September 24, 2006
Remodeling - Tips for Installing A Tile Floor
Installing a tile floor is one of the more difficult home remodeling projects. But with care, it's within reach of anyone.
Start off on the right foot by acquiring one of the many home design software packages. Most will have a section on laying tile. It can't prepare a floor or apply glue, but they're terrific at helping you visualize the result and avoid mistakes. They provide design alternatives, measurement help and tips on dealing with glue, cutting tile and so forth.
Choose your tile according to taste, but keep in mind some differences in the options. Stone or slate tiles are beautiful, but generally higher priced than ceramic. They also require sealing after the job is done, in order to prevent staining and make for easy cleaning.
Be sure to select floor tiles, not wall tiles. The latter are thinner and won't stand up to the pressure from walking.
Give some thought to how to prepare the area.
If it's smooth and not too worn old vinyl or linoleum can be used under the tile. But over time it's subject to warping. Soft spots under the tile can cause cracking.
If you're starting with a concrete surface, check to ensure there are no high spots. You can do this in a few different ways. If you have a long level (three foot or more), lay it across the surface and look for light coming through.
Similarly, this can be done with a 2" x 4", but getting one straight enough can be challenging. To check, take two boards and lay them against one another. Now turn one around 180 degrees and lay it against the other again. That prevents being fooled by both being curved in the same direction.
If you have high spots, they can be smoothed by a coarse belt or disc sander. Small bumps can be chiseled away, but take care not to make the situation worse.
No surface will be perfectly flat, but anything more than 1/16th of an inch can lead to 'rocking' of the tiles. Since they're glued in place, they don't actually rotate. But pressure differences across the surface can cause cracks during use.
Floor surfaces need to be strong enough, too, to prevent flexing that would lead to the same 'rocking' problem. Uneven floors can be smoothed and strengthened with cement-fiber board or by using a composite spread across the surface with a very flat, wide tool.
Now find the center of your floor by taking two strings and laying them across the diagonals of the room. You can use chalk string to mark the lines on the floor and a Sharpie marker pen to mark the center.
Dry lay a few rows of sample tile, starting from the center, to get a feel for the pattern desired and to experiment with spacing for grout. Try to space tiles so that you have no less than a half-tile width at the walls.
Some tiles have built in spacers making alignment easy. Others can be spaced properly using rubber or plastic spacers. For an even look, it's important that the width of the grout (the spacing between tiles) does not vary by more than 1/32nd of an inch (0.8mm).
Trowel out adhesive using a notched or saw-toothed trowel. For tight spots, lay the adhesive on the tile instead. In both cases, aim for low, long ridges. Lay the tile down and rotate back and forth slightly to seat.
Once a few rows are laid, and before the adhesive sets hard, take that long, wide, surface checking tool and a rubber mallet to tap tiles into final adjustment for a level floor.
Grout is easier to apply with one of the nozzled tubes. Lay a bead of a few feet long and wipe away any excess with a damp cloth before it sets.
Floors should cure for a few days to a week before use.
Posted by homeimprovement at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)
September 02, 2006
Basement Problems Turned Around
Remodeling your basement presents several challenges, which can all be turned into advantages. Here's how...
Basements can be cold. Easily solved by turning the latest rage - radiant floor heating - on its side. The grids used underneath tile or wood floors can, with very little adaptation, be hung rather than laid.
Basements can be dark. But that makes them perfect for a darkroom or home entertainment center.
If used for a darkroom, you'll need to plan for proper ventilation and cold/hot water plumbing. You'll also need to plan for partitioning, unless you can guarantee no one will open the basement entrance during those critical moments.
A home entertainment center provides a number of opportunities for creativity. Inexpensive kits today offer a half dozen speakers which can be placed at acoustically advantageous spots for that true theater experience.
You'll want to investigate materials for sound control. Acoustic ceiling and wall tile or wall hangings, non-shag carpet and so forth will all be necessary. Wood floors and walls are attractive, but provide too 'live' an environment for home music or theater systems.
You'll also want to plan the proper lighting system. Track lighting is popular, but difficult to place to keep glare off the screen. Think about building some reflective shelves or sconces, with bounced light off of light wood or metal, make for good alternatives. Not everyone prefers watching movies in complete darkness.
