Q:I recently bought a home with old fashioned pink and blue tile, is there an inexpensive way to make it look better? Help.....

There are re-glazing products out there, or professionals who'll do it for you. You find them usually advertised for re-doing tubs, but you can use it on tile too. It's not a true reglazing in that it is still paint, but it's durable enough as long as you stay away from abrasive cleaners. If you do it yourself, make sure you do the following: Clean/scrape all the tile surface and grout lines. Repair lose/damaged tiles. Touch up all the grout to perfection -- let cure. Sand tile; completely and thoroughly clean off dust. Cover/tape off all edges/areas not to be glazed, including any hardware, trim, etc that can't be removed. THEN apply primer, let cure, and then paint. Don't underestimate the power of using quality tools. If you get a professional, the results are almost always better, since they use a sprayer (protecting everything that isn't to be sprayed). It really depends on your area and how much tile you're talking about, but professionally reglazing a tub usually runs around $300, to give you an idea. Call around though.

Q:To remoe the old wall tiles between kitchen cabinet takes a lot of time or may damage the sheetrock behind it, can I install granite or new tiles on top of it. Appreciate for any input

The cost to demo the old tile is insignificant in the face of doing the job twice. Do it right. Get rid of the old tile and take the old drywall off as well. It easier and less costly to do it right the 1st time.

Q:Would like to tile my bathroom floor. House is on a slab, bathroom has existing laminate flooring.1. Do I need to remove the laminate flooring or can I tile on top of it?2. Do I need to install a backer board first?3. Any tips I need when tiling around toilet plumbing and reinstalling the toilet?

1. = yes 2. = sometimes depends on what the floor is like under the laminate, if you have timber floor then simply screw 4mm ply wood to the floor and use a wood to tile adhesive and flexi grout. 3. = take the toilet out and refit it when your done. looks cr#p else, when refit the toilet u might need a offset pan connector as the floor will be a little higher .............

Q:I have three ceramic tiles that need a special curved cut. I‘m just looking for some place where I can take the tiles in and they cut them for me onsite and I walk out with my cut tiles. Home Depot doesn‘t offer this service. Who does? I live in Atlanta.

Two reasons why our store may not cut the tile for you. First, is the location that you're trying to get the tile cut, the same place where you purchased it? If not, then if there is a miscut, there would be no way to replace that tile. Secondly you mention that you want a curved cut, many wet saw setups are for straight cuts, which the retail establishment that I work at has. They usually charge only for straight cuts. Curved cuts are labor intensive and call for many small straight cuts. My recommendation, invest in a rotozip, or dremel and make the cut on your own.

Q:Is it possiable to stain or paint a ceramic tile floor. If so what are the steps I need to take to do it.We laid it about a year ago. My husband picked it out and it just does not look good next to the other tile he put in. I would hate to rip it out and lay a new one.Would the paint sets you buy at home depot for your garage floors work?

You did not state whether the tile is glazed or terra cotta. If it is glazed, you will not be happy with the result of painting it. So forget that. However, if the tile is terra cotta then its surface is somewhat porous, and if it has never been treated with a tile sealant then it can be stained. First, if you can, test a scrap of tile or a small area that is not very visible. You might also want to carefully use a grout sealant only on the grout to protect the grout from being stained. Stain would be wiped on and wiped off about a minute later. Then after at least 48 hours of drying time, the tile should be sealed.

Q:I‘m installing 13 x 13 cermic tiles. We‘ve laid the tile to try to configure the best layout. However, the one with the best layout with the easiests cuts leaves one very complicated one. The tile lies directly on the air duct, with the cut being a large rectangular hole in the middle of the tile. If we adjusted the layout to have 2 tiles lay over the duct, it creates more complicated cuts everywhere else.How do you suggest I cut this tile?We have only a wet tile saw.

you can use a diamond tip drill bits for drilling holes for tiles. or you can try this trick i've learned from my workers. place masking tape over the tile and mark the spot to drill. set your drill on drill (not on hammer) using a new (sharp) masonry drill slowly drill through the tile. use a tile cutter to cut your way through the hole. this will take some time but you'll save money, time if your only doing 1 tile, however if your going to do lots of drilling better get a diamond tip drill bit. you can also use the angular grinder with diamond disk cutter for 2 or bigger holes. again cover the tile with masking tape. use safety quipment for this. wet saw tile is ok for the layout, go for aesthetic or visual outlook of the tile not the complicatedness of installation, it must look good for you to be satisfied.

Q:I just cant figure it out i must have wasted 10 pieces of tile trying the tile that is currently laid on the floor..it hasnt been cut at all to get it to fit..and its not two pieces..its one piece of tile that has 2 circles cut into it that fit perfectly that looks like the radiator was picked up and the legs placed into the holeshow do i do this? i know you are SUPPOSED to cut the tile in half and them put it back together..but..im just curious if there is a way im not thinking about??

Car jack lift the rad a little and pop tile under.

Q:How can I remove ceramic tiles from a bathroom wall without damage the wall itself, as I want to paint the wall. Would steam help loosen the glue used?

The tiles are held on with grout, not glue. It all depends on where these tiles are and the condition of the wall behind them. Do any of the tiles have cracks? Is there any black mould growing at the edges where the tiles meet a wall or the tub? But before I go any further - If the tiles are surrounding the tub, aka tub surround or shower stall, then don't use only paint on plain dry wall. It just won't work... well, it will work, but not for long. You'll have to replace the dry wall within months! Now, to start you need to crack a tile or two, break it from the wall, scrap the rest off with a strong flat metal tool (some call them putty knives). The more moisture behind the tile the easier the tiles come off. Some tiles will be so adhered it will take the drywall paper or drywall with it, and you will have to either replace the drywall or mud it, then sand it flat and prime it. You can't get away with this, no matter how you try. It is the way of the tile, so to speak. To replace the wall or part of it there is a fairly new product on the market that is highly water resistent - nothing in this world is water proof! All succumbs to water, eventually. - you will find it at Home Depot , or any other building supplier, and it looks like concrete. Heavy as hell, and sold in sheets like drywall. You have to use a skill saw to cut out the size you need, and use screws to adhere it to the 2x4's that makes the room's frame.

Q:How to quickly remove the transparent tape on the tiles

They can say the way, that is, will get rid of the tile surface layer of glaze!

Q:I‘m curious...How are Terra Cotta roof tiles secured to the roof?? It seems that if they were nailed down, the installer would risk the chance of cracking, or shattering the tile..Is there some type of nail set that prohibits driving the fastener too far into the pieces? Obviously, they just don‘t lie there...

here in the uk we dont use shingles ..not man enough to last ..so we have clay . ncrete ..and terra cotta roof tiles ...no point in putting on a roof covering unless it gonna last at least 100 years ..out roof tiles have hooks at top that sit behind the tile lathe ...most tiles are not actually nailed ..most are every 3 or 5 rows ..i have worked on dozens of roofs where not one was nailed ..the roof angles and tile weight prevent them from moving ..we fix with either galvanised or copper nails