Okay, so today we’re going to be talking about some random tiling tips and techniques.
So why do you want to watch this video? You want to watch your video if you’re going
to be redoing your bathroom and putting tile on the shower surround or you’re going to
be putting tile on the floor, even in the kitchen. If you’re going to be tiling the
kitchen, we’re going to give you tips on the type of tile to use on walls and floors,
what kind of thinset to use for large format tiles so they don’t slide down the wall,
what kind of tools will help you out, and so much more. So it this a comprehensive video?
It is not. Is it a video that’ll make you smarter when it comes to tiling? I sure hope
so. Because these are tips that I’ve learned over the last twelve years remodeling my own
rental properties here in Pittsburgh and tips that I’ve learned from my buddy, Steve White,
who is a professional master bathroom remodeler. So hang on. We’re going to give you some
awesome ideas here. Let’s jump into the video right now.
The first tip that I wanted to give you has to do with the tubs and showers. Now my personal
preference is to have large format tile. So these tiles right here are 12” x 36”.
They’re pretty large. And by the way, anything that has it longer than an 18” edge to it
is considered a large format tile and needs special thinset such that it won’t slide
down the wall whenever you go to adhere it. Why do I like large format tiles? They’re
way easier to clean, especially if you get large format tiles that have a glossy surface
to them. You just squeegee them down, you’re good to go. You may disagree with me on this,
and I totally get it, that it’s an aesthetic thing, and maybe you like subway tiles, so
go for it. If you like subway tiles, go for it. But in my experience, if you hate cleaning
up the bathroom, large format tiles are the way to go.
What about floors? What’s a good tile for the floor? Especially in the bathroom? My
personally preference for floor tiles in bathrooms are tiles that have a little bit of grip to
them. That way, when you step out of the shower or the bathtub, you’re not going to slip
and fall on your rear end. And that’s what these tiles have. There’s some certain grip
to it. And I totally get you may not like this because you could make the argument that
you’d have to clean them a little bit more, and that’s totally true. But I think it’s
not a bad idea to have grippiness to the tiles so you don’t slip and fall. After all, the
bathroom is going to be wet. Same thing goes for the kitchen or mudroom. So just keep that
in mind when you’re choosing your tile. Another nice, solid tip is whenever you’re
tiling in the bathub or the shower, make sure you tile all the way up to the ceiling. Now
why do you want to do that? You want to do that because it actually—again, this is
just my opinion—is more work to leave that section of drywall going around the top of
the tub or the shower. Plus, drywall isn’t waterproof. Even if you put a latex layer
of paint over top of it, it will still bubble up over time especially if you’re taller
and all the water splashes off of you and goes onto the drywall. So spend the extra
$50, $100, $150 to buy the tile for the top here for the top section of your tub or your
shower. Now I’m going to give you a way to save
some money on your tile. Hold on one second here, I want to show you something. So this
tile here has a metal profile that looks just like this before you put it behind the tile,
and this is made by Schluter. Schluter makes a ton of profiles like this one in many different
colors, and it’s way more cost effective to use this than pencil-trimmed tile or bull
nose tile. So keep this in mind when you want to do a tile on your shower or your bathtub.
Now I want to give you some accent tile tips. It’s always good to choose an accent tile
that is the exact same thickness as the surrounding tile. So by that I mean this tile, as you
can see here, is about ¼” thick. This tile is ¼” thick. When you go to put both tiles
on your waterproofing membrane or waterproofing board, that way they’ll be exactly the same
thickness. It’ll be nice and flush. This won’t be sticking out. Now if this tile
is thinner than the surrounding tile, what you do is put a piece of Schluter DITRA behind
it because the DITRA is only about 1/8” thick. So you put this behind the accent tile,
and that will pull the accent tile out to make it flush with the surrounding tiles.
So now I’m going to give you three tips that’ll give you great looking grout joints.
