Clare Horvath and her husband live in Newtown, CT. She wants to tile over her acrylic shower base. Read what she sent me: "We have a shower stall that the previous owner added an acrylic floor to. It does not flex and appears to be very solid. Can I tile it? As you can see the Read More »
Julie might have used a valuable Beatles or Rolling Stones CD or two or three to make a backsplash in her home in Essex, UK. Here's what she want to know: "I have made a kitchen backsplash out of old CDs. How can I remove the tile grout without scratching the CDs? Are cup brushes any good?" Read More »
Sharon's bathroom floor tile grout is cracking in her Anchorage, AK home. You're not going to believe the photos. Here's her story: "My master bath floor has cracked and chipping grout in more than 50 percent of the tiled area. Some tiles sound hollow underneath. The sub-flooring is 3/4 in OSB with 3/8 inch interior plywood Read More »
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 Read More »
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 Read More »
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 Read More »
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 Read More »
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 Read More »
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! Read More »
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, Read More »
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