Outdoor Tiled Areas

We live in an area of the country that is awesome.  We still have all 4 seasons, (the leaves by the way are just starting to turn and they are going to be beautiful), and the winter summer extremes are not to harsh.  This makes having an outdoor living space very popular for a lot of our residents.  We get asked to do tile work in quite a few different areas.  We tile covered porches, non-covered porches, raised decks, BBQ counters, patio table tops, sidewalks and even a driveway or two.  Due to the outdoor exposure of these areas, there are extra precautions to take when making tile selections and picking an installation method.

First of all we want to make sure that we pick a tile that is a porcelain.  These tiles have a near zero absorption rate.  This is important as moisture can seep into a ceramic tile, and then if we get weather below freezing the expansion of the water can pop the glaze off the tile, or if the moisture is under the tile it can compromise the bond to the substrate.  Next we want to make sure that the tile has a slip resistant finish on it.  We get pine pollen that falls a couple times a year and leaves a light dusting of very fine powder on everything.  This can make a smooth surface very slippery.  We also want to consider color. A dark tile will absorb heat all day long and then radiate it onto the house and the occupants of the deck making a once cool evening feel to hot to be outside.

Second we want to consider the surface, or substrate that we will be adhering the tile too.  Some people think that the hardest thing a tile guy does are tile showers.  And we do see a lot of failures due to improper install techniques in tile showers.  But I think that I have seen more deck failures relative in numbers then shower failures.  Most of the failures we see have to do with water seeping in and getting the deck material wood wet, which then makes the wood expand letting in even more water, and then the tile bond starts to loosen as a result.  We see better results on concrete areas, but we have seen a good deal of failures there as well.   Did the concrete have enough time to cure, was it sound to start with, was it level, etc?  One of the products that we just love here is called Ti ProBoard.  We have been using it here as a replacement for the traditional treated plywood with cement board on top and then either a waterproof roll-on membrane or a sheet good membrane.  We actually are so happy with the product that we wont tile an exterior deck without it.

Third we want to consider how the color and style of the tile match or compliment the exterior design of the home.  We come out to the clients home and spend some time talking about the different ways the light will reflect off the tile, the tone of the color, the slip resistance, the way that it will be edged, how it ties into the other adjoining surfaces, etc...

And finally we want to make sure that we pick the right grout for the area.  Color, durability and density are all factors that we consider for use in an area that gets beat on by the sun, rained on, snow sits on it at times for weeks, pine pollen falls on it, mold wants to grow on it, etc.. Grout gets treated fairly harshly in an outdoor environment and bad grout can ruin the prettiest of  tile jobs.

If you would like a free in home consultation to pick our brains on what you could do in an outside area, please call our office to set up an appointment.  (910) 673-3884

Information on Ti-ProBoard can be found here
http://www.finpan.com/products/ti-proboard/ti-proboard/

Tile Trends

Tile Trends, the short version.

Todays tile manufacturing processes have made the tile market explode with optoins.  We have water jet cutting machines, laser etching, automated mosaic assembly, high definition printing, new glazes, better kilns, and all in all better design people being drawn to the industry because of it all.  Back only 10-15 years we were a showroom of mostly basic beige and gray 12x12 tiles with a few 18x18's for our really cutting edge customers.  Now we have design options that almost seem endless.  The other exciting thing about lots of manufacturers with all these great ideas is that they are all pushing to be number one in the market.  This means that the product stock levels and delivery are being improved every day.   They are also being much more competitive on the pricing of these new products.  Tile can now be the focal point of any room, it can tell a story, add focus, bring in lights, change a mood.  Try doing that with basic beige 12x12's.  This is also making the showroom experience so much more diverse as well.  Our team has found ways to hone in on what your style and preferences are, and then bring the products that match to your attention.  The selection process can be daunting on your with so many choices, but we would love to have a chance to help walk you through it.  When you start using tile in the ways it can now be used it is even more important then ever to get just the right design and product application.

A couple of other things that are very prevalent in tile design today are not only size and color, but shape and texture as well. Tile has come a long way from a 12x12. Tile in the form of a plank with increasing size and finer grout joints is producing a sleek clean updated look. Hexagons from small deco sheets to larger formats are being used for additional design interest on floors and walls. Color is also trending a long way from the basic beige. Taupe and gray are all the rage.Ghosting patterns on wood look planks, hexagons, as well as the traditional 12x12's add an updated patterned look. Textured tile introduces a design appeal which adds dimensional interest that is captured by the light of the space. Printed textured wall tiles are replacing dated pealing wallpapers. Wood look tiles have become increasingly realistic to hardwoods in appearance and texture. Wood look tile is being used as a maintenance free alternative to hardwoods in high traffic areas to avoid the maintenance refinishing due to damage from scratching or water. The current tile trends are adding new design possibilities to every space. Our showroom team continues to research and stay a step ahead in bringing our customers the latest trends as they are available to provide the most diverse and current selection.

