Full Bathroom in Westchester

Heres a kerdi shower I recently completed in WestChester, Edgemont Pa. The tile is from the tile shop in Wilmington Pike, Delaware. All the jambs are solid Travertine and theres a custom niche and alot of glass to compliment the shower. The floor is also tumbled marble.

Fireplace

Here is a fireplace I recently tore out and retied in Chestnut Hill, Mt Airy Area of Philadelphia. All the previous tile had been set in mud on the floor and mud on the walls, so in order to retile the area I had to mud my walls and mud my floor. I removed all the tiled with a demo hammer cleaned the area and mudded the walls and floor. The following day onyx was installed on all my fresh mud. The final day all was sealed with Aquamix Sealers Choice and grout with Tec Accucolor Cornsilk unsanded grout. Heres a before and after.

Another shower...

Here's a quick shower I knocked out for a friend in Broomall, Pa. I mudded this floor and installed a heating mat underneath for him so the floor is warm. The floor was badly out of level I had to to make it smooth. I mudded a custom shower pan and installed a few shelves and some glass. I used Schluter Kerdi on the walls and shower floor, this shower will outlive me.

Backsplashes...

A nice close up of the mosaic(feel free to click these photos)



Backsplashes are taken lightly but they are still difficult to do due to the new tiles coming out and the complexity of these tiles. Heres a mosaic tile splash I did in Manyunk out side Philadelphia.

Full bathroom

Above counter sink with custom faucet in wall

Tub surround with niche
Open wall on faucet side to enlarge the room





I know there are plenty of people in the area Delaware County, Montgomery County and Chester County who are in need of a new bathroom but are hesitant about hiring the right contractor. I have decided to tackle full bathroom jobs, using the same skills I focus on my tile setting and dedicating them to the entire job of a bathroom. Here are some pictures of one recently completed. The floor is mud and the walls I used Schluter Kerdi. I am confident this bathroom will outlast me. The tile came from Mohawk Tile in King of Prussia, the fixtures came from Weinstein in Lawrence Park(Broomall) and the trim and doors came from Tague Lumber in Media.

Full basement w/ custom shower install

This job was one of my favorite jobs, I wish I had pictures of the house before i arrived. Here's a house where the homeowner wanted the entire basement tiled and a custom shower installed where a tub surround previously stood. The problem was that the slab was badly out of level and dropped about 2" on one side of the house, I informed the H/O that prep work was a must in order to achieve the result he wanted. My method of attack was a mud bed, I knew I needed to add a couple inches to the floor and Self leveler wasn't fit for this application. I bonded the mud with thinset and leveled out about 200 sq ft of the 700 sq ft floor.

The next thing I did was change a tub surround to a shower stall, I removed sections of the slab cut into a cast iron pipe and installed pvc and centered the drain, then i filled the hole and patched with the proper concrete mix. I then constructed a curb out of 2x4s. Next I prepitched the shower to prepare for my CPE Noble pan. The following day I installed the pan performed a water test and installed the proper cbu on the walls. Next Laticrete Hydrobarrier was applied to the walls to act as a liquid membrane to waterproof the shower walls. I then mudded the floor of the shower, installed an Ebbe square drain and mudded the shower curb. Heres is the shower complete w/ the ceiling also tiled and the rest of the basement. I'll tell you what, this is one sweet pad!

Different types of tile and uses

In today's tiling market there are so many new tiles and uses for these tiles. I am going to try to go over these types and their uses.

Porcelain: The majority of tile produced today in the market is made up of porcelain which is ceramic that is double fired in the kiln meaning its heated then cooled and then heated or fired again. This results in a hard and extremely durable material. This tile can take a beating but it's harder to cut and requires a more latex modified thinset to be installed because of its low water absorption.

Ceramic: Nowadays most of the wall tiles are made of ceramic mainly 3x6, 4x4s 8x12s and most rectangular wall tiles. Ceramic in my opinion is being phased out. Its a quality material if purchased from the right tile shop. This material is easier to cut, overall durable in strength and better suited for walls, and doesn't require as good of a thinset as a premium porcelain tile, also tends to absorb more water then porcelain.

