Category: Tile & Shower Enclosures

I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I saw a guy try to hide a quarter inch dip with extra thin-set and a prayer. Two weeks…

The physics of a perfect drain cut and why subfloors fail Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That is the reality of the trade. If…

I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. Most guys skip the leveling compound because they think the underlayment or the tile trim will hide the dip. It won’t. If your subfloor is out of plane by more than an eighth of an…

I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet, and that same level of obsessive structural focus applies to every glass shower panel I install. I once walked into a job site where a homeowner was crying over a five thousand dollar frameless enclosure…

I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. In small showers, that logic is even more dangerous because every fraction of an inch is under a microscope.…

The Secret to Tiling a Perfect Shower Recess Niche Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That same philosophy applies to your shower walls. If your…

I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That job taught me that most guys skip the leveling compound and they think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. When I finally got that floor flat to within an eighth of an…

Master the Art of Cleaning Soap Scum Off Black Slate Shower Tiles I once walked into a luxury bathroom where a homeowners beautiful five thousand dollar black slate shower looked like a dusty chalkboard. They had been scrubbing it with white vinegar and a stiff plastic brush for six months. The stone was etched, the…

I smell like floor wax and thin-set most days, and my knees have the permanent calluses to prove it. You want to talk about aesthetics, but I want to talk about the 1/8 inch dip in your plywood that is going to snap your porcelain tiles the moment you bolt that pedestal sink down. Most…

The smell of thin-set in the morning is the only thing that keeps me sane after twenty five years in this trade. Most people walk into a bathroom and see a pretty space for their soap but I see a structural battleground. I see the potential for water to find a path into the studs…