Cleaning your tile floors

Ok, we have a question from a customer.  Mrs Wimmer asks us "What is the best way to take care of my tile"?  Well lets start by letting our readers know that we have just completed a full master bath remodel for this client in a wonderful white/gray porcelain 12"x24" tile.  We also installed a honed natural stone fireplace accent wall, as well as a polished natural stone back splash in her kitchen, and a full surround in her guest bath in ceramic tile.  What a pleasure it was to work on her job, and she does have almost all of the different types of materials we sell, all in one house.  

The easiest, quickest and most efficient step to taking care of your tile floors is to regularly sweep, vacuum and damp mop them. Lets start with the porcelain tile. The biggest difference between between porcelain and all the other tile options for a floor is that porcelain as part of its make-up is a almost zero porosity material.  This means that it does not absorb something spilled on it like a natural stone or even a ceramic would.  These tiles are very durable and can be cleaned with almost any household cleaner without any worries about damaging the surface.  What we have to be a little more cautious about is the grout joints.  This is the same for all tiled areas.  Grout tends to be the maintenance area of concern with most tile installs.  We do not recommend using vinegar on your grout.  I know a lot of people always have, but we also get a lot of calls from people that have failing grout that comes out just by running a car key down the joints.  Vinegar is a mild acid and over many years of use will break down the strength of the grout.  We also do not recommend any cleaners with detergents in them as they can leave a soapy residue behind in the pores of the grout that actually will attract more dirt.  We also do not recommend any cleaners with color additives in them (lemon, orange, pine etc...), this color can stain the grout over time.  We have a selection of daily cleaners in the showroom that will provide a strong enough cleaning power but are formulated to work with your grout.  The other solution that we suggest is a mix of ammonia and water.  This will cut the grease and grime and not leave a soapy residue behind. We usually mix it 5 parts water to one part ammonia, and remember we don't want the sudsing or the scented kind.  

When we talk about ceramic we have the same suggestions.  Remember that ceramic is more porous then porcelain and so the absence of color in the cleaner is even more important.  Using a good quality steam mop on any of your tile floors is a great way to remove daily grime, and being that it is just a water vapor it doesn't leave any unwanted colors or suds behind.  

Natural stone is the more delicate flooring that we install.  It has a wonderful look to it that is very rich and natural and not easily reproduced in a man made tile form.  Dust mop interior floors frequently using a clean non-treated dry dust mop. Sand, dirt and grit do the most damage to natural stone surfaces due to their abrasiveness. Mats or area rugs inside and outside an entrance will help to minimize the sand, dirt and grit that will scratch the stone floor. Be sure that the underside of the mat or rug is a non-slip surface. Normally, it will take a person about eight steps on a floor surface to remove sand or dirt from the bottom of their shoes. Do not use vacuum cleaners that are worn. The metal or plastic attachments or the wheels may scratch the surface.Clean stone surfaces with a few drops of neutral PH stone cleaner available at retail stores or at your local tile and stone dealer, or a mild liquid dishwashing detergent and warm water. Use a clean rag mop on floors and a soft cloth for other surfaces for best results. Too much cleaner or soap may leave a film and cause streaks. Do not use products that contain lemon, vinegar or other acids on marble or limestone. Rinse the surface thoroughly after washing with the soap solution and dry with a soft cloth. Change the rinse water frequently. Do not use scouring powders or creams; these products contain abrasives that may scratch the surface.

We also suggest that you have your grout sealed if you are concerned about it being stained.  We also offer an upgraded grout that is less pores and helps to repel stains better then a standard grout does.

Where to start with a bathroom remodel

Well we still have not had any requests for topic discussion (please request something, that was the point of this blog - thanks in advance).  So next we would like to discuss "Where to start with a bathroom remodel". 

We start by asking our clients if there is look that they have seen that stands out to them.  People get inspiration from so many different places.  Sometimes you are out at a restaurant and love what they did in their entry, or bathroom, sometimes its a friends house that just had some work done, or an HGTV show, a magazine ad for a new faucet, a web site like Houzz, etc.  We find this kind of inspiration gives us a direction to start in, now we decide where to go from there.

One of the first things we like to do is come out to the house and do a site measurement of the space.  From this we can better tell what is and what is not feasible.  Sometimes moving a plumbing item is easy, and some times it just doesn't make sense.  We like to see where doors to other rooms are and where the windows are located.  This is something that James does and he can tell us more about what exactly he looks for on a site measure, and then I am going to discuss a little further how we take that information and help come up with a comprehensive design for the space.

We want discussion topics...

Today has been a great wrap up to a short week.  We were able to finish three large jobs, and start two more.  Plus we had some little ones mixed in as well.  The back and forth talking about shower repair has been fun.  Looking for some input suggestions on what our readers (287 of them this first week) would like for us to discuss next.  We have some ideas, but the idea of this blog was for interaction with our readers.  Thanks in advance and have a great weekend.

