Typical Fees when Hiring Tile Installers

Tiles are very common types of floor covering which are especially popular in the bathroom and kitchen, hiring tile installers can be a very costly business. Fitting tiles yourself isn't actually a very complicated project and this can sometimes save you lots of money.

If you do want to hire a tire installer then you will need to consider a few important tips so that you can work out how much they are likely to charge.

Requirements

The cost of hiring tile installers will vary depending on your requirements. If you want a whole wall tiled in the same color then this will often be much cheaper than if you want to create a mosaic design on one of the walls or floor. Think about exactly what you are trying to accomplish so that you will be able to get accurate quotes.

The type of tiles used will also significantly affect the cost of the project. Using ceramic tiles will typically be much cheaper than using marble tiles. Marble is a much more expensive material and the installers will typically want more to fit it too.

Shopping Around

No two tile installers will be the same and their prices will probably be different too. Look through the yellow pages or on the Internet to find some tile installers. You should be able to find out roughly how much they are charging to customers by reading reviews on the Internet.

Average Prices

The prices of tile installing can vary from between $6 to $20 per square foot for a basic bathroom tile installation. Whereas more specialty tiles including marble and granite tiles cost more.

If you already have tiles in your bathroom then these will first need to be removed. Most professional tile installers do not include removal in their budget. Unless you want them stuck over the top of your old tiles you might want to remove them yourself, or ask how much it will cost.

The prices can vary significantly which is why it's so important to get a quote before starting the work.

Doing the Project Yourself

If you are a skilled DIYer then you will be able to save yourself quite a lot of money by completing the tile installation project yourself. You will only need to purchase some tools and materials. Ceramic tiles are affordable and the only other supplies you really need are adhesive and grout.

When buying ceramic tiles make sure that you buy the same batch number where possible. Also buy too many rather than risking buying too few. This will ensure that the colors all match and that the tiles don't look strange together.

You will also need a tile cutter and glue spreader. If you are doing this project yourself make sure that any flooring tiles are secured level against the floor. If they are not fully supported then this can cause them to crack when they rock and move. Also ensure that you are purchasing floor tiles when completing flooring projects.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

Renovating Travertine Kitchen Floor Tiles in East Surrey

Travertine is a beautiful product however like all-natural stone it needs to be protected with a sealer if you want to keep it looking its best. The trouble is sealers wear down with foot abrasion eventually allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone at which point it becomes difficult to clean. This was pretty much the issue with this tumbled Travertine floor in the kitchen of a house in Godstone, East Surrey. The owner was fed up with the appearance of the floor and asked if we could anything to improve it.


I went over to take a look and could see it was as suspected the usual problem of the sealer wearing off and needing replacing. Before we could do that though I would need to remove any remaining sealer and deep clean the tiles to extract the dirt. Fortunately, it was only a small Kitchen and summer time, so I was confident I could do the whole floor in a day.

Cleaning and Polishing Tumbled Travertine Kitchen Tiles

The first thing I needed to do was to remove the plinths from the kitchen units to prevent them from encountering the cleaning products. Next and working in sections I started applying Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a powerful tile coatings remover that would strip what was left of the old sealer from the floor. This is important, so we could get down to the base stone, otherwise we would end up with different levels of sealer which would affect the overall appearance of the floor.


I left the Remove and Go on the Travertine for about ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand with a scrubbing brush. Normally I would use a machine for this but given the size of the floor that was not a practical approach. As well as removing the sealer this process also got the Travertine and Grout clean and after rinsing off the now soiled solution with water and extracting it with a wet vacuum the floor was looking much improved.

I inspected the tile and grout at this point and spot treated any areas that needed further attention using a repeat of the previous process. Once I was happy I setup a couple of air dryers to speed dry the floor.

Sealing Tumbled Travertine Kitchen Tiles

After speed drying the Kitchen floor for a couple of hours, we had a moisture content reading low enough to apply a coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating natural look sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone thus preventing dirt from becoming ingrained in there. Speed drying for a further hour then allowed the application of two coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go to produce a lovely finished look that really brightened up the kitchen.


