How to Reset Loose Ceramic Tiles

 If one or more of the ceramic tiles on your bathroom floor or kitchen back splash is loose, it's important to reset it immediately. Tiles and grout together prevent moisture from getting underneath the tiles; if that protection is breached by a loose tile, you could end up with more loose tiles. It's best if you have extra tiles of the same type available. If not, you'll have to be extra careful when you remove the tile to avoid cracking it.

What You'll Need:

• Grout saw
• Small, sharp chisel
• Small hammer
• Hand-held vacuum
• Heavy metal putty knife
• Tile adhesive
• Pre-mixed grout
• Grout float
• Sponge

1. Use your grout saw to remove the grout around the tile. Scrape the blade back and forth, with firm downward pressure, gradually loosening the grout. Stop and vacuum up the debris as necessary.
2. Work your putty knife under the tile, tapping it with the hammer. Don't try to pry it out (you'll break the tile), but gradually work it around the edges until the tile pops out in one piece.
3. Use your hammer and chisel to remove all residual grout and dried glue from the hole. Be careful not to chip the adjacent tiles. Vacuum the area thoroughly.
4. Spread tile adhesive on the back of your tile, using the putty knife. Set the tile in place in the hole. Press it firmly and twist it slightly to get a good seal. Let it set overnight.
5. Scoop up your pre-mixed grout with your rubber grout trowel and press it into the lines around the re-set tile. Run the edge of the float sideways along the surface, to squeeze the excess grout off the tile face. Wipe down the area with a damp sponge. Let the grout set for a few days before resuming use of the area.

Warning: Wear eye protection when using a grout saw.

Source: www.HomeSteady.com

How to Give Shady Grout a Consistent Appearance

The Splashback and Worktops in this Guilford Kitchen had been made from Glazed Ceramic tiles. However, the kitchen units had been extended several times and each time it seems a different shade of grout had been used. Dark grey, light grey and even grout with a brown tint in places. Naturally, she wanted a consistent colour throughout, and the grout needed a good clean.

 

You don’t see so many tiled worktops these days, Granite, Marble, Corian and laminates are more popular however it was an interesting project, and I was happy to help. I was confident we could achieve a consistent appearance by recolouring the grout which would also make the grout easier to clean and give the appearance of the Kitchen a lift.

 

Cleaning Ceramic Tiled Worktops

Firstly, I prepared the whole area by cleaning the grout. Grout colours achieve better adhesion when the grout is free of dirt and grease and Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Pre-Treat Cleaner is ideal for this. It’s an acid-based grout cleaner that cleans and etches the surface of the grout to make a superior bond with the colourant.

Another option is to use Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up and as I already had a large bottle of this on the van, I decided to go with this instead diluted 50:50 with water. Working in sections I brushed it into the worktop and splashback grout and left it to dwell for thirty minutes before scrubbing it in with a firm wire brush. This action released the dirt which was then rinsed away with more water and then extracted with a wet vacuum to keep the mess to a minimum.

Following the cleaning the grout was now wet, so for the next half an hour I speed dried the grout with a heat gun. The colourant needs to be applied to dry grout, so this was a necessary step to ensure the best result.

The client had selected to use Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in Light Grey so once dried I started the colouring, brushing it in carefully with a narrow paint brush. The product dries quickly so any excess that gets onto the tile must be wiped off immediately. The process is quite slow and meticulous requiring a steady hand, but the results speak for themselves.

There was no need to apply a sealant over the colourant and the nature of the product acts as a barrier over the grout making it much easier to keep clean. Tile Doctor has a range of Grout Colourants in ten popular colours so there is plenty of choice. Using a colourant is much easier and less labour intensive than scraping the old grout out and re grouting. My client was also keen to avoid the mess of this option.

 

Once complete the tiles looked so much better, certainly my client was very pleased with the finish and left the following review.

  “I’m very happy with every aspect of Rupert’s work, he renovated my kitchen worktops and splash backs. Great job. Thank you.”

Source: Grout Cleaning and Colouring Service in Surrey

How to Renovate a Terracotta Tiled Floor

I was called in by a client from the Cotswolds market town of Witney who had lifted up a carpet to discover a Terracotta tiled floor underneath. Although the floor was in good physical condition the carpet and underlay had been trapping moisture from evaporating resulting. Old floors like this one were laid before damp proof membranes became standard so covering them up can cause damp issues. It is important to allow moisture from underneath tiled floors to evaporate unimpeded otherwise moisture can reach out to the walls resulting in rising damp.

 

Moisture can also penetrate the pores of the clay Terracotta tile potentially leading to its degradation over time and in this case resulted in the appearance of white efflorescent salts being deposited on the tile surface causing unsightly staining.

 

Cleaning Terracotta Tile

I started cleaning the Terracotta by doing applying strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an effective alkaline tile cleaner. For best results I spread the solution on the floor and then leave it to dwell and soak in for up to twenty minutes. This gives the product time to eat into the dirt and old coatings before being scrubbed in with a black pad fitted to a rotary floor machine. This worked very well on the floor and the cleaning solution was soon dirty with the released soil which was removed using a wet vacuum and more water to rinse it away and dry the floor as much as possible.