Basements can be wet. Too much seepage can present a hazard and no amount of creativity can turn that to advantage. But, within limits, a moist environment can be a good thing for certain uses - saunas or greenhouses for example.
To plan a sauna, you'll need to investigate current options for hot-water plumbing and steam generation. Several modular systems are available in a variety of price ranges. Drainage is key, since water build up has to be dealt with.
Fortunately, though basements can be cool, since they're enclosed they're generally easy to keep hot once warmed up. Good insulation is key. Cork works well, but can accumulate mold. There are dozens of modern materials with low heat conductivity available.
Proper partitioning can keep the actual sauna area small, while a tiled area can be used for cooling down or toweling off. Paint in warm colors, but allow plenty of time for complete drying.
Greenhouses are easy to make in most basements. Though care has to be taken to control mold and mildew, inexpensive heating lamps can provide both warmth and light for growing orchids and other 'hot-house' flowers.
Extra care has to be observed in planning electrical systems to control water contact. Luckily, modern materials for wrapping under-floor pipes and running wiring through conduit are light-weight and inexpensive.
Whatever you plan to design, be sure to get one of the low-cost devices for measuring radon gas (very seldom a problem, despite hype in the media) and carbon monoxide levels. Proper ventilation is critical for comfort and health.
Take advantage of antique stores, old school remodeling projects and other sources to obtain interesting floors, wall coverings and decorative items. You'd be surprised by what can be picked up for little or no money.
With the average cost of basement remodeling running around $35,000, what better way to turn that problem around?
Posted by homeimprovement at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2006
Do It Yourself Bathroom Remodeling
Few spaces in the home are as personal, and as practical, as the bathroom. Bathrooms are a place to refresh, re-group and prepare for the coming day. They're also a place to wind down from a day just past and prepare for bed.
Serving so many functions, and often for multiple individuals, makes bathroom design a challenge. But it's also an opportunity for tailoring what is often the smallest room in the house to suit the most important needs.
Depending on the height and size of the bathroom users, medicine cabinets, shelves and under sink storage can often be relocated higher or around a corner. That can free up counter space for makeup application, shaving and so on. Lots of medicine cabinet designs, for example, aren't set in the wall but extend into the space a few inches.
Six to eight inch shelves are often placed at chest or chin height in a high traffic area. They tend to store less often used items like spare towels, perfume bottles, etc. Move them higher and provide a collapsible step stool for the shorter members of the household.
Cost is always a limiting factor, but there are two ways to maximize your dollars.
One way is to select higher quality materials and accept a higher initial outlay. The longer use will make the average cost per year the same as using cheaper materials with a shorter life span.
If that's not feasible, plan the design so that lower quality materials can be easily replaced every couple of years. Use screws into L-shaped hooks for large bathroom mirrors whose moulding will tarnish. Lay linoleum in a roll and secure with colored, invisible nails. Glue removal always makes a job many times harder and more time consuming.
Don't scrimp on the cost or installation effort for smaller, but important, fixtures. A noisy fan will quickly become an annoyance. Lights that don't sit at the right angle or provide harsh illumination will produce frustration every time they're used.
Make sure you allocate enough percentage of the budget for quality shower components. Shower heads, knobs, behind-the-wall valves, and so forth that don't last lead to leaks and more frequent replacement. A small behind-the-tile pipe leak can lead to hundreds of dollars in repair costs, increased insect invasion and weeks without a shower.
Consider heating options. For the first time in decades electrical heating is more cost-effective than gas, especially for small, confined spaces like bathrooms. And the odds are it will stay that way for some time to come. If you're planning a floor tile replacement, now is a good time to install radiant under-floor heating.
Several different styles are available, some as easy as rolling a thin sheet of material lined with wiring or mesh that connects to the house electrical system. They're safe and, since heat rises, help to take away not only that cold floor tile but warm the entire bathroom for pennies per day.
Often bathroom remodeling projects can be carried out in pieces. Floors one month, cabinetry the next, then showers or toilets and so forth. Make it easy on your budget and your back. Plan ahead and you can create that personal space that gives you the ideal place to wash your cares away.
Posted by homeimprovement at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
