Main Content
Tile Underlayment: The Complete Guide for Beginners
Tile underlayment. There are a lot of different types of products that you can put under your bathroom floor tile. But it’s confusing. Which product […]
Recent Posts
Tile Warpage: My Porcelain Planks are Bent and Bowed!
Can tiles be warped or bowed? Yes, your tiles can have a warpage or curvature to them. The question is: how much tile warpage is OK? Back when tiles were smaller, it didn't really matter if they had a little curvature to them. But now tiles are … [Read More...]
Cement Board vs Ditra: Which is better?
Cement board or Ditra. Which is better? There are a lot of opinions but I'm going to try to stick to facts. This post compares: Cutting and installing WaterproofingThe weight & handling of the productsCosts of Ditra vs DurockPricing 3 … [Read More...]
Tile Underlayment: The Complete Guide for Beginners
Tile underlayment. There are a lot of different types of products that you can put under your bathroom floor tile. But it's confusing. Which product solves your problems? Also, do you even need underlayment for your tile in the first … [Read More...]
12×24 Tile Installation Guide (and other large format tiles)
12x24 tiles are an extremely popular large format tile size. However, working with them may be a little different than what you are used to. This post is going to cover some basics on: 12x24 tile patterns and offsetsGrout joint sizeCuttingand … [Read More...]
Premixed Tile Mastic: Where TO use it and What NOT to use it on
You know how tempting it is to grab that bucket of premixed tile mastic off of the shelf for your tile project. It's premixed, already the proper consistency, and it's really easy to use. But you've heard the horror stories on the internet from … [Read More...]
Top Shared Posts
Building a Custom Shower Niche from Scratch
This post covers: Cement board, foam board, and HardibackerCutting into wall framing WaterproofingLOTS of photos! The Ultimate Guide to Building a Preformed Custom Recessed Shower Niche Other niche building posts: Planning
Subway Tile Installation: Three Basic Tips
Subway Tile Installation: Three Basic Tips Subway tile- what's not to like? It's classic and timeless. Even in 2022, subway tile is a staple in tile design trends. I usually
Installing a Recessed Shampoo Niche in an Exterior Wall of a Shower.
Here's the dilemma. The customer wants a recessed shampoo niche. But once the walls were opened up there's no good place to put one. There are either wires and pipes
5 signs your new tile shower will leak
You've hired someone to build your tile shower in your bathroom, but how do you know he or she's doing it correctly? How do you know that you won't have
Popular Posts
Tired of Bullnose Tile Trim? Here are 5 Tile Edge…
Here are 5 alternatives to common bullnose tile edge trim. One of the mistakes that I see a lot of homeowners and DIYers make with tile installations is that they sometimes don't use any tile trim on the exposed tile edges. Many times they … [Read More...]
Self-Leveling Underlayment: The Ultimate Guide…
Self-leveling underlayment. It sounds soooooo easy, doesn't it? You simply pour the leveling cement over the floor and the product then just levels itself all on its own. Sort of like...magic, right? Self-leveling underlayment is not what it … [Read More...]
Tile Backer Board Breakdown…
Which Shower Tile Backer board is best? When it comes to installing a tile backer board you typically have the following choice: difficult to install and cheapeasy to install and expensive So which tile backer board should you use in your … [Read More...]
5 Ways to Screw Up your Cement Board Installation…
Cement board installation is not something that is incredibly difficult. I think most people worry about how to cut it and once they have a plan for that then they think it'll be a breeze. But I've seen these screw-ups for several years now. … [Read More...]
Trowel Size Matters: Which trowel size do I use…
You want to know which notched tile trowel size to use for your tile project. The boxes of tile that you buy usually don’t tell you which size trowel to use with them. Consequently, I get asked about tile trowel sizes quite a bit. Finding the … [Read More...]
