Cement board products are simply wonderful. They are such a simple idea when you stop and think about it. What's more, because of its thickness, you can easily attach these products to wood framing with rust resistant roofing nails or galvanized screws. You don't need fancy drills, anchors and such to work with cement board!

Installing the Cement Board

Probably the hardest part of installing cement board is carrying it from the truck to the room where you will use it. It is somewhat heavy. It is also an abrasive material. If you have good flooring in the vicinity of your workplace you will need to tarp them or cover them well with two layers of red rosin paper. Little pieces of sand and cement paste fall off the edges of the cement board creating a scratch hazard.

Cutting the Backer Board

There are two ways to cut cement board. You can score it with a carbide tipped tool and then snap it like drywall. This always leaves a fairly ragged edge.

If you want a clean edge, you will have to saw it like a piece of plywood. Sawing creates massive quantities of cement dust. You will have to do all sawing outside and use an old circular saw equipped with a masonry blade. Never use a new or good saw. The concrete dust will enter the electrical workings of the saw and ruin them in no time flat. I also urge that you use an approved NIOSH/OSHA dust mask!

Holes for faucets and pipes can be made with a cold chisel. If you score both sides of the material where you intend the hole to be you can end up with a fairly clean hole. Use moderate hammer strokes when hitting the chisel. You can always increase the pounding force if necessary.

Nailing/Screwing The Board

Before you install cement board, it is really important to make sure that the framing lumber is dry. New construction lumber can become saturated if the roof is not put on quickly. The framing lumber can actually have a high moisture content on its own. You need to let the lumber dry out before you cover it with cement board and vapor barriers. If you don't do this, you can trap moisture in the wall cavity. Remodel jobs usually do not have this problem, especially if you are putting cement board on old framing lumber.

Most cement board manufacturers will permit you to use nails or screws to attach the material to framing. If you decide to use screws, make sure you keep the screw heads flush with the cement board surface. If not, they may cause a tile to seat unevenly.

You will find that it is very hard to nail close to the edge of cement boards. As such, try to keep corner studs 3/4 inch out from the corners. If you install them tightly, you will have problems attaching the second sheet into a corner, trust me.

Nail or screw fastenings should be every eight inches on center. Most installers fail to follow this important step. Usually I see nails on 12 inch centers or more!

How High Should it Be?

Ceramic tile is often installed to a height of six feet off the finished floor in many bathrooms. Often the cement board is installed just three feet up from the surface of the tub or shower. I suggest that you take it to within four inches of where the tile will end on all top edges. It should extend to within one inch of all vertical edges of the ceramic tile.

Seams

The manufacturers of the cement boards really want you to tape the joints in similar fashion to taping drywall. You have to use thinset compounds and special fiberglass tape. Standard joint compound and paper tape will not do behind ceramic tile! It will rot and fail. Remember, premixed joint compounds sold in those five gallon buckets are nothing more than water soluble glue and dust. Why do you think they dissolve so easily when wet?

If you do tape the joints as recommended, you may have to really take your time and feather the edges with additional thinset. I'll never forget the first time I did it! As hard as I tried, I ended up with a hump in the wall. Like an idiot, I installed the tile without dealing with the hump. I thought the tile adhesive would smooth it out. Wrong!

Installation Literature

Every manufacturer has great installation literature. I URGE you to ask for it when you purchase the product. Odds are they will not have it handy. I have often found that to be the case in supply houses I deal with.

Most manufacturers will gladly send the installation literature to you. USG happens to have a very comprehensive brochure with excellent illustrations. I believe the James Hardie company has one as well!

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Grouting Ceramic Tile - It is REALLY Easy!

So, you survived the grout removal ordeal. Do you want to take a break or can you run with the big dogs and just keep going? Great, I knew you could do it. Let's get the few tools we need and get right to it.

Tools - The Bare Minimum

Installing ceramic tile grout requires only one sophisticated tool and a good sponge. You need a hard rubber float that has a crisp edge. These floats can be found at virtually any tile specialty shop. Don't get a rubber float that looks like it has a sponge pad! I want a float that has smooth rubber.

The sponge is very important. Grout sponges are synthetic and have rounded edges, NO sharp 90 degree angles anywhere. I like to use a sponge that measures approximately 5 by 7 inches and is 1.5 inches thick. You will need two clean five gallon buckets and a three inch wide mixing knife of some sort.

Wall Grout and Sanded Grout

Wall grout generally doesn't have sand particles in it. Sanded grout contains fine grain silica sand. It is used to grout joints 1/8 inch and bigger. Standard wall tile in most bathrooms will not accept sanded grout. It is used for larger tiles such as 8 x 8 and up where the grout joint is often 3/8 inch or so.