To remove the white efflorescent staining the floor was given an acid wash using Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up which is designed for removing grout and other mineral stains from tiling. This was brushed into the tile and grout by hand and left to fizz as it reacted with the efflorescence. After another rinse and extract with the wet vacuum the floor was left to dry out for a couple of days. The next step would be to seal the Terracotta and for best results the tile needs to be dry.

 

Sealing Terracotta Tile

On my return I checked the tiles were dry by taking a few moisture readings with a damp meter. The readings came back fine so I need not have been concerned however Terracotta tiles being made from clay are very porous so its always a good idea to check.

Given the previous issues with damp I knew I would need to use a fully breathable sealer, so I opted to use Tile Doctor Colour Grow. This product will cope well with the moisture and contains a colour enhancing formula that really brings out the red colour of the Terracotta.

 

Except for a few deep efflorescent stains in the grout, the floor responded very well to the treatment and made a massive improvement to the overall appearance. My client was pleased with the transformation and the newly restored floor matched well with the character of the property.

Source: Terracotta Cleaning and Renovation Service in Oxfordshire

How to Pattern Ceramic Countertop Tiles

Depending on the size, shape and color of the tiles, the number of options can be staggering when it comes to creating a pattern for your ceramic countertop tiles. Countertops can be tiled with ceramic tiles, natural stone tiles, glass tiles with glittering metallic flakes embedded in the surface, glazed porcelain tile, and even elegant polished marble tiles. You can make patterns with mosaic sheets that are covered with a myriad of tiny ceramic tiles or design your own pattern and add personality to any room.

Thing You'll Need:

• Measuring tape
• 3 different colored tile samples
• Paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Digital camera
• Colored pencils

1. Research tile patterns for decor themes on the Internet or in home decorating magazines. Print or make a copy of any patterns that you would like to use as a visual aid.
2. Measure the dimensions of the countertop and write them down. Keep these measurements handy as you go to purchase sample ceramic tiles as they help you determine the size of the tile and how they fit together.
3. Select a main color tile, called a field color, for your countertop that matches the color scheme of your kitchen or bathroom.
4. Select two to three accent colors tiles that go with the color scheme and your overall decorating theme and enhance the visual appearance of the field color tile. Accent tiles are a lighter or darker hue of color, or they can be a matching color that draws attention to the simple pattern on your counter top. They can be square, diamond shaped or circular and can be a single color or have a striking design painted or embossed on them.
5. Draw a map of your countertop. Sketch tile design ideas on it to start brainstorming patterns for the ceramic tiles you selected.
6. Cut a 1-square-foot piece of paper and draw a grid of 1-inch squares on it with a ruler. The grid helps you visualize sections of the counter space and the tile positions of your pattern.
7. Experiment with tile patterns by laying out your ceramic tile samples on the paper grid. Start with simple designs and set the larger tiles down first.
8. Fill spaces between the larger tiles with smaller accent tiles as you begin to design your own tile pattern.
9. Create borders or lines of tile that goes across the entire counter near the midway point to create the illusion of a larger countertop.
10. Place the tiles on your counter in the desired pattern to see how they look once they are installed. You may need to come up with several different patterns before you find one that fits your room perfectly.
11. Take a picture of the tile pattern with a digital camera or draw the tile pattern and shade it with colored pencils that match the tile colors. These visuals assist with laying the tiles in your personalized pattern, as you are able to quickly see the color and position of the tiles without having to read over notes.

Tips:

• Find fabric prints that match the style of your decorating theme and use swatches of the fabric to help you find the perfect tile color combinations for your counter top.
• Brick patterns, straight, diagonal, checkerboard and herringbone patterns are common tile designs.

Source: www.HomeGuides.sfgate.com

How to Remove Carpet Adhesive

Carpet or tile adhesive can seem almost impossible to remove from a concrete or wooden floor, especially when it has been there for a long time. If you try sanding, it will heat up and clog up the sandpaper. If you wire brush it with a wire wheel on your drill, again if you let it heat up, it will just clog up the wire brush. A heat gun can soften most adhesives and allow for some degree of scraping, but it is slow as concrete below will be quite cold and will draw the heat away from the adhesive and bare wood below can just get blacker with melted adhesive. The good news is that most of these adhesives can be softened up by using their original solvent.

Water or Solvent based adhesive?

If you can’t find the new removers, or find them too expensive, then you will have to go back to the old techniques. First you want to determine if it is a water base or a solvent based adhesive. Take a face cloth and soak it in hot water. Place it over a patch of the adhesive, even cover it with plastic to keep it from drying out. Leave it for about an hour. Try scraping. If at least a little of the top has softened up enough to scrape off with a putty knife, you are in business. Cover as large an area as you can reach with hot water and something to avoid evaporation. You can dam up the water over concrete but be careful over hardwood as the water will flow between the cracks. You can simply keep rags soaked. You will soon learn just how long it takes for each patch to soften up. This is a slow process but the more patience you have the less elbow grease you will need.