Tips & Tricks
Silicone Caulk: How to Caulk a Bathtub or a Shower
Silicone Caulk: How to Caulk a Shower or Bathtub The problem: If you’ve ever tried caulking with 100% silicone caulk you are well aware of how frustrating it can be. First of all, it can create a huge mess, be almost impossible to clean up, and can make your shower look uglier than before you started. […]
How to Cut Glass Tile- 7 Tips Revealed- video
Cutting glass tile can be a challenge. Yes, more of a challenge than cutting regular old ceramic tile. Additionally, the average DIY’er may not have the right equipment and may not know the tricks for how to cut glass tile. But, alas, I’ve assembled some pointers on how to deal with the quirks and challenges […]
Don’t let your tile accent strip look like this
Getting your mosaic and glass tile accent strips to be flush and flat with the surrounding tile can be difficult unless you know a trick for it. Here’s a technique for building up the thinner decorative tile so that it’s even with the thicker tile without creating a huge mess of thinset oozing out of […]
Waterproofing
Kerdi no longer acceptable for tile steam showers
In 2013, the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), the organization that sets the guidelines for tile installations, is rumored to have made a modification to their specifications for constructing tile steam showers. It’s all about perm ratings- and Schluter Kerdi fabric no longer cuts it. (edit: this is now in place and no longer […]
Shower Waterproofing Crash Course
4 Shower Waterproofing systems for tile showers Waterproofing a shower. This seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Well, a lot of showers that are built these days still have no shower waterproofing whatsoever. Or they have poor or improper waterproofing. What! No Waterproofing!? How can this be? Well, I think there are multiple parties to […]
Is Hardibacker and Durock cement board waterproof?
Reader question: Hi there. I recently finished grouting my tile surround in my shower. I posted photos on Facebook and somebody questioned whether I had waterproofed the Hardiebacker 500 board. Much to my dismay, I had never even heard of this… Anyway, I went to the James Hardie website and see nothing about waterproofing being […]
Thinset
Modified vs Unmodified Thinset: Deciphering which you need for Schluter Kerdi & Ditra
Are you wondering about modified vs unmodified thinset mortars? Perhaps, you are thinking of installing a Ditra-Heat floor or a Schluter Kerdi Shower System? The internet is full of information and even misinformation on this very subject. In fact, this debate has stoked many of the conversations and threads on the tile and building forums […]
Tile Thinset Mortar: How to Buy the Best Adhesive for YOU!
It’s difficult enough just selecting your tile let alone a tile mortar. Now you walk into the thinset aisle at the home improvement store and there are eight different choices of thinset mortar. Suddenly, questions start furiously bouncing into your head: What’s the difference between the $6 bag of thinset and the $40 bag? Do […]
How to Mix Small Batches of Thinset Mortar
At last, mixing small batches of thinset doesn’t have to be a secret! Finally, you too can know the exact amount of water and thinset powder to add together to get the perfect thinset consistency. This means: No more wondering what “peanut butter consistency” looks like No more struggling to gauge how much a half […]
Recessed Shampoo Niches
Building a Custom Shower Niche from Scratch…
This post covers: Cement board, foam board, and Hardibacker Cutting into wall framing Waterproofing LOTS of photos! The Ultimate Guide to Building a Preformed Custom Recessed Shower Niche Other niche building posts: Planning and Design Installing a prefab niche Modifying a prefab niche Part 4: Building a Custom Shower Niche from Scratch Sometimes there’s no […]
How to Build a Recessed Shampoo Shelf…
In this post we discuss: How to cut an inset niche into the wall What tools to use to build the recessed shampoo shelf Blocking (framing) for a recessed niche How to make sure your niche is waterproof Tile inside and around your shower insert The Ultimate Guide to Building a Preformed Recessed Shower Niche […]
How to Modify your Recessed Foam Shower Niche…
In this post we cover: Situations where you would consider modifications A technique to check if your foam niche is still waterproof Method and tools to customize a foam shower niche Staying out of trouble The Ultimate Guide to Building a Preformed Recessed Shower Niche Part 3: How to Modify your Recessed Foam Shower Niche […]