Before leaving my very happy customer to the enjoy, I left her with customer with a complimentary bottle of Tile Doctor Stone Soap, a neutral and highly reliable cleaner for natural stone floors such as Travertine. This will assist her in maintaining the appearance and condition of the tiles going forward. Another satisfied customer!


Source: Travertine Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in Godstone, East Surrey

Tile Installer Trade Secrets You Can Use

Tile installers have a number of great insider secrets. They are consummate professionals, so they’ve developed systems and even shortcuts that work well. Often, they’ll try to keep their tricks to themselves but nothing can truly stay secret for long. Knowing some of those secrets can make your tiling job a lot easier. You might imagine that most tillers will have superb secrets regarding the laying of the tile itself. In fact, their greatest secret is in the preparation they do before a single tile is laid.

Secret 1: Preparation

The biggest key to making a job go smoothly is good preparation. In the case of large jobs this can mean days of preparation. Check the rooms to see how square the walls are, how even and smooth the edges appear and how level the surface is that you’ll be covering with your tiles.

Once you’ve established this, begin work your preparation methods out. If necessary, build up floors a little, using mortar rather than self-leveling compound. Where walls are being tiled, especially if they have concave bows, use thinset to level them out. With convex bows, remove the board and use a plane on the wall studs before replacing.

This can take longer than the actual tiling but it’s definitely worthwhile. Not only will the tiling process go smoothly, but you'll have a much outcome. Starting with a level floor spares you having to deal with a problem called lippage, which effectively means the tiles aren’t quite even.

Secret 2: Layout

You’ll save a lot of time later if you establish lines parallel and square to the longest wall in the room. Next, lay out a run of tiles about 6 feet long, including spacers. This will let you know if you’ll end up with slivers around the room edges. If that’s the case, you can make adjustments so it doesn’t happen.

Lay out tiles from the center of the room, going in all directions to ensure the perimeters will all be the same. When you’ve done that, re-check everything thoroughly to avoid mistakes later.

Secret 3: Installation

To avoid boxing yourself into a corner and having to wait while the mortar dries, move from the field which is classed as the center of the room and work outwards to the perimeter of the room. Set the tile in the thinset then take the time to level it in all directions. This ensures you’ll have a perfectly level floor.

If you’re tiling more than the floor, complete the other surfaces such as countertops and walls first. This means that you’ll never be stuck for a surface to work on.

Some tiles, such as ceramic, porcelain and terra cotta, will require grout. However, you should still take the time to make sure they’re flat and even rather than relying the grout to make things look good. It’s a matter of pride and craftsmanship.

Secret 4: Grouting

When you’ve grouted the tiles, use clean water and thick sponges to clean up and do so thoroughly. When you caulk areas with splashbacks or where two different surfaces join, use latex caulk that’s matched in color to the grout. To get a good bead, work the caulk into the join carefully and firmly.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

Stained Flagstone Floor Deep Cleaned in Gloucestershire

I recently helped a homeowner from my home town of Dursley who got in touch about her kitchen Flagstone floor. The problem revolved around an accident she had with raspberries which had stained the flagstones and the problem became compounded when a house hold clearing product was applied neat to clean up the mess. If you follow any of our Tile Doctor blogs, you will know that using strong household cleaning products can damage the sealer and, in this case, it had left white marks on the floor.


I called round to the property to survey the floor as was surprised to find out that the floor had been cleaned and sealed only four months prior by another company. I don’t like to comment on other people’s work, but I found the grout lines and flagstones were still badly ingrained with dirt, so it wasn’t a through job.


I completed by survey and demonstrated the process I would follow to resolve the issues on one of the flagstone tiles. She could not believe the difference I was able to make and booked me in straight away to restore the entire floor.

Cleaning a traditional Yorkshire Stone internal floor

My first task was to protect the wooden kitchen units from splashing that can happen when cleaning the floor. Once that was done, I set about stripping the sealer from the floor and deep cleaning the tile and grout with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Pro-Clean is a concentrated, multi-purpose high-alkaline cleaner, stripper and degreaser which is safe to use on all types of tile, stone and grout including natural stone.

