Tag Floor & Wall Tiling Works

Houses for sale will receive more offers when an open house is staged correctly. The reason that this works so well is that clearing out the homeowners personal things potential buyers can see their things in the houses for sale easier. To stage a correct open house and receive more offers for the home, there are steps that you must take.

Step one

Look at your home with a buyer’s eye and see what turns you off about the home that can be fixed for a small amount of money and little time. One thing that is an easy fix it change unattractive paint colors. It is best if you choose neutral colors or some shade of white. This makes it easier for a potential buyer to picture the walls done in their favorite colors.

Step two

Once you have any paint issues taken care of look at any fixes that need to be dome to the outdated or dated areas of your home. For example, in the kitchen the cabinets can be updated by just changing the hardware. If they have been painted and the paint is peeling, you should scrape the paint off and either paint them again or varnish them. Although it could be expensive and time consuming if the floor is tile or linoleum and it is stained or cracking you should replace it. No potential buyer wants to walk into a room and see stained, cracked flooring. This goes for the bathroom also. In the bathroom, make sure that if there is tiling around the tub or the shower you need to make sure it is clean, mildew, and mold free. You also need to make sure that the carpet is clean and odor and stain free.

Step three

Many houses for sale have small repairs that will need to be repaired before hosting an open house. Take time to check out every room for any repairs such as loose floorboards, a missing railing on the staircases, cracks in the walls, electrical sockets that do not work, or burnt out lights.

Step four

Rent storage unit and move personal accessories and unneeded furniture to the unit. This can include small or large pieces of furniture that does not need to be in the home, personal collections, and family photos. You can make the rooms look more spacious if you keep the furnishings down to the basics. Make sure that every room serves a purpose like a family room, bedroom, etc. You can add accent pieces but not more than is necessary. These pieces can include plants, artwork, and pottery. Make sure that the lawn is mowed.

Following these tips for a successful open house will get more offers on houses for sale.

Source by Lora Davis

You are ready for a new bathroom and if you’re like most people your new bathroom will include removing a whirlpool tub or increasing the size of your shower.

In remodeling the walk in shower has become the number one most requested item in the bathroom. Gone are the days of meeting code with a 30 x 30 fiberglass enclosure and in its place is the hand crafted walk in!

There is so much that goes into designing a shower it’s hard to know where to start especially when there is a budget to consider. With over twenty years design experience and almost eight years of field work I know a thing or two about showers. Before you call in a professional such as myself it will benefit you greatly to familiarize yourself with how a custom shower is built.

Let’s start with the basics of the shower there is the pan, walls, plumbing and door. Next we have accessories like niches, decor, shelves, tile and benches.

Each of these will contribute to the cost of your over all project and it’s important to understand all the options so you have a better idea of what your vision will cost.

To start you are going to need to determine the size of your shower. If it’s standard you will have the option to use a fiberglass or pre-made shower pan. This option will save you money over other options.

If you desire a more upscale look or if the size of your shower is custom you might want to look at a tiled pan. With this option the pan can be made in any size and tiled with stone, ceramic, mosaic or marble. A few things to consider here. When tiling a pan one must also give some thought to what material will be used on the curb. Quartz is often a favorite option of the curb and is custom cut to fit. If you are looking to save money a more economical material would be tile. Often in design if quartz is not used the tile that is on the shower walls is used on the curb. One side note to consider is when using tile on your curb you must have a product to finish the tile edges. Bullnose is one way to achieve a clean finished looked and a more economical solution to edging the tile is to use metal/plastic edging. I’m not a fan of the plastic but often I select the metal over bullnose because it can in fact enhance the design.

The other consideration is the tile. The shower floor gets a fair amount of abuse so staying away from marble ( though beautiful and elegant) will keep your shower looking new for years and years.

Moving on let’s talk about the shower walls. Shower walls can be finished with any size tile and any kind of tile but not all are within the same budget. Marble the queen of any bathroom is the most expensive for both labor and material and will come with lots of upkeep. Travertine is next in line for pricing. Though travertine is one of my favorite materials to work with the tolerances for setting this tile are tight and care must be given to materials used behind the scenes so as not to stain this stone. Because marble and stone both require more labor and are more expensive to buy using either of these materials in your bathroom will put your project on the higher end of a bathroom remodel price scale.

