First thing I learned about laying tile it to throw the tile spacers away. Tiles are not the exact same size. I use a laser square and snap a chalk line grid in a 2X2 tile pattern. That allows me to square off any wall I want and still start laying tile in any place I want. It also allows me to lay the full tiles and have someone else man the tile saw to precut tiles ahead of me.

Second thing I learned was to switch to metric. Probably not practical for you to find much less buy metric tapes, but it's so much easier and faster.

Use a scale and a measuring cup to mix the thinset. Measure out the water and weigh the powder. That way your thinset is the exact same consistency between batches.

Tiles 12X12 and over, i've started back buttering. Put some thinset on the back of the tile and use the flat side of the notched trowel to spread it out.

Nice job on the tile........

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Matt (SD,CA)

1984 300SD.. White/Chrome Bunts..Green

1997 2500 Dodge Ram 5.9 Cummins 12 Valve 36 PSI of Boost = 400+hp & 800+tQ .. ..Greenspeed

2004 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Quad Cab Cummins 5.9 H.O "596hp/1225tq" 6 spd. Man. Leather Heated seats/Loaded..Flame Red....GREENSPEED

Global warming...Doing my part, Smokin da hippies..

Fight the good fight!......

...........no, I wouldn't........

What is the subfloor material you are tiling to?

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

In my experience, it is dependant only on how long some products have been sitting in the big box store. In my agency representation experience, setting materials shipped to big box retailers were identical in quality and freshness to those setting materials shipped to tile and stone distributors. I have represented the same products to both wholesale and retail in the same regions. This held true for everything from tile saws and blades, tools, sponges, sealers, cleaners, grout colorant......everything I've repped to the big boxes. The only advantage big boxes typically get, are more favorable freight considerations. Price and availability should be the only considerations for the DIYer to compare where to buy.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Terry,

I've been in the tile and stone business for 26 years. Do you have a LINK to the TCA annual manual that is downloadable for free? (...No charge.) I haven't found one that is free to quickly advise anyone to read up on their own particular installation in short order.

I pick up the annual printed TCA booklet at the trade shows, or have one of my manufacturers mail me a few from time to time......but I've not found it on-line without a charge.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Neither one is suitable for directly bonding tile to it in wet areas. This includes countertops/drainboards. Only an approved waterproof membrane affixed to the surface of the OSB or plywood, make it suitable to tile to in wet areas, or potential wet areas.

As a note of reference, Hardibackerboard, Durock, Wonderboard, and GP Denshield (to name a few) are NOT waterproof barrier substrate materials, although they are used in many wet applications.

Here are a few industry approved waterproof/anti-fracture membranes by the product's names,
and their corporate headquartered city/state:

Redguard by Custom Building Products, Seal Beach, CA.
N.A.C. (National Applied Construction Products), Cleveland, OH.
Noble Seal (assorted membranes) Grand Haven, MI.
ProtectoWrap, Denver, CO.
Composeal Gold membrane, Los Angeles, CA.
Laticrete 9235 Waterproof Membrane, Bethany, CT.

Those are some of the widely known waterproof membranes available on the wholesale market. Not always available in the big box retail stores such as Lowe's & Home Depot.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Yep, thats why we put a membrane down before setting the showers and tubs. Although sometimes we use Wonderboard too.

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2006 CL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2026 Genesis GV70
2007 Tiara 3200

Sounds like; shower pan material. That is, (.40 mil PVC sheet vinyl) Available at Lowe's and most all tile distributors in 48", 60" and 72" widths. Lengths cut to order. The brand I rep. claims a 50 year expected lifespan.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Thanks for all the advice guys and great looking tile floor pictures. I have hardwood floors in the kitchen but the old owners let some water damage get to it, its dried now no mold or anything just looks discolored, and there are nail holes everywhere!! I will be putting down 1/4 inch thick either hardibacker board or a georgia pacific product called Densheild. haven't really decided. In the entryway I will be tiling over plywood can't put anything else underneath it due to the height it would be at wouldn't allow the door to open.

Simplist thing is to sand the wood down really well and put on three to five coats of oil based poly gloss. I have at least eight apartments so equipped and am not having problems with them after 8 years.

I expected to have to add ceramic tile after five years or so but its not been a problem.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

thought about doing that but 2 problems 1. the wife wants tile floors 2. there are a lot of nail holes and the old subfloor had what looks like tar paper for roofing underneath it and since water soaked into the floor the hardwood now has a layer of black dye soaked into it. I had to sand down really really far to find good hardwood. but mainly problem 1.

key is that the subfloor has to be strong, and flex has to be at a minimum. otherwise your nice grout lines will crack and the grout will come out in small chunks over time and look like crap. at the least, screw the existing plywood firmly into all flooring joists, using good wood screws.

if it is a good sized area, I would be tempted to remove the front door and re-install it at a higher height, IF there is room to do so, in order to get the subfloor properly reinforced. it's not usually a big job, most entry doors are built into their own frame/jamb and usually just a few screws hold it in. if it is an older entranceway, it is also a good opportunity to replace the door sill under the entrance and re-seal it (this area will often have some rot over time).

bottom line is that if your subfloor isn't well prepped, your tiling job will be a waste of time, IMO.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

I had rot spots in my wood floors very very nasty. I refinished a wood floor in high school for my dad and knew after finishing my tile project I wasn't up to sanding the floor. My house is about 65% wood floors. so i called a floor guy. the floors look amazing! he was able to replace the rotten wood and once he was done you couldn't tell the difference between the 40 year old wood and the new stuff he installed.

here are some hard wood pics.





wish i had a before picture. the main room in the first picture had 3 large black, basket ball size rot spots in it.

If i had hard wood in the kitchen i'd do what they said above and put on like 5 coats of polyurethane.

My dad and I made our own kayaks when I was a kid. we used some marine grade polyurethane from one of the boat places to seal the wooden skeletons of the kayaks. they looked awesome. don't know how well it would work on a floor. but i can tell you its waterproof.

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I've been thinking about what to install in the kitchen, and after my step dad and I looked into the tile option we realized that in order to eliminated the flex in the sub floor I would have to install a layer of plywood, then a layer of the hardy backer stuff to make it hard and smooth, plus the layer of thin-set plus the tile, we were looking at about an inch and a half of elevation change in the kitchen. My kitchen is upstairs so i can't lower the sub floor.

something to think about. I have leno in my kitchen (not the funny man with cool cars ether )

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