DeWalt has several models of laser distance measures. With a variety of features that support a range of leveling and layout applications, DeWalt Laser Distance Measures deliver a variety of accuracies and convenience to the jobsite. Ranging from 30-foot to over 330-foot working ranges, these LDMs all retail for less than $100 and some feature DeWalt Tool Connect.

DeWalt DW040HD 40 ft. Pocket Laser Distance Measurer

This DeWalt DW040HD Pocket Laser Distance Measure measures up to 40 ft. away. The backlit, high contrast LCD display (white on black background) makes it easy to read—even in harsh sunlight. For basic distance measurements and area calculations, this tool deserves a place in your bag or glove box.

It is accurate within 1/4″ at 40 ft., and it uses a Li-ion rechargeable battery. Connect the included USB micro cord to recharge it. The DeWalt DW040HD 40 ft. Laser Distance Measure retails for $29.97 and includes a wrist strap.

DeWalt 40-Foot Laser Distance Measurer Specs

• Model: DeWalt DW040HD
• Accuracy: 1/4″ @ 40 ft.
• Battery: Li-ion rechargeable
• Measuring range: 40 ft
• MSRP: $29.97

DeWalt DW055E 55 ft. Laser Distance Measurer

This pocket-sized DeWalt Laser Distance Measure also features a backlit, high contrast LCD display for visibility in various lighting conditions. This compact and lightweight model can also quickly measure distance for a variety of applications, including painting and flooring estimates.

It is accurate within 1/8″ at 30 ft., and it includes two AAA batteries.  The MSRP on the 55 ft. DeWalt DW055E Laser Distance Measure is about $41.

DeWalt 330-Foot Laser Distance Measurer Specs

• Model: DeWalt DW055E
• Accuracy: 1/8″ @ 30 ft.
• Battery: 2 x AAA
• Measuring range: 55 ft
• MSRP: $41

DeWalt DW099S Bluetooth 100 ft. Laser Distance Measurer

The DeWalt DW099S Bluetooth 100 ft. Laser Distance Measurer comes with Bluetooth-enabled. It works with the DeWalt Tool Connect App to allow for measurement and photo storage.  You can also mark up those photos and retrieve them later within the app. The DeWalt Tool Connect App is available on both Android and Apple platforms.

This model of the DeWalt Laser Distance Measure features a 1.5″ black, backlit LCD screen.  The high contrast screen provides visibility in various lighting conditions. It displays continuous measurement tracking that quickly finds the distance from a target.  Distances are displayed in feet, inches, and meters. It can calculate area and volume, and it can perform simple addition and subtraction functions.

Designed for drop resistance, this model features an over-molded grip. It also comes packaged with a wrist strap for added carrying convenience. Accurate up to 3/32″ at 100′, this DeWalt Laser Distance Measure retails for around $100.

DeWalt 100-Foot Laser Distance Measurer Specs

• Model: DeWalt DW099S
• Bluetooth Enabled
• Accuracy: 3/32″
• Battery: 2 AAA
• Measuring Range: 30 M or 100 Ft
• Calculates Area and Volume
• MSRP: $99.99

DeWalt DW0330S Tool Connect 330 ft. Laser Distance Measurer

The DeWalt DW0330S Tool Connect 330 ft. Laser Distance Measurer lets you take and store measurements. You can also mark up photos using the Tool Connect app as well as create and export projects.

Powered by a single AAA battery, the DeWalt DW0330S Laser Distance Measure features a large backlit color LCD screen. While maintaining a high contrast design, the LCD features helpful color icons to let you know the current mode and measurement settings.

Distances can be displayed in feet, inches, and meters. It also lets you calculate area, volume, and more. Combined with the app, you get a lot of functionality for estimating, remodeling, and trade work.

DeWalt also built this laser measurer with a nice over-molded grip to prevent damage if you drop it. Accurate up to 1/16″ at 30 ft, this DeWalt Laser Distance Measure retails for around $268.

DeWalt 330-Foot Laser Distance Measurer Specs

• Model: DeWalt DW0330S
• Bluetooth Enabled
• Accuracy: 1/16″ @ 30 ft.
• Battery: 1 x AAA
• Measuring range: 330 Ft
• Weight: 0.3 lbs
• Calculates Area and Volume
• MSRP: $268

Final Thoughts

Laser Distance Measurers are great tools for any professional who is estimating distances or working out how much material they might need. They’re quick and relatively easy to use, the range of distance exceeds the capability of the tape measure, and you don’t need a second person to help grab a measurement.  When you can get the accuracy to within the +/- 1/16″ range, the LDM is a great tool for most measurements.

The problem with laser distance measurers—even ones from DeWalt—is that they can be thrown off by the color or material of the surface. They also need an actual surface to bounce a laser off of.  It also can’t grab hold of the end of a board, so “pull” measurements won’t work. Professionals use these tools for their primary strength: estimating. If you need to measure actual material, you likely still need a standard tape measure when accuracy is critical.