Working in sections across the Kitchen and adjacent dining room I diluted one part Pro-Clean to two parts water and mopped it onto the flagstones and grout where I left it to soak in for roughly fifteen minutes. Then using a rotary floor buffer fitted with a black scrubbing pad I scrubbed the solution into the floor into the old sealer and trapped dirt came away turning the cleaning fluid black in the process. The soil was then rinsed off with water and then extracted with a powerful 3,000 watt wet and dry vacuum. This process was repeated until I was satisfied the floor was clean and I ran a stiff grout brush along the grout lines to ensure they also received a good scrub. After I was satisfied the section was clean it was rinsed thoroughly with water to neutralise the floor and remove any trace of product and then dried with the wet and dry vacuum.

The cleaning process took up the whole day, but the flagstones would need to be dry before sealing so after giving the owner an update I left the floor for two days, so it could dry out thoroughly.

Sealing a traditional Yorkshire Stone internal floor

On my return I tested the floor was dry in multiple places with a damp meter to ensure it was ready to be sealed. The readings showed that the wet and dry vacuum had done a good job in removing the moisture, so all was well. To seal I applied several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go allowing each coat to dry before applying the next however with such a large area to cover I was able to work in sections around the floor.

Seal and Go works really well on Flagstones and leaves a very appealing sheen finish, also being water based it doesn’t leave a smell as it dries.


The results were amazing, and the customer thanked me for making such a massive improvement on her floor. Before leaving I made sure to discuss after-care and to avoid the use of hash cleaning products.



Source: Flagstone Tile Cleaning and Sealing Service in Dursley, Gloucestershire

Floor Tiles: Pros and Cons

Floor tile is a popular material used for many different rooms in a home. A wide variety of floor tiles exist today on the market ranging in size, shape and material. Most frequently used in kitchens and bathrooms, floor tile is also commonly used in entryways, sunrooms or even as the threshold to a fireplace. Here are some pros and cons regarding the use of floor tiles

Pros of Floor Tiles

There are so many advantages to floor tiles. We have chosen our top five things we love about floor tiles.  They are as follows:

1. Tile Floors are Beautiful

Floor tiles add an element of beauty to the floor. Coming in so many unique styles, shapes, colors and designs, floor tiles accent a room’s design and ambiance. They quickly become an integral part of the room’s look and feel.

2. Tile Floors are Durable

Most floor tiles are hard to crack, break and destroy. Drop a pot, a dish or any other piece of glassware and you'll find that the tile isn't  cracked, shattered or broken. They will last for years to come.

3. Tile Floors are Easy to Clean

The easiest way to clean floor tile is with a mild vinegar and warm water solution. Mop up the tile and you'll have a shiny, clean surface.

4. Tile Doesn't Absorb Odors

If you like to cook, and if you cook food using oils or strong smells, you know how the odor can penetrate almost anything. Tile floors are generally not porous materials and they resist absorbing any of the smells or scents that are developed inside your home because of your hobbies or your cooking desires.

5. Tile Floors are Easy to Install

With a little instruction and the right materials, floor tiles are very easy for the average person to install. Installation of floor tiles becomes a great weekend do-it-yourself project.

Now to the Cons of Floor Tile

Yes, there are some negative aspects to your lovely floor tile. Here they are!

1. Cold To The Touch

If you have sensitive feet or if you get cold easily, going barefoot is not an option on tile floors, especially in the colder months. Tile flooring tends to retain cold. 

2. Slick when Wet

After a good wash and a rinse, floor tiles may have you flying across the room if you don't have a matt or rug.  Because most floor tiles do not have texture, they are slippery when squeaky clean!

3. Noisy!

If you wear click-and-clack shoes or high heels, the floor tile will do nothing to muffle the sound. Be ready to every step in your household  and a great deal of echoing as tile tends to carry sound across rooms and down hallways.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com

Renovating Tired Quarry Tile and Grout in East Surrey

This client who lived in a property in the Village of Outwood had a tired looking Quarry tiled floor in their lounge and asked if we could improve the look of it. I went over to take a look and can see the tiles were situated in front of a brick fireplace and added a nice rustic feel to the room that was well suited to the house.


