Importance of Waterproofing a Shower....

Being a Professional Tile Contractor/Installer in Tampa, Florida and helping out on tile help forums I have noticed people are always asking about info on damaged showers and tubs for water damage, rot, grout discoloration, efflorescence, leaks or black mold.

The lack of a pan liner or surface membrane is usually the main reason these problems occur. Professional tile contractors who know the importance of a properly built shower with a pan liner & pre-slope, a bonded waterproofing sheet membrane or a liquid applied membrane.

Mold and rot occur when water gets absorbed into the grout and then seeps into the cementboard or drywall and then starts rotting the studs. Also when drywall is used the problems are even worse because the mold feeds on the paper face of the drywall. Mold loves cellulose and spreads throughout the damp wet area behind your wall.
As the leak goes unnoticed the damage and mold become worse.

When a shower liner is used without a pre-slope the water sits in the mud pan and slowly deteriorates/breaks down the mud bed and fills with mold/sludge. Sometimes the weep holes then become clogged with calcium deposits and efflorescence forms on the grout joints from the water drying up through the grout to the surface. A bonded surface membrane will solve these problems.

While we still do and have been doing traditional pan liners for as long back as I have been doing tile for (21 years), newer, updated ways of waterproofing a shower have been developed like Schluter Kerdi, Noble TS, Laticrete HydroBan Laticrete Hydro Barrier & Custom Building Products Redgard.
All excellent surface applied waterproofing membranes.

I tell customers it's good to spend the extra money now to do it right or you will spend 3 times the money tearing it out a few years later by doing it wrong.

Tile Selection in Florida......

Ceramic, Porcelain, Marble or Stone?

The selection of tile is almost limitless, especially here in Florida where there are so many domestic and imported tile from around the world shipped here.
Many homeowners are taking the selection of their tile more seriously than ever before. The old traditional look of 4x4 or 6x6 ceramics on the walls and floors is falling to the wayside as consumers look for the perfect tile for their projects.

Then, of course, comes the question: What is the best choice?
Tiles come in a wide variety of materials including clay, porcelain, and even glass among other choices. The durability of tile is graded in hardness. The more dense the tile, the harder the finished surface is. Porcelain, for instance, is the best tile in terms of density and hardness. Porcelain tile has color all the way through the tile versus screen print or glazed tiles, which are basically painted only on the surface. Porcelain will lasts longer with fewer problems with wear. Porcelain is also preferred for outside installations because it is more frost resistant.

Marble and stone are in a class all by themselves. Natural stone tile require more care in selection and maintenance. Installation of these materials is more labor intensive requiring a greater degree of skill and know-how to install them. Prices for stone materials are typically higher than ceramic or porcelain tiles and installation costs reflect the degree of difficulty to install them. Stone tile bring nature into your Florida home. They add a feeling of luxury and permanency. Granite counter tops in kitchens and baths combined with a tumbled marble backs plash make for a classy look and feel to any Florida home.

The tile you select for your project is just as important as the installer. Leave some money in your budget for a quality tile job. Once installed, tile can't be changed as easily as your paint color. Consider all the options and textures for tile and plan to spend a day or two looking at several different distributors. Be careful of discount tile, as it is sometimes inferior in quality and ultimately will make for a bad tile job. Remember, you get what you pay for. Don't skimp on your tile project. It will costs much more down the road to repair or replace your tile if done incorrectly and cheap.
Tampa Bay ,Lutz ,Oldsmar ,Apollo Beach, Ybor City, Gibsonton, Carrollwood, Northdale, Lake Magdalene, Palm River-Clair Mel, Progress Village, Riverview, Temple Terrace, University, Westchase, Wesley Chapel, Hillsborough County,
...............Ceramic..........................Porcelain................Marble/Natural Stone

Apollo Beach, Bloomingdale, Boyette, Brandon, Cheval, Citrus Park, Dover, East Lake-Orient Park, Egypt Lake-Leto, Fish Hawk, Gibsonton, Greater Carrollwood, Greater Northdale, Greater Sun Center, Keystone, Lake Magdalene, Lutz, Mango, Palm River-Clair Mel, Pebble Creek, Plant City, Lakeland, St. Pete, Progress Village, Riverview, Ruskin, Seffner, Tampa, Temple Terrace, Thonotosassa, University, Valrico, Westchase, Wimauma, TAMPA FL

Kitchen Tile Refreshing for a Realtor....

