Ada Wilhelm has a gorgeous rectangular tile floor in her house in Hernando, FL. She wrote to me with a very simple question: "How can we darken a grout that is too light?" Well Ada, I'm wondering why you want to lighten it after looking at the photo you sent below. The grout, to me, looks […]
DEAR TIM: I embarked on a simple caulking repair around my bathtub that's now turned into a quest. While pulling out old caulk I discovered loose tile. After removing four rows of tile up from the top of the tub, I then was met by a crumbling wall surface behind the tile. I took out […]
Christie is remodeling her bathroom in Monroe, CT. She's conflicted about how to attach the toe strip on top of her laminate flooring. "I recently painted my ceramic wall tile with a tub and tile paint by Rustoleum, and installed vinyl plank flooring in my bathroom. I have quarter round to match the flooring for the […]
Dylan, who hales from Southampton, England in the UK, has an issue with grout in his toilet. "I have a clump of grout in my toilet bend which a dumbhead tiler poured down my toilet last night and it's set. What is the best way to remove it? I have a grout remover and was thinking […]
Kathleen, who loves to have clean grout in Peoria, AZ, asked a common question about sealing grout. "Thanks for the info on cleaning the grout. After it is clean can I paint some protector sealer on the grout? A tile man did once when I was in my other house and it kept my kitchen safe […]
Margaret Warren has a mess down in Alvin, TX. "We had travertine mixed blocks laid as kitchen backsplash. The installer didn't know to seal the tile, so now we have the crevices and pits filled with grout. How would you recommend removing the unwanted grout. It's two days old and we've been working to remove." Ouch! […]
Quick Column Summary: Tiling on stained concrete Clean floor with oxygen bleach Test thinset for bonding to concrete Teresa Norrell, from Moyock, NC, has a pretty simple question. "Can I install tile directly to a previously stained concrete floor? I fear the thinset mortar will not adhere to the stained concrete." Here's my answer: Teresa, […]
Quick Column Summary: Painting tiles to hide grout lines Grout lines may not fill thick enough Easier to replace tile with drywall Stefania, who lives in the wonderful city of Johannesburg, Africa, has a fascinating question: "Hi there! I would like to paint over my bathroom tiles, however I don't want to see the lines […]
Quick Column Summary: How to remove adhesive/thinset from brick fireplace Try adhesive removers Thinset must be chiseled off Danielle Torkensen is a new homeowner in Bloomington, California. She inherited a mess where the previous homeowner, well let her tell you: "I am a recent new homeowner & the previous owners messed up our brick fireplace. […]
DEAR TIM: My wife wants me to build a wood table our family could gather around for feasts. She desires a contemporary design using ceramic tile with the tile inset into the center of the table. Have you done this before and what should I be aware of? Can I grout the ceramic tile since […]
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