Mixing the Grout

I like to use clean water. I have tried the fancy additives. However, if you use colored grout, you may have problems with color uniformity. Only mix enough grout that you can use in one hour or so. That translates to about 32 volumetric ounces for an average job. Remember, it only takes four to five minutes to mix a batch. If you go slower and the grout hardens, you have to throw it away.

Mix the grout by hand until it resembles the consistency of cake icing. It should be able to stick onto a knife without any trouble. I don't want it as thick as peanut butter. Think you can handle that? As you begin to mix, the grout will seem lumpy. Mix it for about two minutes and just let it sit for three minutes. Spend this time getting warm water into the other clean bucket. When you get back with the water you will notice that the lumps disappear with a little additional mixing.

Start High - Work Down

I want you to only grout about five to six square feet at a time. Use the mixing knife to apply a wad of grout to the tile. Then wet the rubber float. Using back and forth strokes, bulldoze the grout across the tile. Always cross over the grout joints between tiles at a 45 degree angle while holding the rubber float at a 45 degree angle. Grout will get all over the tile and it will look a mess! That's OK. The grout lines will look fat and messy at this time. Remove as much excess from the tile as possible with the rubber float. Pull the float across the tile at a 45 degree angle to remove the excess grout.

Striking the Joints

Now for the fun part! Take the sponge and immerse it in the water. Squeeze the sponge to remove ALL water. Then gently rub the sponge across the face of the tile in a circular motion. The sponge will quickly fill up with grout. Rinse it out and squeeze the sponge dry again. Do this over the area you grouted until the tile looks fairly clean. The joints will still look fairly rough.

Rinse the sponge again. Now, turn the sponge on its edge. Run the sponge lightly up and down a grout line. You will notice that you can control the amount of grout in a joint by the amount of pressure you apply. More pressure, less grout in the joint. I like my joints about 1/8 inch or slightly less. Do this process on all grout lines and it will look first class. Rinse the sponge frequently.

If you did everything correctly, the joints will look perfect. However, there is still a haze on the tile. Wait about one hour or so until the grout firms up, and you can remove the haze with a clean and practically dry sponge.

Water - The Enemy

You need water, lots of it, to do a grout job. But the water is also your worst enemy. If you have too much water in the sponge as you strike the joints, you can dissolve some of the cement out of the grout. This will make it weak. It will crumble over time and/or powder and dust. Just squeeze the sponge hard every time you rinse and you should be fine.

Also, don't grout between the tub and the first row of tile. This joint should be caulked. Grout will get into this joint as you do the rest. No problem. Just use a tooth pick to remove it as soon as you finish striking the joints above it. The soft grout will readily come out with the tooth pick. Let the new grout dry 24 hours before using the shower. Any grout haze on the tile will come off with a soft towel.

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Tile Grout Removal

OK, it's time to get to work. Hey, no coffee! It might make you jittery. We have four options available to us to remove the old grout. Two require hand tools, while the other two require the use of power tools. I'll describe each method and you be the judge.

Hammer and Chisel (Really an Old Screwdriver)

Option one works. I've used it for many years. It takes time, but it is effective. You simply chisel out the old grout. You must use a thin chisel, such as an old flathead screwdriver. The trick is to tap lightly and to hold the screwdriver at a 45 degree angle to the grout. If you pound straight ahead, you will chip tiles.

The other important step in this process is to chip "away from" grout that is in place. I know that you can not do this initially when you first start to chisel. However, once you have a half inch or so removed, you need to chisel towards the place you just removed grout from. This technique puts less stress on the tile than if you were to chisel towards existing in-place grout. You will never get all of the grout from between the tiles. You are simply trying to expose the sides of the tile or the unglazed portion. If you try to chisel too deeply you will chip the tile. NEVER drive the chisel down in between two tiles! This will crack tiles. Occasionally, you will have to gently scrape little bits of grout from the edges of tile. Take your time.

The Scraper / Digger Raptor Claw!

If you visit a ceramic tile store, you should find a hand tool that some people use to remove grout. It is simply a single piece of curved steel to which a singular thin carbide tooth is attached. You drag this tooth across the grout and sort of plow out the grout. It is tough to do and you run the risk of scraping a tile if not extremely careful. I have never liked using this tool to remove grout. It is, however, a very effective tool for scoring and cutting cement backer board for tile. Be careful if you choose this method!