If you are looking for custom tile but little up keep and yet you desire a more modest budget I would consider a ceramic or porcelain tile in a large format 12×24 size or plank tile in any size. Both tiles are easy to work with and often can be cut without the use of a wet saw saving time on labor.

Looking for something right in the middle? The best option for middle of the road is ceramic or porcelain subway tile. Subway tile is my favorite tile to work with for several reasons. The first reason is that I consider it to be “ever green” as in it never goes out of style. I love that this unassuming tile can look more glamorous than both stone and marble if designed correctly. It comes in a variety of sizes, colors and it can be installed in herringbone, 1/2 set, 1/3 set stacked and more. The possibilities with subway are endless and the cost is budget friendly. If you want high design but you don’t have the budget for marble subway might be the tile for you.

Other materials to consider are glass and shapes such as hexagon. Both of these will run on the higher side but still not anywhere near the price of marble or travertine. Often these tiles are used for accents to give the shower a little wow factor.

As with the curb thought must be given to how the edges of the tile will be finished with options being bullnose or metal edging. Like the curb the metal edging on the wall will save you money over bullnose.

Now let’s talk plumbing! It may not seem like you have a lot to think about here but in fact you do. Let’s start with the most important plumbing piece besides the obvious rough in pipes, the valve. By code you must use either a pressure balanced, thermostatic mixing or combination of the two. From there you must decide on fixtures such as standard shower head rain shower and body jets. Every component you add to your shower will require thought to ensure the right valves are being used to deliver the pressure needed based on the fixtures used. To save on both material and labor a standard pressure balance valve with standard shower head will help keep your budget balanced.

Another way to save money is by selecting a standard drain. If you are looking to create a bit more glamour the through drain will do the trick. It will cost a bit more for both labor and material but the end look is well worth the upgrade.

The final main piece of the shower is the shower door. Shower doors are not all created equal. There is off the shelf doors that require your opening to be size specific. They come in a variety of finishes as well as glass types. They require assembly but will save money in both material and labor.

My preference is the custom door. Available in almost every finish, and made to order. These doors will have thicker glass and can be treated to resist water marks. The heights can be increased for a more dramatic appearance and they come in both frameless and framed. The doors can be hinged to swing both ways or can be ordered as sliders. Finally these doors can have wrap around glass allowing designers to create stunning show case showers.

With the main shower components already discussed it’s time to explore the features that will enhance your shower. These features will add to your over all shower experience but can also add to the over all cost of your project.

My favorite accessory to add to any shower is the shower niche. It adds dimension to the tile and is great for storing shower essentials while keeping showers looking clutter free. Shower niches can me made to any size and are often tiled in a different material such as mosaic.

Benches are another classic accessory. Code requires a 30 x 30 clear shower space and NKBA requires a 36 x 36 clear space before a shower seat can be added. Shower seats range in size but the most common is 15″ deep and 17″-19″ off the ground. Benches can be covered using the same tile as on the wall of the shower to save money or a piece of quartz can be ordered to cover the top of the bench.

Other accessories include lighting up the niches, grab bars, waterfall mosaics, corner shelves and boxed out walls. The possibilities for creating a one of a kind shower are endless and no matter what your budget there are options available to upgrade your space.

Now that you are familiar with the basics it’s time to call in a professional and get started!

Source by Kim M Ward

Whenever you reach a point in floor tiling that presents a visible edge showing of the floor tile, to give the job that professional finish you should always insert a transition piece of some description. Whether it is at a doorway connecting two rooms of different flooring, or even around the edges of your tile baseboards, a transition piece will hide the ugly edge of the tiles and either the mortar or adhesive which is holding it down, as well as giving the tiles a smooth, cosmetic, and definitive ending to the overall design.

Tile transition pieces are available in a variety of colors, sizes, shapes, materials, and styles, so as a brief rundown of what’s actually available without going too much into detail, I will briefly mention each option which you have to consider suitable for your particular tiling project. Beginning with your cheapest option, plastic transitions come in a wide variety of matching colors ideal for coordinating your color scheme. These however, being your cheapest option, can actually give your finished job a cheap look.

