Mosaics and Tile

If you are up for a tile project in coming week, but haven’t been able to finalize a convincing tile layout, this blog will ease your job at planning and during installation. Check out the following pointers –  Note down the size of tiles you are going to use. This way, you will be able to figure the number of tiles you will need to tile your space. Mark the center of the walls and locate the center of the area to be tiled. This is where you will place your first tile. Dry fit the tiles as per your tile placement idea. Start with placing 4 tiles around the center point of the room. (+) Complete the no-mortar installation of tiles. It will help you identify the tiles you will need to cut and fit towards the corners of the room. This will also help you achieve symmetrical tile placement. Use tile spacers to ensure equal gap between tiles throughout the layout. Move toward the farthest wall placing rows of tiles one by one. Come back to the center and move toward the exit of the room,...

Slate due to its dark, slate-gray texture is considered a great material choice for kitchen counters. It is also widely used as counters in bathroom and other purposes such as table tops. It is a porous stone, so it is easy for it to catch stains and get dirty. The layer of dirt on the stone counter hampers the look and appearance of the stone. In addition, the dirt adversely affects the life and durability of the stone. This blog gives you a few tips to clean slate kitchen counter. Check out the following pointers – Use microfiber cloth to remove dust from the counter. Do this every day or when required. Do not clean the stone surface with an abrasive pad, or a sharp or pointer object such as knife or screw driver. Remember, these objects cannot remove stains or dirt. But they can surely scratch the stone surface. Using lemon juice, vinegar, or acidic chemicals can stain and damage your slate counter permanently. The stone might lose its color when you use these cleaning solutio...

Tile is a common flooring material. And, homeowners face a lot of issues with tile flooring. Some (such as cracks on newly placed tile flooring) give them sleepless nights and others call for heavy investment for repair. In this blog, we talk about some of the common issues and suggest a rock-solid fix for them. Check out the following subsections – Loose Tiles – It is when the tiles you have installed are not firm and not in their place. They either move or are lose their grip on the substrate. Sometimes, you are able to take the tile out from its place. This usually happens when there is some issue with the thin set or adhesive. It could also be a problem of subfloor. To make sure that your floor tiles have a solid grip on the subfloor, you will need to use good-quality tile adhesive or thin set mortar. Additionally, you will also need to ascertain that the subfloor is in good condition and is completely flat and level. You will also need to use a branded grout to achieve s...

Tile’ getting scratched is pretty common. And when you have Highland Park Ceramic tile surface, scratches on it can give you a mini heart attack – first, because this is an expensive tile choice and second, because it is widely believed that scratches on delicate tile materials cannot be repaired. In this blog, we give some tips and tricks to help you fix scratches on your Highland Park Ceramic Tiles. Check out the following pointers – Identify and mark the scratches on your ceramic tile. Do not use permanent marker or anything that can cause permanent staining on the tile surface. Remove dust, dirt, and debris from the scratched area. Use a brush to dry remove the dust and debris, and then, use warm soapy water and brush to clean the scratch. Let the tile surface dry completely. Or use a towel to soak up the water and dry it up. Take some brass polish on a dry sponge, and apply it on the scratched area. Rub it firmly back and forth over scratched flooring. This should fill and rem...

Basement is often the most ignored area of a home. Days pass and you don’t enter the basement even for one second. Basement is directly connected to soil on the opposite side of the floor. That means, its floor should be chosen and installed carefully to avoid moisture and protect the stuffs you put in your basement. In this blog, we will talk about some of the best flooring options for your basement. Check out the following subheadings – Vinyl Tiles – Vinyl tiles are waterproof tiles that can prevent moisture from seeping through. It can provide a great support to your building, in addition to safeguarding your household items you place in your basement. To multiply the effectiveness of vinyl flooring, it is advisable to use waterproof underlayment between subfloor and vinyl tiles. Ceramic/Porcelain Tile – The reason why we have put ceramic and porcelain under one heading is, they both are made from clay and have quite a similar manufacturing process. These floor tiles are...