All that said, the DeWalt Laser Distance Measure seems helpful for many applications, especially the 100-foot model.  Bluetooth connectivity and online measurement storage seem like a great way to stay organized, and the Tool Connect App has some other neat features, such as battery readings and tool location.

These LDMs are priced pretty well for what they do. In the case of the 100-foot model, you might get better range for the $100 price point, but you don’t see a whole lot of other LDMs with Bluetooth connectivity at that price. For the 40-foot model, the short range and +/- 1/4″ accuracy probably limit it to DIY applications, though for under $30, the professional might find it useful in some capacity.

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I never intended to do an article about the worst tile grouting and caulking jobs of the year. In fact, it never occurred to me that my penchant for nice caulk and grout lines would cause me to begin noticing just how badly accomplished some of these jobs are. I just started seeing so many bad examples… everywhere. It started steamrolling into an even more heightened sensitivity to bad lines and mismatched colors. Now I find myself staring around at every public restroom, critiquing (silently) my friends’ houses, and feeling internal turmoil at the messes I encounter regularly at restaurants and hotels.

Naturally, I’d want to invite all of our readers into my world. We want you to notice the same things we do and stir up the hornet’s nest of demanding and appreciating a job well done. We want you to have a healthy hatred of all things lazy, unkempt, and just plain bad. Without further ado, here are the top 10 worst caulk and grout jobs we’ve seen all year. We plan to update this article periodically as we encounter more “hidden gems”.

10. Randomly Stopping Caulk Lines

This job wasn’t one of the very worst tile grouting and caulking jobs, but it made the list regardless. It made it because we’d seen it so many times. The job would just, for no explicable reason… stop. It’s like the guy grouting just ran out of caulk or decided to give up and move on to the next project.

9. Not Placing Tiles Evenly or Square

This was one of the few actual grouting snafus we witnessed that was bad enough to include in our Top 10 worst grouting and caulking jobs “awards”. We found it absolutely stunning that they let the tile set up this way. I don’t care who you are, there’s simply no excuse for not setting the tile properly. This holds true even when replacing a broken piece or encountering some sort of obstacle. Then again, maybe he works for the government…

Similar to this, I also can’t stand when the tile doesn’t line up—or when the installer fails to use some form of end trim.

And when you deal with corners, your lines need to be straight, or you end up with very poor-looking lines. This goes double if you use dark grout on white tile.

8. The Worst: Using White Caulk on Dark Marble or Tile!

Sometimes it’s just obvious that laziness is behind a job done poorly. One of the worst grouting and caulking jobs we saw involved using white caulk on dark marble surround. They used colored caulk in other locations but switched to white caulk to reinforce the corners. This otherwise-beautiful custom countertop sink ruined an otherwise beautiful public restroom. Don’t ever use cheap Alex caulk on a nice countertop… please.

7. I’m Just Not Sure What to Call This One

It never occurred to me that I would see something like this anywhere. Even worse, we found this tile in a South African hotel costing more than $870 per night! While the rest of the room (and the experience of the hotel overall) was fantastic, this tile job was simply tragic. Mismatched tile, inconsistent grout, and unfinished outside corners made this possibly the worst tile job we’d ever seen.

6. Mismatching Wraparound Tile Patterns in Showers

This one really just makes up a major pet peeve of mine. Since it also involved mismatched caulk, I included it. I also counted it as two entries. When you come to the corner of a tiling job, unless you have a REALLY good reason not to, continue the pattern of the tile as it entered the corner.

Our photo shows a shower stall in a vacation home we recently visited. You can see how the tile job hits the corner with partial black and white tiles. Then, for some inexplicable reason, it fails to continue around. Instead, the tiler resets the pattern in some sort of unholy, doubled-up union of two black tiles.

Why on earth would you do this? It looks absolutely ridiculous. To make it even better, they used bright white grout in the corner. The rest of the shower tile clearly uses an off-white (bone) grout. Getting off-white caulk might mean another trip to the store if you don’t have any, but now you have to stare at this eyesore forever. This almost made me want to tear out the tile and fix it myself… almost.

5. Smeared or Excessive Caulking

Among the worst grouting and caulking jobs has to be anything involving too much caulk. We see this frequently, especially around public urinals. The public bathroom at the local soccer field was already pretty bad. People constantly walk in and out with mud-caked shoes, tracking grass clippings in with their cleats. How could it get any worse?

How about smearing caulk all around the urinal to seal it up good? That’s right, use your thumb. Why bother getting a straight line or keeping it neatly contained—just have at it. Unless, of course, it was “bring your 2-year-old to work” day. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of disgusting caulk job. I don’t care where you are—have some self-respect.

Even regular tile jobs can go overboard with caulking—particularly when covering up stains or mold. This never works, and it only builds up over time to often ridiculous levels. Take this bathroom corner, for example. It shows layers upon layers of caulk used to cover up obvious mold and cracks over the years.

