- They applied fast drying thin set mortar to the plywood using the notched side of a trowel to create ¼" high furrows or ridges.
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- They laid the concrete board in place and attach it with galvanised nails
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4. Tile:
- Before they actually began the tiling, they did a test run without mortar. The idea was to come up with a layout that looked balanced and avoided unsightly narrow pieces on the outside edges.
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- Once the layout decision was made, they began with the edges. Because the wood underneath could expand and contract, for the "L" shaped edge tiles, they used two different adhesives. Flexible tile mastic was used on the sides and thin set mortar on the top.
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- With the edges complete, they were ready to start on the field tiles. Once again the notched edge of the trowel was used to create uniformly high ridges of mortar. This guaranteed consistent thickness and ensured that the face of the tiles would be flush and flat.
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- They inserted vinyl spacers to keep the joints the same width and frequently checked the rows to make sure they were straight.
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- As the tiles came up to the edge of the sink, they needed to make their first tile cuts using a scoring type cutter.
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- Jeannie made a mark where they wanted to cut the tile, and Ron showed Tim how to line the scoring wheel up with the mark and then press down on the handle to run the wheel across the tile. After the tile was scored, he pressed down with the handle and got a nice clean cut.
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- Jeannie laid the cut pieces around the sink while Ron buttered the backs with mortar. This is a useful technique for small pieces like this.
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- For the vertical tiles on the back splash, they used premixed tile mastic, began at the bottom and worked their way up.
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- Between the first and second row they added a decorative border.
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5. Grout:
- Normally, they would have to give the mortar 24 hours to dry before grouting the tile joints but for this project they used a quick setting mortar, which means they were ready to grout in only three hours.
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- Grouting is a two step process. Using a rubber float, they first distributed the grout across the surface and then pressed it firmly into each joint using a pushing down motion.
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- They raked off the excess by holding the float at a steeper angle and moving it diagonally across the tile from corner to corner.
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- When the grout was in place, they washed the face of the tile with a damp sponge making sure to rinse it frequently.
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- Finally, they removed the remaining dry powdery residue by polishing the tile surface with a paper towel and their new tile countertop was complete.
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RESULTS:
It really didn't matter what Ron recommended for the Tilghman kitchen. Whatever they installed in place of the green countertop was going to make a really big difference in the overall look of the kitchen. The beautiful, ivory tile and decorative boarder not only brightened up the countertop and updated the look of the whole room…but it wasn't green! |
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