Repairs to Granite Countertop

Granite Apron Tiles

The granite apron cut tiles fell off and I was called out to replace them.  There are many possible reasons why these tiles fell off.  The mortar underneath the skirt cuts was soft and degraded easily by just pushing on it with a chisel.  This was either defective mortar or mortar that had too much…

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Evidence of Leaking Shower

Leaking Shower

I was called out to clean this shower and I stopped dead in my tracks. This shower displays all the classic signs of water leakage leading to damage. I noticed the sheetrock and paint damage immediately adjacent to the shower curb, classic indicators of water wicking upwards out of the shower pan.  When the weep…

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Why You Don’t Hire Workers From the Big Box Store

Mesh tape added

I was called out to a shower damaged by an electrician. He was working on the back side of the wall to install a subpanel. Using a reciprocating saw blade, he had cut into the wall all the way through the mortarboard and tile on the other side. He had damaged four large tiles. Unfortunately,…

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Restoring Vintage Grout

**Please click on individual photos to see a larger image.  The improvements in the grout are more easily seen when the photos are enlarged.** This is a vintage installation dated to the 1920’s and contains the original grout.  Almost a century later, we knew it was going to be impossible to bring back the grout…

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Technical Consultations Save You Money

Water damage behind tile

Recently I was called out to a job to inspect a bathroom and write a technical report on my findings.  The homeowner had just purchased the house and the tile work in the master shower was installed as a pre-condition of the sale.  The real estate agent involved in the transaction hired a contractor/handyperson he…

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Crack in cement slab

Typical slab crack

Typical slab crack running under contiguous tiles.  To protect the house from dust we installed a plastic tent enclosure to the ceiling. We use a 2-part system (powder and liquid) especially made for movement by Sienna, EP200.  This is an expensive product but worth the price.  Over the years I have successfully spanned large slab…

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Hardiebacker Installation Under Tile Floors

hardibacker

Lately in my travels, I’ve come across many improperly laid Hardiebacker board floors.  Installers are skipping important steps. The most common indicators of improperly installed backer board are that the tiles are bouncing loose/and cracking and grout is coming out as well.  The installers are not following the manufacturers’ instructions. First when cutting the boards,…

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Vintage kitchen transformation

Cleaned grout

Do you think I can bring this kitchen back to its former classic self? The homeowner wanted to retain this kitchen’s vintage style. The exact size of the existing box trim on the counter edge was no longer available so I had to remove all 22 trim tiles. Also, most of the quarter rounds surrounding…

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Outdoor tile repair

Outdoor tools 2

These tiles had fallen off an exterior column of a commercial office building.   The tiles that had fallen off could be reused, so I cleaned off the backside, chiseled off the thinset on the columns and reset the grouted tiles.

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