With home sales slow throughout the US some Realtor's are finding
ways to make the homes they are selling more appealing and fresh.

Here's a job I did for a Realtor I do work for in the Tampa, Florida area.

They were trying to spruce up a house to sell so I came up with
this refreshing inlay with leftover Porcelain tile they had from
the back splash extra tile laying in the garage.

I was able to figure out how much old ceramic tile to remove so it would
be symmetrical in the kitchen. I had 3 pieces of the 6x6 tile left over
and a few strips left from the cut 1/2"x1/2" mosaic sheets.

This same house has a full shower gut due to mold and rot from some
leaks with the builder not doing proper waterproofing.

You have to love a Florida shower with no liner or waterproofing!

Cant wait to rip that tile shower out....






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Floor Tile Comparisons...

Tile Comparison for your Florida tile selection:

(Granite Tile - Marble Tile - Slate Tile - Pebble Tile – Glass Tile – Porcelain Tile)

Tile is the often choice for the surface of high-end applications.
They are averagely priced but they provide incomparable beauty
and elegance to your home.

If you are considering tile you should be aware of the general characteristics of all the tiles types out there and the options available to you including installation before making your final decision. Especially, when more and more applications are using tiles, you might need to consider a tile specific to your application.

The following table is a summary for the feature of a few types of tile.

Granite Tile:
Slippery Surface - High
Resistant to Breakage & Scratch- Average
Color - Good
Installation - Good
Resistant to Chemicals& Acids – Bad
Price - Fine

Marble Tile:
Slippery Surface - High
Resistant to Breakage & Scratch - Bad
Color - Good
Installation - Good
Resistant to Chemicals & Acids - Bad
Price - Fine

Slate Tile:
Slippery Surface - Average
Resistant to Breakage & Scratch - Bad
Color - Low
Installation - Good
Resistant to Chemicals & Acids - Bad
Price - Fine

Pebble Tile:
Slippery Surface - Good
Resistant to Breakage & Scratch - Good
Color - Good
Installation - Easy
Resistant to Chemicals & Acids - Good
Price – Average

Glass Tile:
Slippery Surface - High
Resistant to Breakage & Scratch - High
Color - Excellent
Installation - Hard
Resistant to Chemicals & Acids - Good
Price – High

Porcelain Tile:
Slippery Surface - Average
Resistant to Breakage & Scratch - Excellent
Color - Excellent
Installation - Easy
Resistant to Chemicals & Acids - Excellent
Price - Average

Also all tile feels hard, but some types of tile are actually harder than others.
Tile is rated by a series of standardized tests. The tests evaluate a tile's relative hardness (the Moh scale), its ability to stand up to wear and the percentage of water absorbed.

The Porcelain Enamel Institute hardness ratings are:

* Group I - Light Traffic: residential bathroom floors.
* Group II - Medium Traffic: home interiors where little abrasion occurs.
* Group III - Medium-Heavy Traffic: any home interior.
* Group IV - Heavy Traffic: homes or light to medium commercial areas.
* Group V- Extra Heavy Traffic: use it anywhere.

These ratings are important, but don't get too bogged down in analysis.
they serve to help you find the right tile for your application.


Based on the table shown above, the Porcelain tile is a very good choice for many applications like a Bathroom Shower, Garden Tub, Kitchen, Backsplash, Foyer, Lanai, Patio, Porch, Fireplace, Swimming Pool, Pool Deck, Fountain, etc.

Here in Florida, especially the area’s of Tampa, St. Pete, Sarasota, Lakeland, Orlando, Daytona & Jacksonville the porcelain tile is a very big seller and Ceramictec has installed it in a wide variety of applications.

Hope this will be helpful for your selection of a tile.
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Travertine Tile Installation in Tampa, Florida

One way of making your Tampa Florida home standout in style is by installing Travertine tile flooring. Having installed our fair share of Travertine tile in Florida in area's like Tampa, Lakeland, St. Pete, Sarasota, Brandon, Bradenton, Lutz & Wesley Chapel, this style of flooring will work virtually everywhere in your home and the designs and styles are numerous which also makes it very versatile. The ranges of flooring are numerous and finding the perfect design to fit in with your decor is easy, however if you want to totally change your decor and try something new.

here are some Travertine flooring ideas you might not have considered.