It had clearly been some time however since the Quarry tiles had been given a good clean and seal; the tiles were looking dull and lifeless and the grout was especially bad and had darkened with the ingrained dirt. I could see a deep clean would be required to lift the dirt out so after discussing the process we agreed a date for me to come back and renovate the floor.

Deep Cleaning Quarry Tile and Grout

When I returned to clean the floor my first task was to protect any areas that may be impacted by the cleaning process which in this case related to the adjacent carpet.

To be able to reach into the pores of the tile and grout and lift out the dirt I needed to remove any remaining sealer. To do this I applied a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go which is a strong coatings remover and cleaner that’s ideal for these situations. The product is left to dwell for ten minutes, so it can get to work breaking down the old sealer and dirt and is then scrubbed into the floor. Normally I use a black scrubbing pad fitted to a rotary machine running on slow speed to do this however given the size of the floor I decided to use a deck brush to scrub the tiles and a narrow grout brush along the grout lines.

The soiled cleaning solution was rinsed off the floor with water and extracted using a wet vacuum. I then inspected the floor and spot treated any areas that needed further attention with a repeat of the same process. Once I was satisfied the Quarry tile and grout was as clean as it could be, I left for the night so the floor cold dry off.

Sealing Quarry Tiles

Returning the next day, I sealed the Quarry tiles with several coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go which adds a nice subtle sheen finish to the tiles and will provide the tiles with long lasting protection. Seal and Go is a water-based sealer so doesn’t leave a smell as it dries which is always a plus.

My client was impressed with the transformation and as I think you will agree the Quarry tiles now look much brighter and the grout has returned to a much lighter shade.




Source: Quarry Tile Cleaning and Renovation Service in East Surrey

Installing And Maintaining Peel And Stick Tile

A very affordable and easy-to-do renovation of a floor uses peel and stick tile. These tiles work exactly as their name suggests.

What You'll Need:

• Very sharp craft knife
• Metal straight edge
• Tape measure
• Waste bin

Step 1 – Clean the Floor

The success of most jobs depends on the early preparation, and this preparation is very important with peel and stick tile. The floor must be totally clean and dust-free. Fix any irregularities before you lay the first tile.

Step 2 – Find a True Corner

Find a true corner in the room or the longest straight wall for your starting point. Test the tile against the corner before you remove the backing to make sure it fits snugly on both edges.

Step 3 – Fit the First Tile

Remove the paper backing and fit the tile to the floor. Try to get the tile into the right position immediately. The adhesive is quite strong, and you will probably ruin the tile if you try to reposition it.

Some people tear the paper backing, and the parts left behind prevent the full adhesive surface from making contact with the floor. With care, you can remove all the backing sheets in one piece.

Step 4 – Fit Other Tiles

Repeat the process. Make sure each new tile sits tight against any others. The paper backing of peel and stick tile is very slippery, so you should immediately dispose of each backing sheet into the waste bin.

Step 5 – Fill Gaps

Once you fit all the tiles, measure and cut tiles to fill the remaining gaps. The tiles are difficult to cut with scissors. Use a sharp knife, drawn along a straight edge. It is safer to stand and use a table for cutting, but always make sure you have some backing material to prevent damage to the floor or the table where you cut.

Don’t dispose of all the tiles or parts of tiles you have left. You might need them for repairs later.

Step 6 – Clean and Maintain the Floor

Maintaining your peel and stick tile floor is easy. You can clean the tiles with a damp mop, but you should never wash them.

Consult the manufacturer’s recommendations before you try any exotic cleaners. Most vinyl cleaners are acceptable, and some non-wax floor polishes can help create and maintain a glossy finish. To achieve the very best results, you can hire a buffing machine every month or so to bring the shine back to the tiles and remove any stains.

Peel and stick tile is supposed to be a short-term solution, but if you install and maintain them correctly, they could serve you well for a long time.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com