With plastic simply being plastic, it certainly is easy to work with and trim to size, but I don’t really recommend in using these for any tiling job. They will just take away all the appeal of your tile installation hard work and money spent in an instance, and for that little bit extra to add to your budget, I advise you purchase metal transition pieces instead for a more professional and complimentary finish. If you decide to spend a little more, then you will definitely get a lot more for your money.

The metal transition pieces I normally buy are made by Schluter Systems. They offer a wide variety of buffed and polished metal finishes in colors ranging through bronze, platinum, silver, chrome, etc, and are certainly good quality and value for money. As well as the numerous styles available, they also offer these transition pieces for a variety of applications and different depths to suit your tile thickness.

With the nosing transition for instance, this piece is ideal for when tiling a flight of stairs. When the cut-out end is inserted underneath the tiles into a fresh bed of mortar, the extended oversize downward lip on a nosing transition will hide any visible subfloor giving your steps a superb clean finish.

Sloping transitions are ideal for when your tiled floor transfers onto a floor lower in height such as vinyl or hardwood flooring, removing any foot-catching abrupt ends. With flat butt transitions, these are used when transitioning to basically anything you want, including another tiled floor. They are also ideal for finishing off edges such as tile baseboards fitted around the perimeter of the wall, and can give a more pleasing aspect rather than just a bead of silicone cocking finish.

One important factor you should take into consideration though when buying your transition pieces, is the actual thickness of your tile. To give the perfect match, transitions are available in a number of depths to suit tile thickness, but you should always buy one which rests ever so slightly higher than your floor tile when butted next to each other. The reason being for this is to always remember to compensate for your depth of mortar bed, as this will most certainly raise the height of your tile by at least a minimum of 1/8″ inch. This is obviously depending of course on how thick your bed was laid, in respect to the size of your notched trowel used for spreading.

Source by Matthew Seiling

We will assume you’ve already laid tile on your laundry room floor. After you have cleared the wall your next choice is to place on the wall either hardy backer, cement board or leave the wall bare.

We do recommend using a tile called porcelain. The reason is simple, it was made with a.5% water absorption rate. This means the tile will stand up to water quite well. The downside to porcelain tile is how hard it is to work with. With the proper tools you can cut tile to meet your needs.

If you are going to use some type of backer board it is time to install it on the wall. Use the hardy backer screws to secure it to the wall making sure you drive the screws into the wall studs. Once this is complete now it is time to lay out your tile and get a rough idea of how it will fit.

When we build a tile wall behind the washer/dryer we always plan it out so we don’t have to cut the top row. If you want a 4 foot high wall, then tiles that are 12×12 inches make it real simple. If you choose 8×8 inch tile then you can run the height of your wall to 4 ft as well, you’ll simply use 5 tiles instead of 4. Others like to run up to 56 inch height and that is quite alright. Just don’t forget to use bull nose tile for the top row.

Once you have decided the height of your wall then you need to decide how wide you want to go. Many folks choose to run from one wall corner to the other. Others want it to go just past the washer/dryer and that is all. Again, this is personal choice.

By choosing a height that allows you to use full tiles you only have to make cuts to the tile on the horizontal tiles. A lot of people like to work out from the midpoint of the wall.

Finding the midpoint is simply measuring the height you want and divide it by 2. Then measure the width of the wall and divide by two. Once you mark those two spots you have the midpoint. Work from the middle out to lay your tile.

We typically like to work from the most exposed wall. That means we will start with full tiles and work towards the other wall, knowing that wall will have all the cut tiles on it. We can get away with this because one of the machines will hide the cut tiles.

In our neck of the woods many people are replacing their laundry floors with tile and they are building tile walls behind their wash/dryer machines. It looks great and if any water does spill it will easily clean up and run off.

Don’t forget to seal your tile and grout lines 48 hours after you set the tile.