What is Travertine:
To begin with, Travertine flooring is also known by several other names, some of the most common include Oriental alabaster, Egyptian alabaster, onyx marbles and Mexican onyx.

Travertine is a terrestrial sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from geothermally heated hot-springs. Similar (but more porous) deposits formed from ambient temperature water are known as tufa.

Travertine belongs to the larger family of stone called limestone also known as Calcium Carbonate. Marble is also a type of limestone that has had additional heat and pressure applied to it by the earth’s crust. Travertine is formed by minerals dissolving in ground water and then being deposited on the earth’s surface by rivers, natural springs, or geysers.

This beautiful flooring not only adds style to your home but also adds value.

Good and Bad Points:
As with all types of flooring Travertine has both good and bad points which have to be considered before going for this type of flooring. Its good points include being tough and hard wearing and there is a diverse range of styles to choose from as the stone comes in a wide range of some of the most beautiful colors imaginable.

The bad points are if you like a highly polished surface then they can become very slippery which could cause problems when laid in areas of high traffic and you have to avoid the use of acidic products on the unsealed stone. Acidic products which could spoil the beauty of this natural stone include the spillage of orange juice or vinegar. So great care has to be taken and thought has to be given when thinking of installing in the kitchen or dining area.

Travertine Ideas and Finishes:
Another plus which bodes well when it comes to diversity is the fact that the flooring comes in four different finishes, the choice of which to some extent will depend on where you intend to install the flooring.

One of the most beautiful finishes due to the way that the stone reflects the light is the polished, but as mentioned before this can be slippery. A smooth surface can be found with the honed stone due to its matte finish and brushed and tumbled stone has a slightly textured surface which holds a beauty entirely of its own.

Whether you are trying to portray a contemporary or rustic image, Travertine flooring is unbeatable. When going for the rustic look then a cream or natural colored stone that has a brushed surface and is left unfilled will indeed give just that.

Filled polished tiles are used for a more conservative look due to their highly reflective surface and look gorgeous when laid out over a larger open plan area. If you want a different look with travertine flooring you can choose to go mosaic and of course the rustic honed surface is the perfect choice when it comes to designing a mosaic floor.

Unusual Uses for Travertine Flooring:
Although traditionally Travertine flooring is of course used when it comes to installing new flooring it can also produce stunning effects when used for more unusual decoration.

Some uses which can show Travertine off at its best include using polished or tumbled travertine in the kitchen as a back splash. using matte stone on the floor of the shower stall and highly polished stone on the walls. Due to the natural beauty of a brushed or tumbled stone incorporating inconsistency and texture on each individual stone. one of my favorite patterns using travertine is the Chiseled Edge in a Versailles Pattern or the Honed Finish in a Brick Pattern.

visit our Ceramictec picture Gallery of ways to use Travertine Tile in Florida:

Ceramictec Gallery

A+ work on the Master Bath...Thx Brian...We will be using you in the future.

Lance P
Palm Harbor, FL.
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Florida Condo Owner's Tile Nightmare. . . .

About 9 months ago I got a call from a Custom Builder I do work for.
He asked me to take a look at a friends job a handyman/painter/tile guy
did in a condo in Clearwater Beach, Florida. I like this builder so I agreed to look at it.

Once the appointment was set up I met with the lady. She was a very nice,
a hard working single woman that relocated from up North to Florida.
Looking at the floor it was horrible with about 15 visual things I could see
wrong with it not counting other installation errors.

She was so upset at how the tile was installed and turned out and how the guy treated her at the end she had no clue what to do. Since she bought the tile/material, she didn't pay him for the labor since the job was disgusting.

The "handyman" then threatened to take her to court and put a lien on her condo if she didn't pay in cash. At that point I was furious and disgusted that someone could do this type of work to a nice woman like her, so I agreed to help her out.