Using Heat

If there is a clear varnish on a wooden hardwood floor under that glue, you can usually successfully soften the varnish with a heat gun, even if your don’t soften the glue. The soft varnish will permit you to easily scrape off the glue on top of it. In this case, sanding lightly and refinishing could give you a nice hardwood floor because the varnish kept the black adhesive from staining the wood.

Using solvents

If the neither water nor heat affect it, try the same technique with paint thinner. If you have to go this route, turn off all heating devices, all pilot lights and assure yourself some good cross ventilation. Put plastic over the soaking rags to prevent evaporation, to force the solvents down into the adhesive and to have less fumes to deal with. Work in a relatively small area at a time. This should soften up just about any adhesives that won’t respond to water. Hang the rags out to dry or keep them in a closed metal container to avoid the possibility of spontaneous combustion and fire. If you can find the new gell like glue strippers mentioned above, they will be less volitle and more effective than paint thinners.

Source: Joneakes.com

How to Renovate Old Terracotta Floor Tiles

This client had acquired a 400-year old cottage in Leatherhead as part of his divorce agreement. The front room was tiled with Terracotta which is a soft stone and particularly porous. The tiles had seen a lot of wear and use over the years and were now in need of some love.

   

He emailed over some photographs however it’s difficult to tell the best remedy without doing any testing, so I arranged visit the property and take a proper look. It was immediately clear the Terracotta had become badly discoloured in places some of which was from burning logs which had previously fallen from the fireplace onto the tiles. There was also a considerable amount of red paint around the edges that would need removing.

This work would take two days with at least 48 hours in-between days to allow for evaporation as a wet tile cannot be sealed. The client was happy to go ahead with my quote and we arranged a suitable time to complete the work for him.

 

Cleaning a Terracotta Tiled Living Room Floor

Firstly, as the terracotta is soft and more importantly red it can make a mess of the woodwork when cleaning with water, so I covered the kickboards with sticky plastic coating to ensure they were protected.

Then I removed the edging paint by softening it with an application of a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go. Once left for half an hour the paint starts to soften and this makes it easier to remove, although this is a manual process carefully scrapping the remains of the paint away.

Next, I coated the floor with Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel. This strong cleaning product is left for half an hour to work into the pores of the Terracotta. With some water I gently cleaned the floor with a rotary machine fitted with a nylon pad. This is a wet process, so no dust is created.

For the next few hours, I cleaned the whole room. The areas damaged by burning wood were worked on with a diamond encrusted pad to get deep into the tile. When finished, the tiles were clean and more consistent in appearance and colour. I left the floor for the weekend to fully dry.

 

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

On the Monday I returned to seal the Terracotta first checking the tiles had dried out using a damp meter. The customer didn’t want either a shiny finish or a matte finish. He did want a strong, protective sealer so we agreed on using Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which leaves a sheen finish and will last for years. The floor was now fully protected and should be durable for the foreseeable future.

   

The client was very happy with the work we had carried out, it had really transformed the room and he was looking forward to getting the furniture back in to position.

Source: Terracotta Floor Cleaning and Renovation Service in West Surrey

How to Seal Quarry Tile

Quarry tile adds beauty and value to your home. Perhaps the most well-known type of quarry tile is terra cotta, which is made from red clay. However, quarry tile is available in a wide range of colors and designs to suit any decorating theme. It’s important to apply sealant to quarry tile.

The tiles are porous and will absorb stains along with water if left unprotected. It’s not hard to seal quarry tile. You should use a sealing compound formulated for unglazed tile. Avoid common substitutes like linseed oil or floor wax. These do not properly seal the tile and may result in discoloration because the tiles will trap dirt.

Things You’ll Need

• QT sealer
• Paintbrush
• Rags
• T and G cleaner

Instructions

1. Test the quarry tile to see if it needs to be sealed. With newly-laid tile this isn’t needed, since you know sealing is required. Existing tile should be re-sealed periodically (about every two years). Place an ounce or so of water on a tile. Allow it to set for 5 or 10 minutes and then dry the tile. Wait about 2-3 minutes. If the tile is still darkened from water absorption, it’s time to re-seal.
2. Clean the tile thoroughly using grout and tile cleaner. Manufacturer’s instructions vary, but in general you should spread the cleaner on and allow it to set for a half hour or so, and then wipe the cleaner off the tile. Allow the tile to dry completely before applying sealant. To be sure it’s completely dry, leave the tile overnight.
3. Use a good paintbrush to apply the first coat of sealant. Spread a layer of sealant over the tile area and let it soak in for about 5 minutes. Use a rag to wipe excess off the tile. Wait at least 30 minutes and then apply a second coat the same way. Again, wait a few minutes, and then wipe off the excess. Allow the tile to dry for 2-3 hours before resuming normal use of the area.

Source: https://homesteady.com/