Source by Gideon Williamsons

Whenever you are attempting the job of laying floor tiles, you will undoubtedly find that somewhere in your room has an awkward or irregular spot that requires a specifically cut floor tile to fill the area. Obviously this will not be in the center of the floor, but more likely around the edges of the room somewhere. This is normal, so don’t worry if you were thinking that all tiles should just “fit into place”. I think only once, has there been a time where the tiles worked out perfectly, and I didn’t have to cut them. Very lucky on my part on that one!

Still keeping your initial floor tile projection in mind though, and working from your line of sight found when you enter the room, these should actually be the first attempted spots in which to begin laying floor tiles. It are these ‘nooks and crannies’ with which you will find the most difficult to tile, so it is always best to do these first so that you don’t have to work over the top of freshly laid floor tiles that you will most likely disturb.

Following the ideal pattern of having pre-cut tiles for even your dry laying purposes, once you are happy with your direction and projection of tile laying to the point of these awkward spots from your foundation tile, you should begin to mark out and cut the floor tiles necessary for those particular areas. Before actually making any cuts though, you must certainly have to mark out the tiles first.

If ever you find you are working around a door frame for example, then you must measure the dimensions of the protruding frame and then transfer these to the tile. It can be quite a time consuming and confusing task, but with a little concentration, precise measuring, and the help of an adjustable angle tool, the job is not entirely impossible.

With any odd areas to tile, you may find that you’ll never get it exactly right for a snug fit, but then again it’s not exactly a snug fit you are always looking for. When working next to walls, always compensate for near to 1/8″ inch less in your measurements, as you will need this gap for either your cocking sealant or tile grout filler. Tiles should never be butted directly against a wall, and if you ever find that you are slightly off with your measurements, always remember that your baseboards will hide these ugly edges once they are fixed in place.

Source by Matthew Seiling

Tile baseboards are simply baseboards which are entirely made up of tiles. They can add character to your room with an already existing tiled floor in place, and unlike wooden baseboards which have to be nailed in place and painted or varnished for their final finish; tile baseboards are simply just glued on to foot of the wall.

To get a good size and design match for tile baseboards, the easiest way is to use floor tiles exactly the same as the ones you previously laid, so if you decide upon this, then buy enough to cover the perimeter of your wall in the initial stages of floor tiling preparation. If you take a 12″ inch floor tile for example, then to get a baseboard of an average height of 4″ inches, you simply need to cut your tile into three equal sections.

Because these are straight cuts, the use of a ceramic tile breaker would be ideal for the job, providing of course that it is ceramic tiles you are working with. The other best option would be the electric wet tile saw, but this would undoubtedly take more time to prepare the cuts, as well as giving you cuts of uneven width. If you do use this method, then compensate for the width of the wet tile saw blade. It will remove anything from between 1/16″ to 1/8″ inch extra from the fully cut tile, and can set your pieces off with having irregular sizes.

To calculate the amount of tiles you need for your baseboards if you are using the same style of floor tile, then simply count the amount of tiles you have along each wall, add up the total, then divide by three you get your quantity. When you place them on the wall, make sure to keep your floor grout lines continual by projecting them upward into the tile baseboards. If you do it any other way by placing a tile baseboard directly over where a grout line ends, then you are going to have something that looks very strange indeed. Match each tile baseboard in line with each floor tile.

For sticking them to the wall, the best thing I find to use is a multi-purpose construction adhesive product known as PL Premium. It costs around $5 dollars for an application tube suited for use with cocking guns, and it is a fantastic glue to work with which will practically stick anything to anything instantly. That includes your fingers, so apply it and use with care. This brand may not be available in your region or country, but there will certainly be alternatives and your local hardware store will soon steer you in the right direction with advice.

A couple of other options for adhering tile baseboards to a wall are either regular silicone cocking, or ceramic tile adhesive. Regular cocking doesn’t really have very good adhesive properties and you may find that the tiles have a tendency to slide. Pre-mixed ceramic tile adhesive though does work well with wall tiling applications, for which basically tile baseboards really are, but providing it is never allowed to come in contact with water.

To apply this you simply take a v-notch trowel and ‘back butter’ the adhesive onto the tile, spreading evenly, and then affixing in place. It can however, be a lot messier that simply squirting on a line of construction adhesive from a cocking gun, but all the same it is still very effective at attaching wall tiles successfully.

Source by Matthew Seiling