There are many mistakes you can make when working with tile. A few of them however are made much more than others. Luckily these can be easily avoided and therefore save you some time and effort.
Caulk And Grout Have Different Jobs
One of the most common of all tiling mistakes made by beginners is filling expansion joints with grout. These joints are the areas where your tile installation meets another material such as a wall. Because both these materials and the tile will contract, expand, and move this joint needs to be filled with a flexible material to allow them to do so naturally.
You will need to grout your tiles, however, tile grout is not meant for expansion joints. It’s way too stiff and will be sure to crack leaving your installation open to damage. Instead, make sure you use caulk to fill your expansion joints.
Read Up Then Choose Your Layout
There are many different tile patterns to pick from. But just because you like the look of one, in particular, doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for the specific space you will be using it in. Don’t make a rushed decision. Some layouts just tend to look much better in certain types of spaces rather than others.
There are even a few such as the diagonal and running bond that can be used to trick the eye in specific situations. So even though you may prefer a pattern right off the bat, be sure to do a little reading first to make sure it is appropriate for where you’d like to use it. In the end, you’ll be thankful you did.
Seal First Then Set
A sealant is used to protect tiles against moisture, mold, mildew, and staining. The majority of tile materials can be set and then sealed. However because they aren’t glazed, many types of porous natural stone such as travertine tiles for example can be stained by grout.
The tile grout can even fill in the pores on the tile’s surface which can mean you have to spend many hours scrubbing it out. Staining before you grout can solve this problem and save you a lot of grief and time. In fact, many people will even seal twice before they grout.
Repair Right Away
While the other mistakes mentioned here are ones that are usually made during installation not dealing with damaged grout in a timely way is something that you’ll most likely deal with in the future. Many homeowners put off repairing it until later on. What may only be a small hole or crack could be all it takes to let water in, and this can develop into a much bigger problem. So take care of grout issues when you notice them, they’re easy to deal with so don’t procrastinate.
DIY tile projects can be fun and rewarding but you need to know a few things before rushing in. By being aware of these mistakes you will be much less likely to make them while increasing the chance your project will come out how you planned!
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