Our company just finished installing this 700sq.ft. china apricot 16×16 slate tile. We had to remove all the old cermaic tiles and installed backer board. After we grouted the floor the grout became discolored. I had to remove all the old grout and remove the sealer. It took forever to clean this floor. I think it turned out prettty well. This project really tested our patience and the customers!!
Fine Homebuilding's editorial director has some fun news to share.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Looks pretty good......what caused the grout to discolor?? I'm fairly new to tiling work and if I can prevent it happening to me on a similar job that would be nice.
secondly...what part of the country are you in?? Good tilers in this area (OKC) are making 5 to 5.50 per sq ft for tiling.....(floors)
Enclosed are a couple pics of a bathroom I recently remodeled, took out an old tub and replaced with what you see here...I'd appreciate any comments (negative or positive) from what you can tell from the pics.....THANKS!!! Threw in a pic of the old area before I started...
Since I'm on a dial up out in the sticks, no comments on either of these posts.
Joe H
Wheeew! Those shots from NYer sure were big ones!
For the dial-up challenged, here they are in smaller form.jt8
Opportunity doesn't knock. You knock, opportunity answers. -- American Proverb
Sorry about the size of the pics...haven't figured out resizing and the like yet, and I appreciate the changes, thanks...How's the tile look?? I charged a pretty penny for the work but felt it was justified...Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast, SHOW NO MERCY!!!
Sorry about the size of the pics...haven't figured out resizing and the like yet, and I appreciate the changes, thanks...
Irfanview or some such is popular with some of the BT'ers. I just use photoshop. I've noticed that the BT'ers like their pics under 100k. Whereas on Knots, you can post as large as you like and people won't complain.
How's the tile look?? I charged a pretty penny for the work but felt it was justified...
That's nice work. Was the ho having accessibility issues? I noticed you went from tub to shower.
Did you end up putting a curtain in or a door?
jt8
Opportunity doesn't knock. You knock, opportunity answers. -- American Proverb
no accessability issues....she just didn't want a standard tub in the spare bath, so she had me remove the tub and the tile that came on the walls, I durocked everything, re-plumbed the existing fixture, built the seat and tiled everything. I added a shower door after installation was complete and am not sure if you can see it or not, but also did all the paint touch up and added an expansion joint at the juncture of the wall/floor. Sloping to the drain was the hardest part of the job in addition to getting the "pan" watertight.......BTW...this was a 3 year old house in an upscale housing area and the walls were 1" out of plumb....Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast, SHOW NO MERCY!!!
Dial-up challenged part II:
Personally, I could have lived with the ceramic tile, but that slate does look nice.
wefixwell, how much was that slate per tile?
jt8
Opportunity doesn't knock. You knock, opportunity answers. -- American Proverb
We do not know why it disolored I used grout cleaner..but it did not help. You did a great job in the bathroom. How bad was it before you started?
The house is 3 years old...the woman only wanted to upgrade the bathroom...the worst part of the job was at the end..the walls were framed an inch out of plumb so setting the door unit was a pain....a brand new houose and the walls out of plumb..go figure....Thanks for the comment on the tiling, I'm pretty proud of it myself...If you aren't one of the one's I'm talking about,you shouldn't have any complaints....
The discoloration of the grout could be the type of slate you chose. Slate is really just petrified mud. Some slates are pretty soft and will develop a slurry on the surface when you grout. The slate colored slurry will mix with the grout color. To avoid discoloration you should mix the grout as stiff as workable. Wet grout besides being weak will generate a slurry. When you wash the grout haze be sure to rinse the sponge everytime you wipe. Don't keep sponging with a loaded sponge.Mike Callahan, Lake Tahoe, Ca.
Hey Mike, is that color bleeding only a problem in relation to grout? I don't know anything about slate other than it makes a long-lived roof (and a heavy/expensive one).
Is the roofing slate harder stuff that isn't as inclined to let its colors run?
jt8
Opportunity doesn't knock. You knock, opportunity answers. -- American Proverb
You just have to test a few samples if you have them. Wet and scratch it and see if you can make a slurry between your fingertips. From my limited experiance I have used Brazilian slate and that was very hard. It had no slurry. Some peacock slate from India was very soft and made a messy purple slurry that did stain the grout. Generally soft slate will chip and break easier. The cheapo earth slate from Home Depot from China was in between but still on the soft side.Mike Callahan, Lake Tahoe, Ca.