New shower design compared to that of 10 years ago

Its hard to know where to start.  Some of the biggest changes have been brought about due to advancement in the machinery that makes the tile.  We now have more mosaic options and water jet cut tiles that were just to pricey to use before due to the intense labor of hand making these types of pieces.  10 years ago most of the showers that we installed were what is called a floor/wall combination.  The floor tile would come in a 12x12 with a matching wall body 8x10 or 6x8.  A lot of shower walls had 4x4 and 6x6 square tiles.  The big deco item was a listello strip, often with interlocking ends.  Today we see most of our shower walls being the same porcelain that is on the bathroom floor.  The floors of showers in the past were often times a 4x4 tumbled stone or a 2x2 ceramic or unglazed porcelain tile that complimented the wall tile.  Today almost all of our floor tile options come with the matching 2x2 mesh mounted and cut from the field tile for a perfect match.  Pebbles on the floor are another popular option.  With those you either love them or hate them.  We actually installed a showroom shower with a pebble floor just so people can take their shoes off and try standing on the surface.  The new deco options are endless, from full feature walls, to vertical or horizontal deco bands, to cut-in inserts and back panels in niches.  Showers and back splashes are our favorite areas to design.  The options are endless and we get to let our imaginations run wild.

When to change out that old shower

Sometimes the shower damage is to extensive and the shower may need to be replaced.  There are times when the damage is just in the curb, or the slab is too contaminated with calcium to be fully cleaned.  In these situations we are able to remove the tile from the shower floor, remove the slab, and then clean the drain.  Schluter makes a drain that we can install to the pvc flange as we pour the new slab.  We can then add a piece of kerdi liner to the floor and re-tile.  It is important to note that this is not a full kerdi shower with all the benefits of the waterproofing going up the full wall.  We still rely on the weep holes to clear the water that wicks through the walls and down into the vinyl liner that is still there as well.  But we have put a waterproofing membrane on the floor part of the shower which greatly reduces the amount of water that gets into the slab.  And then sometimes we have to remove the entire shower.  This is when we find damage to the sub floor that can not be repaired with the vinyl liner in place.  There are also times that we find damage in the wall structure as well.  The unfortunate thing is that this damage is not always visible until we start taking out elements of the old shower.  Jen, why don't you comment a little on how the design of tile showers has changed in the last 5-10 years?

What about shower repairs?

Although there are a lot of showers that we can fix, sometimes are they just to far gone to be repaired?  And what is the best solution for repairing such a problem?  I know that I always like to use the opportunity of doing a shower repair to update the design of the shower as well.

How Schluter helps us eliminate shower problems

A great feature of the Schluter drain system is that it has no weep holes to get plugged.   The water proofing membrane is on top of the cement board and the floor slab, so water getting into the slab is completely eliminated.  As for the showers that still have the vinyl liner system (usually a round drain cover), there is still hope.  We have spent many years looking at these problems and devising ways to fix them.  We have a service we offer where we come to your home, power wash the entire shower system, we manually scrape out the build up from the inside of the pipe, clean the grout from between the walls and floor and any damaged grout joints.  We then use a test ball to plug the 2" drain pipe and back fill the drain with CLR to eat up the calcium deposits in the weep holes.  After we have let the shower sit for a day or two to completely drain and dry out we replace the grout as required, put the drain cover back on and then seal the grout.  It's not a money maker for us as we only charge between $250.00 and $350.00 depending on the shower size and how bad the calcium build up is.  But as a tile guy I want everyone to be happy with the tile showers they have, and I want them to last for many years, as they should.

Solving Shower Problems

Since about six years ago when we switched to the Schluter drain and water proofing system, we no longer have these problems with any of our showers. But, we get at least two calls a week from customers to look at these types of shower problems.  What can be done to fix showers that were built with the old style drain? 

Some pics of common shower problems

Moldy corners and calcium clogged drain

Calcium in the stone's pores 

Discolored bottom row of tile

Well Jen, the most popular style of shower in our area is the traditional PVC drain that clamps to a 30 - 40 mil. liner. This liner runs up behind the tile work up to 6-12 inches. The idea behind this lining system is that water that wicks through the grout joints on both the floor and walls is  pulled by gravity to the floor, then collects in the liner and drains through weep holes in the drain. This is the only place in the home where you find a drain hole so small. The problem with drain holes of this size is that they are easily plugged with sediment or worse, calcium.  After these holes become plugged the cement slab under the floor tile has no way of drying out. This is when we get the mold and mildew growing behind the tile especially in the corners. The first picture above shows a shower drain almost completely choked off with calcium growth. The second picture shows calcium deposits left behind in the stone's pores. The third picture shows calcium growing up from the ridge of the grout joint, and the forth picture shows the final stage where the bottom row of tile stays wet all the time due to the presence of water. At this point water starts running over the lowest part of the pan and rotting subfloor and floor joists. This can cause extensive damage to the home and after too long can result in having to change the entire shower.

Shower Maintenance

We have been getting several calls to the office about shower problems. Customers are having issues with crusty white build up around the drain and on the shower floor. They have cleaned away mold and mildew from the corners but it returns after a few days, as well as cracks and crumbles in the grout. Some have also notices discoloration in the bottom row of tile. What causes this to happen around the drain?