Q:Hi,We put porcelain tiles on our kitchen floor.Unfortunately the contractor did not do a great job. He did not clean it properly and now the grout is all over the tiles. its been 1 month the they put the tiles. How can I take grout off the tiles? I got a grout cleaner from Home depot but its not working as it should be. Please advise

You can use Muratec acid, but use it carefully. Wear rubber gloves, and use it slowly, try and take it off in small layers. Don't pour it on and let it set too long. Porcelain has a continuous color all the way through, so there might be a little dulling in the sheen from the glaze being removed, but just re-seal the tile. If your contracted through a tile outlet, and they recommended the contractor, he is responsible for the install and final product. Take photos before you try to clean it, and take them to the store and have them repair it. There is no sense in you trying to fix what should have been done right the first time. I have had to go behind other installers that did a slop job -grout lines crooked, tiles cut wrong, wavy floors to repair them-sometimes having to completely rip up the whole floor and start over at the company expense. Be sure when having any contracted work done that you are satisfied with the final work, once you sign off on it and pay them, you are releasing them from obligation from that point on.

Q:When did the tiles begin?

The use of tiles has a long history, it first appeared in the ancient Egyptian pyramid of the room, and a long time ago began to contact with the bath. In the Islamic state, the tiles are painted with flowers and plant patterns. In the medieval England, people will be different colors of geometric brick shop in the church and the monastery on the floor.

Q:I see Dongpeng ceramic tile on the packaging that write what the site, and then write the OF, OB what, I now Tangshan life, we say now Tangshan Dongpeng brick are Shandong, is that right?

Carton written to the address, where the same brand where the production of almost different places only factory

Q:Can you put linoleum over tile?

First of all, you really need to check with your landlord/lady before putting anything down on the floor. I've never lived in a rental where I could paint the walls much less mess with the flooring! That having been said, no, you cannot just put vinyl over tile since vinyl conforms to whatever is underneath it, it will take on the contour of the tile and warp and gap. You'd really need to take up the tile, and depending on what type of subfloor you have, you would either have to sand the concrete and put an underlayment over that or lay hardibacker on a wood subfloor, all of which will be more costly and time consuming than I'm sure you would be willing to invest in a rental, not to mention the fact that I'm sure your landlord/lady will pitch a fit if you do it without his/her consent. I say just live with it. Put down some throw rugs if it bothers you that much.

Q:Have a tiled half wall that I dont like, and as I neither know how to remove tiles or if how to drill through a tile can anyone help?

A bit for drilling concrete works well , also they make a spade bit that can be used for tile or glass, If it is a thick tile i would use a bit and a drill with the sds chuck as it won't slip. You can get the bits at Home Depot of just about any hardware/lumber supply store. the drill with the sds chuck can be rented if you do not have one.this is if you are trying to anchor something into the tiled wall. If you want to remove the tile, you are better to pull the tile and drywall off at the same time , if you try removing the tile alone it will damage the drywall and you'll have to float the whole thing or remove it anyway. Good Luck !

Q:I am putting in a wood stove and want to make a mural behind it - should I tile the board and then put it up, or tile it on the wall. I am using wall spacers and cement board. I want to make a mural of a tree - the wall is 8‘ by 3‘ - should I cover the whole wall or just the part behind the wood stove? do I need special grout?thanks for your answers