Stone: Stone is an awesome tile to install but due to it being extremely weak in most cases excluding granite, it requires a super sturdy floor or wall in order to be installed. Stone also requires a tile setter who is familiar in installing stone and a solid floor deflection wise. Stone requires a premium latex modified thinset to be installed. It can require high maintenance and may not be subject to certain cleaners. The list of stone can be a mile long but right now the popular ones include - marble, granite, onyx, limestone, travertine, slate, tumbled marble just to name a few. If your area is subject to high foot traffic I would avoid the softer more easily scratched stones like marble. In my opinion stone is best suited for backslashes, powder rooms and wainscoting.

Glass Tile: A new trendy type of tile, extremely modern in design but requires a top notch installer who is familiar with glass installs, there is no room for error with a glass installation let alone any tile installation. Glass requires a special thinset, special cutting tools, and special grouts in some cases. Glass can be awesome when installed but is extremely pricey but well worth the extra dollar when done correctly. Glass is best suited for backsplashes and shower walls and all other vertical tile work .

Metal/Other tiles: These can consist of copper, brass, aluminum or any other metal. Mainly used as an accent in wall or floor work. There are metal tiles out mainly mosaics, these require special setting materials and saws to cut the material. There are also coconut shell tiles and leather tiles and wood tiles, these tiles are no intended to be grouted and are mainly used in back splashes. There are also tiles made of resins or synthetic tile they can range from chairails to inserts and to pencil strips. They usually have a rough backing to promote adhesion.

This is just a touch on some of the fancy tiles that are in production. Only time will tell us what is next in the tile field.

A Tile floor that looks like hardwood

I know I am always posting pictures of tile over well, mud. Here is a perfect example of the beauty of mud or should I say a wetbed floor. In my opinion the direction that tile is heading in is larger tile and of odd sizes, 12x48, 12x26,6x12 just to name a few. Now the normal stuff 8x8, 6x6, 12x12 and 13x13 could always be installed over a floor that wasn't always flat. The installer would use a trowel with a larger notch allowing them more play with the install. With the larger and longer tiles the slightest imperfection in the setting substrate would be shown in the install.









Since the homeowner decided to choose a tile that was 6x24 a flat and level floor was a must, the floor below was severely out of level and had dips and bumps in it, no way this tile could be installed over the existing floor and if it was it would have been atrocious. My only option was to mud the floor level and flat. The next day the tile was installed and the mud made it a breeze. Toward the entrance to the grage a Nu-Tone heating mat was also installed. After the tile was set the job was grouted with Customs Tobacco sanded grout. This job couldn't have turned out better, it is flat, level and straight. It will easily outlast my life span.

Mud mud mud....

Heres another job I completed around this time (February) of 09'. This job was located in Media, Pa. The house was super old but had great bones. It required mud on the walls because they were severely out of plumb. The floor also was badly out of level and required mud too. The HO choose classic tile that really complemented the room well. As far as I know the room was repainted after we finished the job. Also all the pipes were lead and slow so while we demoed the job the plumber came in and replaced everything with PVC.

A large mud floor for a great friend

Nothing excites me more then doing mud set tile jobs, especially when they are large jobs and for a friend. On this job the kitchen was tiled and there was carpet in the rest of the room. The homeowner wanted the tile and carpet removed and the entire floor redone with 13x13 on a diagonal. I decided with the condition of the sub floor that the job needed to be installed on mud. This created a flat and level surface especially when the tiles will be installed on a diagonal, there was also a huge hump in the floor and the cabinets were shimmed because the previous kitchen floor was set on mud. So it really was a no brainer to put mud back in.

Its generally a good rule of thumb when mud comes the new install should be done on mud as well. Heres a few pictures of the job from start to finish. It was around 300 sf ft of tile. The homeowner was thrilled and enjoy there new floor.

A nice backsplash for a nice customer

I am a member at the John Bridge Forum. I have been one for almost 6 years, it is one of the best things I stumbled upon in the tiling trade. It teaches and educates both the installer and the customer to provide a better service and business for both of us. I recently tore out and tiled a backsplash for a member from the site located in Paoli, Pa near Westchester, Pa. The job couldn't have gone any smoother. It is a tumbled marble splash installed with Ardex X-5 and have some glass inserts throughout the entire splash. It is grouted with Customs Polyblend Linen grout and all changes of plane were caulked with the corresponding caulk.