Q:What are the benefits of installing tile in kitchen and bathroom or would linoleum be better? Also, how hard is it to install tile floors. I‘ve had friends who‘ve had no experience and they did it and did a good job. I am just a bit skeptical of doing it myself but just wondered if there are videos out there that shows you how to do it.

Tile is better in my opinion than linoleum. I don't know about videos, but there are instruction manuals where you get your tile. Everything you need is pretty much in the same area as the tile. The only thing you need to remember when laying tile is; make sure you leave no space( not even pencil size) between each tile, do not get the tile wet for (they say 72 hrs.) at least 4-5 days (this is my advice). You want to make sure that it dries and seals thoroughly. With linoleum you are taking the risk of it seperating and warping (which happens very easily). The instructions on linoleum says do not mop or walk on it for 3-5 days; when truthfuly you want to stay away from it for 7-10 days. If living in the home this is impossible!!

Q:I am really sick of my tile backsplash. It's small white tiles. Is there an easier and less expensive way to cover them up instead of removing them?

You can tile over them if you use a bonding mortar such as Flexbond you can get at any tile supply

Q:I want to rip up the old linoleum in my bathroom and install some tile. The previous owners laid the current layer of linoleum on top of the original linoleum. From the little bit I‘ve peeled up to look underneath it looks like chip board underneath that. Does that mean I need to lay some kind of backerboard underneath the tile? I also plan on tearing out the curent cabinets and installing new ones. Should I install the tile or the cabinets first?

If you plan to gut the bathroom then yes rip up the old flooring and put new ply wood down. dont use the good one side ply as the glue you will be using will require something to bite into. but if the plywood you use does have some knot holes then yopu have to use a patch filler before applying the glue. in your case its better to fit the new flooring from wall to wall rather than cutting around the new cabinest. you didnt mention what type of flooring you plan to replace the exsisting flooring with. If you are planning ceramic,porcelin,slate/natural stone then you will not have to se that patch filler. but remember when using any sort of tiles of the above mentioned use a thinset as using any mastic will take a very long time to set. Thinsets will set in 24hrs intile for you to grout the next day. Do keep in mind the temps to lay your tiles down on the back of the boxes of grout.

Q:How do you tile anyway? thank you

If your tiles are clean and tightly bound to what ever they are bonded to, yes it can be done with special adhesives and longer drying times. Its always best to start anew. Ripping out the old and starting over but not always possible. You ll need the proper thin set, correct size trowels for the tile being layed, buckets,tile cutters such as a wet saw and hand cutter. Grout floats,wax rings ,saws to cut doors down since they may not clear after. If you ve never tiled before, maybe you should hire it done, this isn t a beginner type job, but if you want to try, I ll help guide you. Basic skills in construction and plumbing wil come in handy. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications there. GL

Q:Okay so i live in an apartment and i cant EVER get mant. out here to fix this... the stuff thats between the tiles is missing and it looks gross and then the white rubber stuff that sits between the tub and the tile is coming off in random places.... what is this stuff called and would i be able to fix this junk myself???The white stuff that connects the tubs looks like that white stuff they use to connect the base boards to the hardwood floor...

White Shower Tiles

Q:What procedure to use to keep the tiles from falling from the ceiling before the mortar dries.

I would indeed tile the ceiling. Just be sure the bathroom is well vented with all the hot steam in the room. Just search for good easy cleaners. simple windex on the ceiling? not much soap up there?

Q:Hexagonal tiles of side 20cm are used to tile a room that measures 6.25m by 4.85m. Assuming we complete edges by cutting up tiles how many tiles are needed?

First you need to get the square of the room by multiplying the lenght and the width...6.25m x's 4.85m Then convert that into cm. Next do the same thing on your tile and divid that with your floor and that will give you the # of tiles....I may be wrong here but here we go.... 6.25 * 4.85 = 30.3125 *100 = 3031.25 sq cm ROOM 20 * 6 = 180 sq cm TILE 3031.25 / 180 = 17 tiles I am sure that this is off I would suggest if a room is 12 x 18 ft giving 216 sq ft and a box of tile at a 1.5 x 1.5 at 9 tiles each box at 20 sq ft would be about 11 boxes Another soulution is to goto the hardware store and ask the tile pro to tell you how many you need and give him the measurements lol

Q:I have slate tile in now, but with sand underneath it. Is it possible for me to grout it into the cage? Is there a guide for this? Thanks.

A slate tile sounds great, I never thought of that. But grout is a terrible idea! It's chemical. Animals, esp. small ones with heat mats lamps, cannot be around chemicals like that. You're not even supposed to clean their cages with a sponge because of minor chemicals-they're very sensitive. There is no guide because that's a jerry rigged solution that isn't good for animals. And anyways if you grouted the tile in, you wouldn't be able to clean the cage good enough.

Q:I purchased a house that came with a pool. The drawback is that tile is covering the outside of the pool which makes it extremely slippery for my family and guests. What a good solution to this challenge? Lastly, what‘s going to be the best and cheapest alternative to this? Someone mentioned to me that the rubbery mats they use at restaurants works very well, but I need to know the best and cheapest alternative.Suggestions?

The answer is wary simple; you have the lethal combination of two things that almost invariably will result in an accident: slick tiles and water. When a tile surface gets wet, the coefficient of friction decreases. This is a fancy way of saying that wet tiles do not provide the same traction as dry tiles. When a person walks across a floor and suddenly steps on a wet spot, it’s usually too late to prevent the accident. This probably is a good time to state what is obvious: The best time to prevent slip fall accident is before they happen! But is this possible? Yes. Anti Slip Protection Company produces exactly what you need to prevent slipping on slippery swimming pool deck.

Q:Dear Sir/Madami have question regarding installing tiles 30*30cm*2.5cm thick for hall and rooms my question is whats the min. and Max. cement mortar must be placed under neath tiles (i.e bond coat in between concrete slab and tile )please advice and thank for help and appreciated

If you're using ceramic tiles (very regular size and relatively smooth/even back), use a 1/4 square notched trowel, held somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees (vertical). If you're using natural stone tiles (e.g. granite, marble, slate), go for 3/8 square notched trowel and back-butter the tiles. Make sure the concrete slab is clean, sound, free of cracks and level before you start and follow the instructions for your thinset. You'll likely want to use a modified thinset which will help bond to the concrete better. If you have any doubts about the stability of your slab, consider installing an isolation membrane between the tile and slab. Schluter's Ditra system is the best of the breed for this. If you use an isolation membrane, use unmodified thinset (instead of modified).