One tile after another

Janet is my cousin. Until recently, she and her husband, Louis, owned a house they had built in 1988.

About eight years ago, as Janet put it, they were not looking as much for change as they were a “mid-course correction, and that's when they decided to re-tile the hallway and half-bath.

“When we had our house built, we ran out of money, but we wanted to upgrade some of the flooring,” Janet said. “Ceramic tile was the natural choice for us, we asked lots of questions, chose the tile, and did the floors in two half-baths and the hallway ourselves."

"After a few years passed, however, we discovered that one of the most important parts of laying tile was choosing the correct grade of tile for the area that you are covering – particularly in high traffic areas where it has to stand up to kids, dogs and life in general.”

It wasn’t that the tile was turning to dust, but “the floor in front of the vanity had become scratched and worn,” Janet said. “In the hallway, the dog, as well as constant traffic, had scratched the tile. Although it wasn’t extreme damage, it really annoyed me to look at it when I cleaned the floors.”

Janet wanted to re-do the floors, but recalling all the work involved the first time, she was sure that Louis wouldn’t go for it.

“I decided to talk to him about it right after waking one Saturday morning, before getting out of bed,” she said.

“I said I’d been toying with the idea of changing the tile, and what did he think? I braced myself, but when he spoke, he said something like, ‘yeah, we could do that…’ I imagined I was still asleep and dreaming, but when I realized I was, indeed, awake, I sprang from the bed, ran downstairs, grabbed a crowbar and began demolition before he realized what he had said and changed his mind.”

It wasn’t an easy demolition, especially removing the adhesive from the subfloor, Janet said, but “we picked a more durable tile for those results, and the end result is something we have lived with for at least 10 years.

"No visible signs of wear, and all is well,” Janet said.

 

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Fast facts on tile and tiling
From Remodeling on the Money

Porcelain tile is the newer kid on the block. It is made of finer clays and fired at much higher temperatures than ceramic, making them denser, stronger and less porous — meaning they are less prone to moisture and staining. They are a better, but pricier choice for heavily trafficked areas; yet their durability compensates for the cost differences. It is much less commercial-looking than quarry tile, and is as durable.

Pre-mixed adhesive and grout can only be spread over small areas at a time before they set and harden. Mixing your own grout and adhesive lets you spread both over larger areas. You also can control the amount of stain-and-mildew-resistant additives that can alter consistency.

Hiring a tiling contractor? Remember: A good job is all about details. Bargain-basement pricing usually means a rush job. A good contractor will snap out gridlines over the entire space to be tiled, then sets up the entire area to see how the tile fits and looks.

Tile comes in various grades, and how and where you use the tile determines the kind of material you choose. It’s the quality of installation that matters. If you don’t get 30 years out of a tiled floor, the contractor has done something wrong.

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