got screwed..... I hate people.

[FroSSty]

I've been laying tile with my dad since I was 14. Best advice I can give you is keep your base level and your lines straight.

Who is this "tile" and does she have a phone number?

[Joe 1320]

here's the room with the tile removed




Here's a closer look of how bad the quickset was applied the first time.




Yours truly with an industrial grinder.




The dust gets everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE.

[FroSSty]

That looks like oodles of fun.

[Joe 1320]

The floor has been ground, a crack repaired



And the tile spacing is layed out to check for fittment.



Oh yeah, it's loads of fun.

[Black97]

I've been thinking many times of laying tiles or doing a back splash with tiles. But then I get the better of me and just forget about it.

Looks like a lot or work and I don't know if I have the endurance for something like that.

[FroSSty]

That is going to look beautiful when it is completed. I guarantee you will be happy and proud you did it yourself. If you are like me, you'll show it off to all of your company. And I bet some will ask you to help them with their tile.

[raroZ28]

wtf Joe? You can't get ahold of this guy whatsoever? Man that pisses me off! I hate when people do that. I hope you find the guy and squeeze the loot out of him.

Did you start from the outside of the floor? I've always set tile starting at the center of the floor, not from the outside. Makes the room much more symmetrical.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

Looks good Joe.

Make sure you check the walls for "square". I ran into issues with two of my walls not being at 90 degrees to each other. Also, (as I'm sure you're aware) verify that you'll have an equal piece on either wall...in other words, you don't want to have a 9" tile on one wall, and a 2" tile on the other. This applies to the perpendicular walls as well. Basically, you want to make a "+" in the center of the room. Don't start in a corner...


If you run into problems...check before you start applying the thin-set...

[Joe 1320]

Fortunately, the room is symetrical and square. On the original tile job, there were #28-12" tiles going the length, and 11½- 12" tiles going the width. This will be replaced by #21-16" tiles for the length and #8.625-16" tiles for the width. The match and spacing couldn't have worked out any better. The only cuts will be along one wall which for the most part, isn't usually seen. I'm very lucky in that respect.

I've done all the math, then manually checked the fit. After a 3day roadtrip/ mini vacation this weekend, I'm going to do the actual quickset and tile install next week. I'm also fortunate that my next door neighbor has a tile saw and has volunteered to do the cuts. Thank god there are some good people left in the world because it sure is getting cluttered with losers.

You guys are right, it will be a good feeling when it's done. A feeling of accomplishment.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

Way to go Joe! It sounds like you did your homework...the floor is going to look great when it's done.

[Wild Willy]

Figure what this guy was charging, and how many hours you work, and you can calculate your hourly rate- in effect, you would have been paying yourself, until this creep took your money and ran-

You will feel good about this, and have a realistic idea of the work involved when you want to do the next room- and, most likely, another room will be in the future... I started smaller, one bathroom, then another, then a porch.

You were wearing a dust mask when grinding, I hope- open the doors and windows, run fans- then you will only get a half-ton of dust in the house- your're right, everywhere-

[sneitzel]

It does look like you're on your way.

I will once again suggest you pull the baseboards, run the tile right up to the wall and then replace the baseboards. You will end up with a much cleaner look.

[Steel2686]

Great job, Joe. It's going to look awesome and you'll have a real sense of pride. Even though I did carpentry for a living for a long time, I still take pride when I finish a project in my own home.

The only problem is, you'll end up replacing other things in that room. At leats that's what I do. I can never stop at just the floor or whatever I'm doing.

[Joe 1320]

It does look like you're on your way.

I will once again suggest you pull the baseboards, run the tile right up to the wall and then replace the baseboards. You will end up with a much cleaner look.

I'm still considering that. that's going to be quite a bit of baseboard work if I do that. It wasn't done that way originally either.

[sneitzel]

I've done it both ways.

When I did the bathrooms in my house I left the baseboard and did the grout right up to it. In my kitchen I pulled the base and went up to the wall then replaced the base.

It might just be a personal preference but I am much happier with the final product removing the base boards. It looks more 'Finished' IMHO.

Some of the additional work to R&R the base boards is offset by not having to be as exact with your tile cuts. You have more room for error when you can hide the edge under the base board.

Again, I'm speaking from my own experience and preference. If you take your time and are exact with your cuts it will look fine either way.