Power Grinder - Dremel Tool

If you own or can borrow a Dremel®, this may be your best bet. These tools are variable speed hand held grinders. You can purchase up to 72 different tips to do just about any job. They have an attachment designed for grout removal. Once attached to the rotary tool, it keeps the tool at the proper angle and the cutting bit centered between the tiles. If you don't like the sound of a dentist's drill, this may not be for you!

RotoZip® - Another Power Option

Drywall hangers use a neat tool to cut out drywall around electric boxes and any other opening. These are basically a mutation of the Dremel Tool. The RotoZip uses special drill bits that are shaped so the side of the bit cuts. The RotoZip and Porter Cable companies make bits that fit this tool which will cut ceramic tile. If this bit cuts tile, it will easily handle grout. The RotoZip tool, in my opinion is much harder to control for grout removal than the Dremel Tool. However, it beats chiseling the grout by hand. Be careful and just go slow till you get the hang of it. There is a grout removal attachment for the RotoZip tools.

No matter which way you go, be sure to lay an old blanket or drop cloth in the tub/shower area. Grout chips, if stepped on, will easily scratch a tub or shower surface. Periodically, remove the blanket and vacuum or brush the chips from the tub area. The time will be well spent.

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Ceramic Tile Grout Removal

How many 10 year old or older bathrooms do you know of that have pristine white ceramic tile grout? Does it look like the day it was installed? I can only think of two. Both of these bathrooms are used by people with no children. The rest of the house is also immaculate. Of course, I'm envious. I wish my life was so orderly to allow me ample time to keep everything so clean.

Grout is Really a Sponge

Do you know why it is hard to keep grout clean? It is because the material naturally absorbs water. Grout is basically cement with additives. If you look at grout under a microscope, the surface would look very rough and irregular. There are many places for small dirt particles, soap, mold and mildew to lodge. Bristles from scrub brushes and tooth brushes are much too coarse to get into these very tiny places.

What's more, certain cleaning techniques can actually create more problems down the road. For example, many people choose to use chlorine bleach products to clean ceramic tile grout. Chlorine bleach is a fantastic sanitizer. It can rapidly kill bacteria. It is also a very strong oxidizer. It will readily remove color from objects. However, it is a poor cleaner. It doesn't readily break apart dirt molecules.

One thing chlorine bleach does do, on a microscopic level, is to actually etch the surface of ceramic tile grout. This makes the grout even more porous! The chlorine bleach contains free floating chloride ions. These combine with free floating hydrogen ions that regularly appear in water. These two ions combine to form hydrochloric acid. The acid eats away at the grout! Want an alternative? I have found a non-toxic bleach called oxygen bleach. This is a powder that mixes with water. There are no harmful fumes as you experience with chlorine bleach.

The only drawback is that oxygen bleach does not work as fast as chlorine bleach. You may have to reapply it every 15 minutes or so over a period of hours. This is a small price to pay for using a product that is non-toxic. Remember, if you have a septic tank you can not use chlorine bleach. The chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria in the tank that eats the waste. oxygen bleach is a good thing thing for septic tanks. The oxygen helps the bacteria multiply!

Starting Over

Often ceramic tile grout becomes so dingy that it must be replaced. Or, the grout crumbles because of poor initial installation. In either case, your only option to create a sparkling white grout is to get rid of the 'old' and bring in the new! However, it isn't as easy as it sounds.

You can't easily bond new grout over the old grout. Attempts to do this often end up as miserable failures. One of the things that causes grout to bond to tile is its ability to grab onto the sides of a piece of tile. When these spaces are filled with old grout, the new grout just barely holds onto the surface of the old grout, not the tile.

The only real solution is to take out the old grout. This is a challenge, as you must not harm the ceramic tile in the process. Chipped or scratched tile can not be easily replaced or even repaired. The grout removal process is slow, laborious and tedious. It should be attempted only by those with the greatest patience and persistence.

Over the Hump

If you possess the right stuff to get the old grout out, you are over 95 percent done with the job....seriously! Installing ceramic tile grout is really not that difficult. During the past six months, I have given seminars at home shows across the nation. One of the talks concerns installing and grouting ceramic tile. I do my seminars somewhat differently. I don't do the work - the people from the audience come on stage and do it! It is fun and the volunteers really do great, especially with grouting.

The process is so simple that I am convinced you will get professional, or close to professional, results if you do two things: 1. Follow my directions closely. 2. Muster up as much hand-eye coordination as you have. Don't worry, it doesn't take too much!

More Grout Information

Would you like more information about grouts and ceramic tile? Check out the web site of the Tile Council of North America and the publications they have available. For example, one of their publications - Handbook for Ceramic Tile Installation - is the bible for installing ceramic tile on just about any substrate. This booklet also contains information about different grouts.

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