Tip # 1 is to use a high quality thinset mortar for vertical tile, especially if your vertical
tile is a large format tile. Which thinsets do we like? We like Ardex X 77 especially
for large format tiles because it prevents your large tiles from sliding down the wall,
squooshing your tile mosaic. We also like Mapei’s Kerabond because it’s a great
thinset for your tile floor. And these thinsets combined with horseshoe shims and the Tuscan
Seamclips will help you get amazing looking grout joints. You want to use horseshoe shims
in between your tile mosaics. Positioning them in between the tile mosaic grout joints
to prevent those tiny little grout joints from being smooshed. You can also use these
in between tiles. The Tuscan Seamclips are used to prevent tile lippage. This is really
important both on vertical surfaces and on horizontal surfaces. So check them out for
yourself. These are 1/16” horseshoe shims. You can combine two of them to give yourself
an 1/8” grout joint, which is the size of grout joint I like because it’s small enough
that it’s not too noticeable, but not too big that it looks weird and it’ll accumulate
grim and dirt and all that jazz. So the smaller the grout joint, in my opinion, the better
off you are. Tuscan Seamclips, make sure you choose these based upon the thickness of your
tile. I’ll put a link down in the description so you can check it out for yourself. Or you
can take a look at this video right here, which I made on the Tuscan Seamclips and the
Tuscan system in general. I almost forget, you can use the Tuscan Seamclips
both on vertical tile surfaces and horizontal surfaces, like floors. Do the exact same thing
with the horseshoe shims. This next tip is about the layout of large
format tiles, specifically elongated tiles. These 12” x 36” tiles, we staggered them
in thirds and the reason why, if you don’t do that you’ll get tile lippage, and that’s
not good. You want to do the exact same thing when it comes to 12” x 24” tiles or tiles
that are elongated on the floor. You want to stagger them by thirds so that, again,
you don’t get tile lippage and stub your toe on the tile.
So what about grouts? What are some of the grouts that could make your life a lot easier?
Well one of them is called QuartzLock. This is by Bostik. And what’s great about it
is it’s a urethane-based grout. It’s already pre-mixed, so you don’t have to mix it.
It’s got wonderful color consistency. And it’s going to last for a year or two in
your garage. So if you ever have a problem, you can always just fill it in with this.
That’s the other nice thing. When you use Bostik’s QuartzLock, if you miss a spot,
you can just take some and fill it in and wipe it off. Now you have to work quickly
with a urethane-based grout. But not only is the color consistency there, it is stain-resistant.
You don’t have to seal it. And you don’t have to mix it up. So that’s pretty awesome.
Another type of grout that you should check out is by Ardex. Ardex, spelled A-R-D-E-X,
they make great sanded and non-sanded grouts. So check out the Ardex line of grouts. This
is what some professionals like to use. But again, you check out Ardex. You can check
out Bostik’s, spelled B-O-S-T-I-K, grout line and see which one will fit your needs.
You always want to use silicone sealant if you can in the corners of your shower or bathtub.
The reason why is this corner is subjected to expansion and contraction. So if you’re
not using silicone and you use grout, the grout will eventually pop and crack over time,
which isn’t good. So in the corners, use silicone.
And also, when it comes to bathtubs, it’s good to put 100% silicone between the tub
and the bottom of the first tile. All right, so those are the tips and techniques
on tiling for today. I totally get that this is not comprehensive. It’s more basic to
get your brain kind of churning and get you some ideas that will help you out with your
own tiling project. If you’re planning your own DIY bathroom remodel, you should check
out BathroomRepairTutor.com, especially if you’re looking to tile a floor, a shower
surround, put in the tub and do the plumbing, and so much more, we’ll help you out with
that. Just visit BathroomRepairTutor.com. That is it for today. I’ll see you down
in the comments. Id’ be happy to answer any questions you have. Take care. We’ll
talk to you soon. Man, we don’t get too many days like this
in Pittsburgh. It is phenomenal. I figured I’d show you what it’s like. It’s March.
It’s almost 70° outside. Topnotch!