Ceramic Tile Installation

Al Carrell: It used to be that you only found ceramic tile in the bathroom or maybe some times on a kitchen counter top. But now, you find it in every room in the house, and as a matter of fact, ceramic tile is the fastest growing flooring material that we know of for residences today. And that's why we've got an expert coming in, Mr. Rick Ferguson of Tile Cera. Rick, thank you for joining us.

Rick Ferguson: Thank you Al.

A.C.: And why is it that ceramic tile is going great guns now?

R.F.: Well, one of the main reasons is the durability and performance and maintenance of ceramic tile. It's much easier to take care of and it's much stronger than your normal regular flooring .

A.C.: As these guys put this floor down here, walk us through the steps they're going to take.

R.F.: Sure, first off, in here they need to get this substrate as clean as they possibly can, uh, removing all dust, sealers, anything that might be left on here. Painters come in and a lite mist of paint needs to be taken off the substrate.

A.C.: Now substrate sounds a little bit technical. What you're talking about is the floor that's underneath the tile floor, right?

R.F.: The actual floor, what we're going to set ceramic tile to.

A.C.: Okay.

R.F.: One of the reasons ceramic tile has come so far today is because of the different setting methods they have today. You can even set ceramic tile on top of ceramic tile. And at one time you could only set ceramic tile on a concrete slab. That's the way they viewed it. Today on pier and beam homes they use backer boards. They have quarter inch and half inch cement backboards that you can screw in to a substrate, wood floor, pier and beam homes, and make an adequate substrate to set ceramic tile to, along with a flexible Thinset.

A.C.: I've always heard that as long as you had no movement in the floor underneath you can put the tile on anything.

R.F.: Right. You can do that. If you do have movement and if you don't use backer board and a flexible Thinset you'll have cracked tiles and your grout will crack out. Then they get the center point of the room and measure it, lay out tiles and make sure that their cuts are next to the wall.

A.C.: Okay, and the big reason to go to the center there is that you want to end up with at least a half a tile when you come over to the wall, right?

R.F.: Absolutely, and that's where you want your cuts, are up against the wall 'cause it'd look funny in the middle of the floor with a cut tile.

A.C.: With so many different tiles and different colors to pick from, how is the potential home owner going to pick the right one?

R.F.: There is a wear rating system with ceramic tile. It rates from one to four plus. A one meaning strictly wall tile. A two meaning wall tile and very light residential, which means not children with roller skates. A three rating is a moderate to light commercial and residential. Four - residential, commercial. Four plus, heavy commercial.

A.C.: All right.

R.F.: And they know that, if they ask for those by the ratings, they'll get the right ceramic tile for their floor.

A.C.: Okay, now what about colors?

R.F.: Colors, again today, come in a wide variety of different patterns and colors, textures.

A.C.: You're not restricted to those little tiles that you used to find in the bathroom. You've got the big 12x12 tiles and even bigger than that, correct?

R.F.: Absolutely. The 12x12's and even 16x16's today are very popular.

A.C.: I notice also that a lot of times in addition to using the larger tiles, that some people are going in and making a pattern by using different size tiles in the floor.

R.F.: The stone look is a very popular product today in ceramic tiles. And the 6x6, 6x12 and 12x12 together gives an old world stone look.

A.C.: After we get the installation in, what does the home owner need to look for to be sure they got a good job?

R.F.: One of the things to do is to take a key and tap on the floor and see if there are no hollow sounds in your floor. You need at least 80% coverage of mortar behind these tiles to be an adequate installation.

A.C.: What are the steps that they can take to keep that tile floor looking great?

R.F.: The best thing to do is damp mop a ceramic floor. This is the beauty of ceramic tile. You don't need waxes. You don't need sealers to maintain this floor. When you do that all you do is create a maintenance problem of your own. A neutral detergent is all you need to keep this floor nice.

A.C.: As the champion of the do-it-yourselfer, I always have to ask is this a do-it-yourself type project?

R.F.: Yes, it can be. A lot of the things that the do-it-yourselfer needs to know how to do is one, make sure that the Thinset mortar is mixed correctly. A lot of the problems that people have is they want to mix this mortar like they want to mix a cake batter. If they mix it too long, pump too much air into this mortar, it makes the mortar weak, and then you'll have breakage under this bond.

A.C.: Rick, what kind of grout are these people using on these floor tiles?

R.F.: You have unsanded grouts and you have sanded grouts. And the unsanded grouts are primarily used for wall tiles with smaller grout joints. The sanded grouts are used for grout joints at least 1/4 inch out.

A.C.: What about a sealer for the grout lines? Is that necessary?

R.F.: They have sealers. A water-based penetrating sealer is the best way to go today. The grouts today are used with acrylic latex additives which doubles the strength of the grout. Makes it easier to clean. It's not a cure-all against staining, but it does make it a lot easier to clean, and if you put a sealer on it, that just helps it that much more.

A.C.: Hey, thanks a lot Rick. We really do appreciate your coming by and telling us all about tile.

R.F.: Thank you Al. It's my pleasure.

Episode 018 1995 - 96 Season

| Ceramic Tile | Lamp Repair | Hardwood Floors | Tobacco Furniture Stains | Background Ponds | Self-Employed Borrowers | LIST |

To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #018.