Hard Surface Flooring Articles
Ceramic & Stone Tile – Concrete Toppings and Finishes – Hardwood – Epoxy Coatings
Hard surface flooring refers to ceramic, stone, concrete, hardwood, epoxy and other hard flooring types. This is a category of flooring that has increased in popularity in recent years, even though some types have been around since the earliest days of flooring in the domicile.
You will find a wide variety of hard surface topics covered in this category. The Floor Pro Community is blessed with many members who work professionally in these fields. Some are involved in retailing, installations or inspections, others have experience in manufacturing, demolition and we also have members who train and certify professionals in hard surface flooring sales, installation and inspections.
If you don’t find just the right article to help you with your business or flooring project, I invite you to start a new topic in our forums that will help you find the information and support you need.
Using Cement Boards Over Concrete Slab Construction
It seems that ceramic tile installation has an abundance of myths that pop up all too frequently regarding Do-It-Yourselfers on “help forums” and DIY websites. So-called tile experts offer advice and opinions based on, well… I’m not sure what some of the comments are based on or where some people get their (mis)information to tell you the truth. I want to address the subject of installing cement board products over a concrete substrate.
It is imagined by some that products like Durock, Hardibacker and others can be used to fix imperfections in the surface of concrete or to override a previously painted or sealed concrete surface. Installing tile over painted or sealed surfaces is usually not good practice. (more…)
Bud Cline is a native of the St. Louis Missouri area. After early stints at various service jobs, a tile installer bloomed in 1976. Bud has been a flooring professional ever since. He has been married to his beautiful wife since 1981 and enjoys his three great kids. When he isn’t being with family and friends, installing tile, or spending time at The Floor Pro Community, Bud spends some of his precious spare time lake fishing.
Of the entire inventory of floor covering products on today’s market, ceramic and stone tiles probably lend themselves more to do-it-yourself home improvement projects than almost any other flooring product but there are rules and special underlayments required to insure a proper and lasting installation.
Tile in its elementary form is easy to install. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it, however if you research installing ceramic tile you will find that the techniques are many and there are in fact absolute rules that should be followed to insure a suitable return on your investment. (more…)
Bud Cline is a native of the St. Louis Missouri area. After early stints at various service jobs, a tile installer bloomed in 1976. Bud has been a flooring professional ever since. He has been married to his beautiful wife since 1981 and enjoys his three great kids. When he isn’t being with family and friends, installing tile, or spending time at The Floor Pro Community, Bud spends some of his precious spare time lake fishing.
Ceramic & Stone Tile Over Vinyl Flooring
A Raging and On-going Controversy in the Flooring Community
In The Old Days…
ack in the early days of the first home improvement Advice Forums for Do-It-Yourselfers on the Internet, less than a decade ago, it didn’t take long to find out that if you were to choose a subject such as this (ceramic or stone tile over vinyl) and rub two tile installers together you could in no-time create fire. If not a raging flaming beast of a fire then at least plenty of smoke. This type of fire and smoke is hard to extinguish because in the minds of some long-time installers, for them to follow this advice would mean changing everything they had been taught by their mentors and fathers and grandfathers and godfathers. For some, these methods mean change and we all know how humans resist change. So, for this reason, this is not directed at any of the long-time professional installers in the flooring community. No sir, instead it is directed toward the Do-It-Yourselfer that is seeking sound advice from an experienced installer that has (trust me) “been there, done that”. You will find this ongoing argument everywhere on the help forums that you go to seek advice. (more…)
Bud Cline is a native of the St. Louis Missouri area. After early stints at various service jobs, a tile installer bloomed in 1976. Bud has been a flooring professional ever since. He has been married to his beautiful wife since 1981 and enjoys his three great kids. When he isn’t being with family and friends, installing tile, or spending time at The Floor Pro Community, Bud spends some of his precious spare time lake fishing.
The Vinyl Edger is a very user friendly sheet vinyl and linoleum tool and nearly foolproof. With a tool-less design and no moving parts, it is easily used by both right and left handed people. The blades, which are standard hook blades, are held in place by very strong magnets. The engineering is really ingenious in that, if the tool is used wrong, the blade will release, thus preventing a miscut. The tool is designed to produce a net fit, which is perfect for many of the newer adhesives on the market that will not allow for a snug pressure fit. I believe this is a perfect tool for the DIY market due to the well thought out design. (more…)
Barry Carlton is based in Boise, Idaho and has been installing vinyl and linoleum since 1978. Continually fine tuning and learning the newest and most efficient techniques, he is always searching for a challenge – or a new tool. Barry is most pleased when a project is completed that leaves people happy and impressed.
Tile Project Multi-Spacer Review
I recently received some sample tile spacers from MultiSpacer and was asked to try them out. I used them on a tile shower project, and found them to be very useful over the standard spacers that are made of soft rubber. While the standard spacers tend to compress under the weight of several courses of tile, the MultiSpacer is made of hard plastic and retains the proper grout joint.
The best thing about MultiSpacer is (more…)
Kevin Trevathan is an expert in ceramic and stone tile installations. He owns Trevathan Floorcovering in Pea Ridge, Arkansas and also works in law enforcement.