I talked to a friend of mine in the area that sits on the County Construction
Codes Board and he told me to have her take him to small claims court.
From there I compiled a list of problems with pictures and gave to her.
The court date came, she went in with her list compiled from me and
pictures backing up the bad work.

Needless to say she won the case in about 5 minutes after the judge looked
at the tile pictures and list Ceramictec compiled for her. He (the handyman) needed to pay for removal of the tile and replacement of material & tile lost.
He didn't need to pay for the labor since she didn't pay him.

The handyman also didn't have his Insurance that he told the condo management he had.

Below you will see pictures with list of problems I gave her.



to whom it may concern,

After my Inspection of your tile job you had done by a Handyman
it is in my Professional experience I see the following mistakes that make
the job look less then professional and not acceptable.

1) Floor was laid out incorrectly and not square to the walls in your house.
he did not know how to square a floor or layout tile work.
2) This therefore made all cuts throughout your place cut at angles gaining in size and incorrect.
3) The main room of your place walls are square. he should have laid out off this area.
4) Cuts "in the U shape" at doors and corners are pieced together are not professionally cut.
5) Cuts at door jambs are too wide and not cut correctly.
6) Floor is not flat and has many dips and high tiles
7) Tile is set crooked /not straight with various size joints from 3/16" to a 1/2"
(unacceptable joint variances)
8) Grout was not properly grouted and joints have a lot of divots and low spots.
9) Grout residual not cleaned off of the tile. haze throughout job
10) Thinset sticking up through grout in some area's
11) Your wood baseboard will not cover several short cut tile along the wall.
12) Cuts along wall and other places vary in sizes. they should be all the same. this is due to (his) the crooked floor.
13) Tile in bathroom set on gloss tile did not bond and it is a 1/2" higher then main floor.
14) Bathroom floor tile should have been removed prior to tiling.
this created an elevated tile area.
15) Improper thinset was used to set porcelain tile. no bond to the porcelain tile.
16) I have taken (18) pictures to prove these statements.
17) the whole job is unacceptable and should be removed and done correctly
by a Qualified Florida Tile Contractor

here is the finished job after "Ceramictec" did it the correct way.


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A letter from the homeowner:

Brian,

I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you have done for me and the beauty you created in my home. My floors were a nightmare and I cannot thank you enough for all of your hard work, dependability and professionalism. Your pictures before and after speak for themselves.

Thank you always,
Kim
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Achieving a Flat Tiling Surface....

When doing a tight joint with a polished natural stone or a tight joint
with a polished or unpolished porcelain tile it is very important that
your substrate be very flat so the finished tile work will look great.

To get a nice finished tile floor you need to start from the beginning and make sure the substrate it flat, smooth and strong. This will ensure that when your
tile contractor is setting the tile you don't have rolls, lips or uneven tile.
The prep work can make or break a tile project.

Doing a lot of home tile renovations and new homes in Florida in the Tampa, Lakeland, Sarasota, Orlando & the Daytona areas I have seen my fair share
of horrible wavy slabs with humps, dips and incorrect rough textures.

There are many ways of correcting this......

One would be using an SLC (Self leveling Cement).
Another way could be Floating the floor with Thinset.
Or even doing a Sand & Portland Wetbed/Mudbed.

If the slab or floor area cannot be properly made flat.
You could also "wetset" mud the tile or natural stone when you set it.

When you have small humps using a grinder with a cup wheel to grind
down the humps works well, or using an electric chipping hammer with
a bushing bit on it to break down the humps also works.

There are other more aggressive ways to correct a bad slab with humps
or to remove old thinset like using a scarifying machine to grind or
a shot blaster to make smooth.

A good Tile Contractor with the right selection of a deeper notched trowel
and back buttering of the tile can make a slab with minor imperfections a smooth work of art.

With the proper Tile Contractor all of these methods
can help you achieve a smooth finished tiled floor.


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Glass Tile in Bathrooms and Beyond......

Here in Florida we install all sorts of tile sizes, textures, colors and makes.
Porcelain, Ceramic & travertine being the most widely used.

One of the trickiest tile to set would be the Glass Tile. Glass tile are tricky
due to numerous setting reasons as you will see when researching a tile contractor. I would recommend you select a Tile Contractor that is
familiar with setting Glass Tile.