There is really much more to tile installation than a quick answer. I would suggest mounting the cement board first, then the tile, but for a first timer there might be special challenges to installing tile on a vertical surface if the tile does not have built-in tile spacers or you don’t use tile spacers. It also depends on what kind of tile you use. Hand molded tiles will be more irregular. Even Home Depot sells a great book on tile installation that is not very expensive and there are also videos out there. An oldie but goodie is Setting Tile by Michael Byrne. Also, people have a tendance to use the word grout as a generic term for the adhesive. The stuff you use to mount the tiles is very different from what is put betweent the tiles. You should use a cement based mortar to set the tiles (don’t use the cheap white mastic adhesive, it is not as strong!) You then use a grout for inbetween the tiles. Again, use a cement based grout as well. You do want to use a cement board such as Durock, not greenboard. You might also want to check out fire code issues before you install the wood stove. Check with the place you got the stove from. Then there are many types of grout sealers. You may end up with ash blackened grout if it is not sealed. I recommend a penetrating sealer, not silicone sealer. Then, how will you finish the edges? Will the raw edges of the tile show or do you have matching trim tiles to finish the edges? A lot of these home improvements shows show these really quickie tile installations, which look nice at first (actually I think most of them look cheap and cheesy) but I can guarantee the grout will be cracking within 6 months or the tiles popping up because not enough time was allowed for the mortar to dry before grouting. See, not to burst your bubble, I just think you should research this before you start this project so you end up with a very nice professional looking job you can be proud of!

Q:CAN YOU LAY TILE OVER TILE

If your existing tile is tight to the floor and in good shape (no cracks, loose tile, loose grout) yes you can. You need to use a thin set with a very high latex content like TEC Superflex. Be sure that the existing tile and grout is perfectly clean and there are no sealers left on the grout. This is an industry accepted method.

Q:Is there a paint that can paint over bathroom tile?

I'm guessing that you're looking for total coverage and not just for a small decorative purpose. In that case, it's really all about the prep work you put into it. Wash the tiles down with a TSP mixture, to remove any oil residue off the tile and wash that off afterwards, making sure it's dry. Then apply a primer to the tiles. I've personally found the Glidden Gripper primer to work best at covering ceramic/porcelain. Give that about 24 hours to set once you apply it. You can then cover it with your choice of paint and sheen. I would highly recommend a glossy paint though so it stands up to water; a satin or semi-gloss will work best. Using a foam roller is also a good idea, as this will give it the smoothest finish possible. I would however only recommend this for -wall- applications. It's not meant to be done on the floor and in that case you are better off with a skim coat of concrete and starting with a different type of floor. Painting it won't hold up over time, unless it's an epoxy type paint, but those are more formulated for masonry. Hope this helps!~

Q:Does all kinds of tiles calculate the formula per square meter? For example, a few pieces of 300X600 is a square meter?

Really dizzy I was selling tiles 30 * 60 is now very common This is the iron wall used, no matter what kind of specifications, you just 1 by (side * wide), into the meter unit. 80 * 80 = 1.56; 30 * 30 = 11; 30 * 45 = 7.4; 60 * 60 = 2.78; 30 * 60 = 5.56. But according to square down, not enough, will almost, will be a waste.

Q:I went and removed 3 ft of tiles from the side of the bath tub starting at the bottom. The tiles had the cement on it so it came off the wall exposing the wood the to the house and i saw the water damage to the wood. How do i patch up the wall? Do I use plywood and than cement it and than add the new tiles?

If I understand the problem correctly, it sounds like you have water damage inside you wall. You first need to find out what caused that damage. If you repair the wall without finding the water leak, it will happen again. If the area was dry rot and it didn't sem like there was currently water there, then it is likely safe to fix. Carefully remove tiles until you no longer see any water damage to the wood. I'm not sure what wood is there. If its plywood, replace it with a like thickness (most of the time today, they use drywall, but its a special kind that is usually green that's made for bathrooms and moist areas). Before replacing the tiles, clean them up and remove any old grout from the edges. Be careful as the tile are very brittle and break easy. There are a number of bathroom tile type caulks that can adhere the tile to the wood. I suggest going to somewhere like Lowe's or Home Depot or a similar store and ask someone in the plumbing dept or the paint dept what kind of caulk to use to attach tile to wood. Apply the tile to the wall using the caulk. Now you need to re-grout the seams. Buy grout and apply it in all the seams. Let it completely dry (read the box but most say at least 24 to 48 hrs to completely cure) then after its cured, apply grout sealer over the top of the grout seams.