Ceramic tile Installation requirements

I was going to show how a ceramic tile repair this but upon inspection of the floor there was more than meets the eye.
Support of the subfloor itself has to be sturdy no mater what kind of underlayment you are going to use.
Well in this case the underlayment was 1/2" (inch) plywood but that was not the problem.
The problem was 2"x8" floor joist where used to build the room extension. That will not be stable enough to keep a ceramic or porcelain tile floor from cracking or the grout for that matter.
A sturdy foundation is needed.
There are alternatives to this problem. Either extra support in the floor joist, one rule I tend to stand by, is if the floor joist are anything less than 2x10's added support or other flooring alternatives are suggested.
So before your heart gets set on a new tile floor, check to see what you are standing on.

allflooringinc.com

Don't forget to visit my website at allflooringinc.com. checkout the specials on my shop site.

Ceramic Tile Repair

In the next week I will be doing a ceramic tile repair. This will be a detailed instruction on the removal of a couple of cracked tiles and replacing them. I will show you the technique of removing tiles without cracking the surrounding good tiles, removing the old thinset and replacing the tile. In this case there is grout that is left over from the job that maches, so I will be using a blending technique. The blending technique prevents me from having to remove and regrout the whole floor.

Stain resistant grout

"Tec" has a new product out called "Grout Boost". It is an additive that is mixed with the grout instead of water. It can be mixed with other grouts as well. The sizes are 27oz. bottle for a 10lb bag of sanded grout. A 70 oz. bottle for a 25 lb. bag of sanded grout, And a 48oz bottle for a 8-10 lb carton of grout.

I used this product on numerous types of tile, Travertine, porcelain and ceramic. The installers like it as well. It does not have an odor, and clean up is a breeze. Once the grout is cured (48 hours) there is no need for sealing the grout. Not only does it resist most stains but it also makes the grout more durable

This is one product that has simplified the process of having to seal grout.

DIY carpet installation

This is what it should look like after following the steps. A good seam has no gaps, no overlaps and do not over heat.

Next roll the seam roller over the seam back and forth in the direction of the seam directly over the seam. Don't press too hard. Presssing too hard may cause the seam to gap.

One of my tricks to a good seam is to slightly lift the back of the seam iron up to keep the carpet off the seam tape after it has been smoothly slid over the "tape" than using my hand and pressing the carpet onto the seam tape from the "weight tray" towards the back of the seam iron. Doing this is a good way to make sure the carpet does not overlap or gap. A good seam does not peak from over heating and doen not havegaps or overlapping.

Here I am checking to make sure the two pieces are close together and the red line on the seam tape is lined up center with the seam. This is also a way to tell if you are ready to move the iron. Leaving the iron in place too long will burn the seam tape and it will stick to the padding.

Let the seam iron heat the seam tape until you can move the iron the length of the iron, it should "slide smoothly. If not the tape isn't melted enough. Have your seam roller and you tool tray ready for this step.

While you are setting up your two pieces of carpet plug in the seam iron and set the heat adjustment on slightly higher than two (2). The heat dial has a range from one(1) up to four(4),four being the hottest. When the red indicater light goes off, you are ready to set the iron in place. For beginners, I suggest leaving the dial on 2 1/2. That way you can move slowly without over heating the backing of the carpet. Over heating will cause seam"peaking". The cooler the better, but the seamtape still has to melt. So BE CAREFULL! Hot silicone Burns.

Next, gently pull back the carpet at the seam and center a piece of seam tape pre cut to the length of the seam. Notice the red line on the seam tape. That is the center line of your seam.
Make sure both pieces of carpet line up close together. When both pieces lay together ,the backings of each should touch.

Here is a sample of what I mean when I reffer to a relief cut. Where the two pieces come together is where the seam will end. This is ready to seam. When I cut the fill piece,the one edge was straight edged and in the picture I cut the other piece.

While laying out the carpet, you will want to make sure the carpet is lond enough on all sides ,then use you carpet knife to cut relief cuts. Relief cuts help when making your seams. It makes the carpet easier to move into place and lay flat. A fill piece that lays flat and is close as possible to exact size makes for a smoother seam.

While straight edging, be sure not to cut off the nap. Cutting off the nap will make it look as though there is a gap in the seam. The way to do this is to pull back on the knife so it does not cut to deep.

Carpet Tiles
Find everything you need to know about Carpet Tiles

I measured the area to be filled. Then cut the piece three (3")inches larger than needed. Carpet has a direction in the nap (the nap is the direction of the pile), Be sure all the carpet is running the same way. You can tell this by running your hand over the carpet, if the carpet pile stands up in one direction and lays down in another, than the carpet needs to be turned around.

Before a seam can be made the edges need to staight edged.

Most tools used in this post are Orcon. http://fcisd.orcon.com/

The pad is in and now it is time to roll out the carpet. since the room is 13"(feet) wide and most carpet rolls come in either 12",15",or 13.2"(feet), I will have a seam.

This is what the tack strip should look like. Some installers will lay two rows of tack strip down around areas that might cause problems when it comes time to stretch the carpet in. I chose the one row method.

The first step. remove all furniture ,debris and tools from the area to be carpeted. Then lay out enough tack strip to follow the whole perrimeter of the room. Cut the pieces to fit about 3/4" from the wall (in this case the home owner did not install the base board, so for ease of ever having to pull the carpet up in the future, I left it the 3/4" distance.
A hammer drill with a 5/32" masonry drill bit is needed to drill holes every six to eight inches thru the "strip" and the concrete.One inch aluminum concrete "plugs" are used to fasten the"strip" to the concrete.

Now that the tack strip is installed, it is time for the rebond padding. In my expierence, 1/2 inch 8 pound rebond padding gives you the best insulation value, will last the longest and feels good to walk on. Measure the room. In this case the room is 13'x27', most padding comes in a widths of 6', so it was decided to roll out the pad the 27 foot lenght and "fill" the width.
If you notice in the picture, the padding should be cut just along the tack strip. Once the padding is all layed out, the next step is to duct tape any seams that are in the pad. As in the following picture. To keep the padding from moving around I like to use spray adhesive, Camie 363 High strength Fast tack. http://www.camie.com/