Glass Tile are being used in the Bathroom on the walls and floors
as accent bands and deco's. shower floors, back splashes, pools

Glass floor tiles are usually set on a crack membrane with a white,
fast setting & flexible thinset. You need to set them so there are
no pockets of air trapped under the tiles. An uneven install with
pockets will eventually crack the tiles when they are walked on.

A normal glass tile is no different from polished porcelain in terms of
C.O.F.. Like any gloss tile glass tiles are usually slippery when wet.
If small a format (1 × 1") tiles are used on floors the frequent grout lines
create texture that will slightly inhibit slippage and add more C.O.F..

Glass tile manufacturers Villiglas, Interstyle, Oceanside and Vetrotile
all manufacture glass floor tiles that are made with a textured surface
that provides a high Coefficient Of Friction.

The use of Glass Tile is becoming more popular and discussed more
on Tile Help Forums these days like the John Bridge Tile Forum.

one of the best ways and my favorite way to set glass tile here in Florida
is by using the Laticrete one-step method for setting Glass Tile.




this will consists of using the Laticrete Sanded Grout (1500 Series)
mixed with Laticrete 4237 Latex Thin-Set Mortar Additive.

There is a wide variety of Glass Tile finishes to choose from like glossy, iridescent, etched, metallic or printed, and textures like flat, rippled, relief
or dimpled. And also tile sizes from 1", 2", 4", 5", 6", 8" and even large sized
glass tile 12" up to 24" in size.

with new manufacturing techniques glass tile continues to advance with variations in textures, styles & colors and continue to in the years to come.

So no matter what size, style or color of Glass Tile you choose I'm sure
you will love coming home to the new area you have transformed.

Barrier Free, Accessible, Curbless, Roll In Shower.....

These showers are becoming increasingly popular with older people who
don't feel like or cant step over a curb. Some homeowners even want it for the smooth style flowing look. Or the most important reason for building one is a child, elderly or loved one who is handicapped. In any of these cases someone can benefit by having a low curb or barrier free accessible shower.

I have built curbless, roll in, barrier free accessible showers for over 15 years.
more so in Hotels where required by ADA code they need to have available some showers for the Handicap on the first floor.

the waterproofing is tricky with these types of showers and I have come
to like working with Schluter Kerdi & Ditra. the Kerdi Drain is amazing.
and also Laticrete's Hydroban and Custom's RedGard both a great
liquid membrane to work with.

I could guarantee my showers using
one of these product for years.

Like this Custom Roll-In Shower:



Or this 3" Low Curb shower:

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Follow Ceramictec on Twitter........

I cant say enough good things about Laticrete's SpectraLock Epoxy grout...

I have been using Laticrete products now off & on for nearly 20 years.
But I cant say enough about the SpectraLock grout.

Yeah cement grouts have came a long way with TEC's Accucolor, Custom's Prism and Laticrete's PermaColor.

But when you want to get right down to it and make sure you have a 100% stain proof grout, you need to go with SpectraLock. It's by far is the best epoxy grout
I have used.

Even with all the horror stories of the epoxies being a pain to get off and
with the haze, it isn't much of a factor with the SpectraLock.




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What to look for when hiring a Tile Contractor

I have recently came across a lot of homeowners only looking at the bottom dollar amount when hiring a flooring contractor.
Would you rather spend $2000 and it may last a year,
or spend $3500 and get a lifetime of enjoyment out of your purchase?
You would be wise to do your homework when choosing your contractor. In the past few weeks Ceramictec has torn out 2 showers, that have leaked within the year of being completed. One shower was installed by a concrete contractor.
I think he figured putting thin set under the tiles or pouring concrete was about the same.
The homeowners aren’t thinking so now. Just because they did a nice job on your floor, or kitchen back splash, don’t take it for granted that they can do the same with your shower.

Make sure you ask questions.

Ask them if they put a preslope in?
How do they waterproof the shower?
What type of adhesive do they use?
Mastic or thinset?
How do they keep the weep holes around the drain clean?
How do they fasten the liner on the curb?
How many inches above the pan are they nailing the liner?
Are they using drywall or cement board?

These are just a few simple questions that can save
you a lot of Time, Money & Grief in the near future.