleanup was performed or smoothed out with a wet sponge while the grout was also still wet. Just how corrosive would a strong solution (say 1/2 to 3/4 of a 1 lb tub, mixed into a gallon of water) be, if I were to place solution on a grout line and leave it for a few (10-15) minutes, then use some sort of scrubbing tool to take down the surface of the grout? As I see it, either this would work for what I want it to, or the option would be a very tedious grout removal process that could take days. My disclaimer was that someone else left the grout to dry hard, and I am involved by request (seems people always have wads of cash to hire an incompetent (trade name here), but never have enough to pay for repair or replacement of shoddy work). Thanks! great site

Dear REHAB: Caution, you can develop a chemical pneumonia from breathing the fumes and you could potentially damage other areas such as metal and mirror backing just by exposure to the fumes. Sulfamic acid only reaches a certain strength anyways. If you decide to try this, use caution and make sure you have proper ventilation. Neutralize this afterwards with baking soad and water....Approximately one box to a five gallon bucket. Gerald Sloan

mike h 

Jun-27-2007 01:37

I have a tile design that is not shown in tile estimator. I would like to know the percentage of the two sizes needed. It is hopscotch style with 12"x12" and 4"x4". I saw this style in Lowe's Del conca showroom on line.

Dear MIKE H: You should be able to lay out a grid in a 10 square foot pattern and easily calculate how many 4x4 and 12x12 tile you in that grid, and then multiply accordingly. I don't have your pattern available to do an easy calculation. I bet you could find this on a tile manufacturer website though. Bart Bettiga

NAVYMAN494 

Jun-27-2007 01:30

CAN POLYURETHANE BE APPLIED TO EXISTING KITCHEN FLOOR TILE????

Dear NAVYMAN494: Some people can apply to porous tile such as Saltillo tile, but it still has a limited life. You best check with the tile manufacturer for their recommendations before applying anything like this to their product. Bart Bettiga

backsplash 

Jun-26-2007 22:51

backsplash. The bow is very slight. Would you try this or just live with it. My wife doesn't want to do it because she is afraid something will go wrong and the tile work is beautiful. I was thinking about doing it because I know the slight bow is there. Other people don't notice it unless I point it out to them. What are the "gotha's" in attempting this?

Dear BACKSPLASH: Since we can't see it, it is hard to say what you should do. If you are this concerned about it, we would suggest you go the NTCA Website and find a professional tile contractor in your area in our Member Locator to see if they can fix it. www.tile-assn.com. Otherwise, if no one else can see it, and you and your wife can live with it, it may be best to leave it alone. Gerald Sloan

daniellesf 

Jun-26-2007 18:10

(i tried a bunch of searches and was shocked not to find what i was looking for- maybe i misspelled 'adhesive'?...) 2 questions: 1. i'm having a nightmare of a time removing some thick slate tiles that were set with what looks like a helluva lot of cement adhesive on top of plywood. bashing at it with a framing hammer breaks up the slate, but the cement adhesive won't budge. any tricks? i'm tempted to just go at it with a reciprocating saw but that seems like a stupid idea. 2. cement board vs. mystery board... i heard somewhere about some sort of board that was a better alternative to cement board, that it was just as good at dealing with humidity but was easier to manage in terms of cutting and installing. the guys at my hardware store don't know. any ideas? thanks!

Dear DANIELLESF: There are 697 listings for adhesive. Our experts will answer your question soon!

jvsal 

Jun-26-2007 09:28

We are remodeling our shower and have a "shower panel" we want to install. Should this be installed on the backer board and then tiled up to it, or shoud we complete the tile and install on top of the tile?

Dear JVSAL: If I understand you correctly, you would want to put this over the tile, not cut the tile to it, for water control purposes. Gerald Sloan

vinnyf 

Jun-26-2007 09:15

I want to put ceramic tile in a bathroom that has ceramic tile and 2 coats of a vinyl on top. Can I put new title over the vinyl. What type of tinset can I use. The floor is a slab and the vinyl in tight to the floor.

Dear VINNYF: This may be possible, and you need to be specific about what you intend to do so that a recommendation for the type of highly modified latex mortar is correct. Follow their recommendations for how to prepare the vinyl floor for a ceramic tile application. It would be best if you could remove the vinyl from the ceramic tile. Plus, the original tile floor needs to be adequately bonded to the concrete slab. Gerald Sloan

acciarri 

Jun-26-2007 08:14

I've left about 1/8-1/4" gap between the backerboard and the wall. If I mud this gap with thinset and tape, will the floor still be able to expand/ contract ?

Dear ACCIARRI: No, this should be left open or caulked with 100 percent silicone or urethane sealant. Often, a wood molding to top set ceramic base would sit on this area, but it needs to be allowed to expand and contract to avoid pressure on the tile assembly, commonly referred as lifting or tenting of the tile. Gerald Sloan

papagrgo 

Jun-25-2007 23:30

Hope this question has not be asked a 1000 times already. I did seach! I want to lay rectified tile in my house with an 1/8 in. grout line but I do not understand how to get the grout line so small and still maintain proper layout? With regular tiles a person can just use spacers which I don't think can be done with this small of a grout line. Thanks

Dear PAPAGRGO: Proper layout with chalklines would preclude needing spacers. If the tile is rectified, this should be able to be accomplished. The key is to lay out the tile with the grout width factored in, and then snap the lines accordingly. Some tile men do a dry lay in two directions to see where the layout points will be, and then pick the tiles back up, and then snap the chalk lines. Then lay the tile to the lines. Gerald Sloan

ImTiled 

Jun-25-2007 17:25

I am tiling a kitchen - familyroom - and hallway. They are all connected. There are many 45 dregree wall and an island to tile around. An hd employee said do not lay the tile diangonally, it will be impossible to get the grout lines straight. I figure no matter how we lay it - we have the same amount of cuts. Anyone want to wiegh in, is laying tile on the diagonal harder? We have experience, but never this big of an aera! Thanks

Dear IMTILED: You will have more cuts and more waste in the material with a diagonal pattern. However, the layout should be able to be easily accomplished using a diagonal pattern, just as with a straight pattern. This is all about developing a grid pattern with chalk lines. Proper layout before applying the mortar is the key here, as you may be able to cut down on your cuts.

TMCNEILL9 

Jun-25-2007 13:14

Tileman, I recently installed Vinyl Composition Tile (Armstrong) in my basement over existing 9 inch asbestos tiles (installed in the 1950s). They are the hard back 1/8 inch tiles that are adhered with trowled on adhesive. I chose to tile over the asbestos tiles because of the hazards of pulling them up and the poor condition of the concrete slab. The floor has settled over the years and is also wavy and uneven in many places. I am fairly happy with the vinyl composition tiles, but I feel that another layer of tiles would make things much more smooth and even all around. I have clearance under the doors for another layer of vinyl, but I am concerned because I have read that 2 layers of vinyl composition tiles is the maximum recommended by the manufacturers. Do you think I could get away with another layer or is this an absolute no no when it comes to vct tile?

Dear TMCNEILL9: We don't have experience in vinyl tiles, only ceramic. You need to consult with Armstrong for their recommendation on this type of application. Bart Bettiga