Q:Tile TV wall is good

Now on the market a lot of brand tiles have done a low radiation, the human body without harm to environmental standards. But I personally stand with the point of view, the TV backdrop is not suitable for paving a lot of series of polished tiles, because the polished light reflection is strong, is not conducive to the effect of television lighting, and imitation stone brick, too natural and Afraid of the radiation of the TV itself will lead to imitation of natural stone radioactive elements, wanted to talk about the same floor, there will be a negative impact. Comprehensive advantages and disadvantages, to use the tile paving the back of the wall, you can choose fine powder Rs surface or Rw surface, you can use a lot of results, ask the Lord can go to the market to see such bricks, joint design drawings, looking for satisfactory methods and way.

Q:I am going to be removing ceramic tile in my kitchen and was wondering what the easiest way to go about it was? I was going to use a hammer and a flat ended screw driver, what do you think?

Removing them will be hard and dusty work so be prepared for both. How you remove them depends on the substrate below them. If they are on cement slab, then a large chisel and hammer can be used to take off the tile. Then you must scrape off the thin set used to hold it down If your tiles are on a cement board or added wood substrate , then a crow bar ( or 2) and an extra body is recommended to get under that and pry it up and take it all up at once. The tile will pop and come up as you get the subflooring up. You can rent electric ( small hand held ) hammers w/ a chisel on the end but I ve had better luck and am faster with a hand held 3# hammer.. The dust will be bad either way so block off door ways to prevent dust in the whole house. Dust mask, ear, eye protection is a must. Along with long sleeved shirt and gloves.. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar. I ve done this to many times over the years so I know. GL

Q:Is $4 a square foot a good price for labor? How about $1.49 for each 20x20 porcelein tile? Those are my quotes and want to see if I should do it. In Texas and they told me it will include taking out old carpet and laying down tile plus grout.

It sounds reasonable enough. ASk about sealing the tile, as well! Up here, in Canada, I usually recommend a waterproof membrane be laid before the tile. This prevents water and moisture from seeping through the tile and froming mold and mildew on the subfloor. Even the best sealed tile may have a tendancy to allow moisture to wick through and attack the subfloor. BUT...that's just me! I like to do the best job possible!! You may even want to consider underfloor electric heat. Now is the perfect time to do this. At any rate, to just rip out the carpet, prep the subfloor, and tile with Porcelain tile, I think you have a pretty fair price, there.

Q:I got these tiles at a yard sale. They appear to be very old, hand painted and likely of Mexican origin. The label is tattered and faded, but I would love to know more about them. Thanks for any info in advance.

They are generically called Calavera tiles and are made in Mexico by hundreds of different companies. In fact, just check Ebay for calavera tile and you will see a lot of them in similar designs. They install like any fired clay tile -- some people use them as accents with solid saltillo type tile. I have a bunch of them that I bought to use for a project that I changed my mind about. They are still so pretty that I use them for coasters and may eventually encorporate them into a design for my stone fireplace hearth. Yours look fairly vintage -- nice find!

Q:why is waterproofing done before grouting?why do we need to let the mortar/adhesive dry before grouting?

Water proofing is done before any tile is set into place.. Water proofing must be done on any horizontal surface in water prone areas such as showers. Not always done out side the shower area, but each case is different. You should allow the bonding material to dry before grouting so the bonding agent, mastic (walls in a non wet area )or a thin set won t bleed through and stain the grout. The only way to ensure of a good bond is to lift tiles during the setting process and make sure you have proper amount of mastic ( walls in a non wet area) or thin set under the tiles.. There are ways to check floor tiles to ensure a bond is to knock on the tiles to see if they sound solid. Hollow sound gives way to a no bond. And NEVER bond to just a green board in a shower or high moisture area. Failure will soon follow if you do. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications there. GL

Q:I need either of two types of tile one was a sheet of multicolor mosaic tiles the other is a creamy colour with a beige sort or swirly thing going through it

Rose, You might get lucky and find them if you Google it. Only 3 years old, you might find them somewhere out there. Good Luck !!!

Q:My kitchen is 15x11 and I am buying 18x18 tiles I need to know how many to buy.

First of all, your calculation is wrong. You have 165 Sq Ft' Second of all 18(18) does not = 18 The correct answer is 18(18)=324Sq.inches.=2.7 2.7 div.165=61. You will need approx.65 tiles.

Q:We are tiling our kitchen back splash with travertine tile/ tumbled marble tile.Should we seal the tile before it is on the wall or seal it after it is on the wall?Thank you.

Seal the travertine after it's on the wall but before you grout. That will help keep the grout from sticking to the tile.

Q:I wish to change the bathroom colour,re-tileing is too expensive so maybe painting the tiles is a option howbest do i prepare for this

John, I know of no one that has painted over ceramic tile and is satisfied with the results. It's a finish that will not hold up through the constant use of cleaning products. Retiling is honestly the anser. It can be done easily. You'll want to cut through the drywall along the edge of the existing tile aolong the entire perimeter. Remove all the drywall and tile (still adhered to the drywall) in sections. Place cardboard or something that will protect the tub while this process occurs. After that install 1/2' hardi-backer with 1 1/2 screws and install the tile. If you use the 4x4 glazed tile, you can rent a tile cutter for about $15 (or buy one for double that). The tile will cost about $1.40p/sf. Typically you'd need about 70sf of tile (or around $110.00), and 50 pcs of 2x6 cap (about $70) and 2pcs 2x2 corner cap ($4). Grout will run $15. The hardi backer will be $50. Mastic to set tiles will be around $30. An alternative is lay tile over the existing. You will have to remove the existing soap dish to do this.. You save the cost of hardibacker, and some labor. If you do endeavor into this, set the soap dish with the grout, not the mastic. it's a common mistake by DYIers. Use some tape to hold it in place until the grout dries.

Q:we are constructing apartment....got a question about tile work..which is better, is it better to leave some gaps between tiles and is it better layout tiles with no gaps between them...the builder is suggesting the first option above...i prefer the second option...because with the first option, i feel there are chances of dirt getting clogged as time passess by...please advise

tile is always done with gaps, which are then filled with grout. small wall tiles usually have a tiny 1/16 gap, while floor tiles usually have bigger gaps from 3/16 up to 3/8