Another way we see this problem is simply failing to clean up after yourself—like in this public restroom:

4. Years and Years of Recaulking the Shower Stall

I don’t know what to say about this except to admit, reservedly, that the photo was taken of my late grandfather’s shower stall. This beautiful work of art reflects the work of years and years of my grandpa using one of his two go-to tools: caulk. The other tool? Duct tape, of course. He used both extensively when “fixing” a myriad of problems (while simultaneously creating several more down the road).

This might be one of the absolute worst grouting and caulking jobs I’ve ever encountered. And I got up close and personal, having to clean it out and do the job properly once we moved them from their Florida home back to Pennsylvania. I don’t think I need to really say more. The photo truly speaks for itself.

3. Using Brilliant White Caulk on Off-White Tile or Tubs

Similar to the double-whammy shower above, choose the correct caulk color. When the tub and grout are not Brilliant White, why would you use Brilliant White caulk? Some people seem to only have the brightest, most brilliant white on hand for caulking corners. Are they so proud of their work, they want everyone to see it? Are they trying to invent a new color palette? Does Brilliant White caulk cost that much less? Whatever the reason—friends don’t let friends caulk in a color that doesn’t match.

Look, we’re not saying you have to locate a fancy color of caulk but have some White, Bone, Tan, and Gray available. Those standard colors don’t even cost more. If you want to get really fancy you can opt for sanded caulk—I’ve only seen that impressive feat once or twice in the wild. Match your colors and look like a Pro.

2. Caulking Against Wallpaper

When I see excessive caulk against wallpaper I cringe. It never occurred to me that caulk would be the go-to tool for fixing peeling wallpaper or shoring up a corner mismatch. Apparently, some New York City hotels use this “trick” for shabby corners that need some lovin’. First off, it’s a rare occasion that wallpaper ever looks good over time. Secondly, never combine wallpaper and caulk. Just don’t do it.

Another peril involves over-grouting a second-layer tile against wallpaper to cover up the fact that you didn’t use thick enough edge trim. This also results in a less-than-professional look. It also doesn’t help when you don’t clean up the lines to present a crisp edge to your trim pieces and tile.

1. Caulk and Tile Grout are Not Expanding Foam!

While you might think that caulk can solve world peace, feed the hungry, and reign in the U.S. deficit, it can’t. It also isn’t glue. It can’t repair waterlogged particleboard or secure anything to anything else. Caulk simply fills in small gaps and provides a bit of water protection for surfaces prone to seepage.

Our absolute worst grouting and caulking jobs “award” goes to this next one. I think you will quickly see why. This was taken in the public restroom of a multi-million dollar private university in Central Florida. The University shall remain unnamed because I don’t want to embarrass all of those Gator fans…oops.

If it’s not apparent from the photo, that’s a 1/2″ gap that’s being filled in by the caulk at the end of the backsplash. The piece of laminated particleboard is so warped that it will no longer lay flat against the tiled wall.

The bathroom job below is similarly horrendous. Here, the tiler used a thick path of grout (or possibly mortar) to cover up the fact that the tile is laid overtop something that should have been removed prior to installing the new base.

Bonus Entry #1: Why Bother Using Any Grout?

That’s right—why bother using any grout at all? Just set the tile and move on. In this hotel bathroom, we spied an interesting style we call “ungrouting” or groutless tile. Apparently, they were going for a look. Unfortunately, that look simply comes across as shoddy work.

Bonus Entry #2: Pregnant Grout!

Properly grouting tile requires several things. First, you have to push the grout deep into the joints so that it fills all of the available space. You also want that grout wet enough to flow evenly and consistently. Secondly, you need to do a good job of wiping down the tile to get a nice even depth to your grout. Lastly, spraying some water on the grout after wiping it down lets it dry and set more evenly. Fail to do these things (particularly the first two) and you can end up with mixed results. The uneven and “pregnant” grout you see below comes from uneven spreading and poor penetration.

Bonus Entry #3: Installing a Ceramic Tile Towel Bar on Drywall

We looked online at all manner of articles detailing how you can install glazed ceramic towel bars into drywall. This apparently “avoids the need for locating studs or using screws”. Do you know what it also avoids? Any sort of stability or gripping strength should you ever apply more than a few pounds of downward pressure on the tile bar. As these towel bars frequently appear next to showers, they can serve as an impromptu grab bar (not their design) for anyone slipping when exiting a shower.

You should only install this type of shower bar into a tile wall. This lets you get ample grip from both the back and sides of the ceramic holder against the wall. Installing it into drywall (via cutting a hole) simply leads to the following (eventually):

Don’t Get On Our Worst Grouting and Caulking Jobs List!

So that’s it. It’s fun to check out great work, but sometimes the bad stuff can be entertaining as well. We just hope these worst grouting and caulking jobs drive people to take that extra few minutes to do the job right the first time. In short: don’t get on our list! There’s really no excuse, and your reputation will go up as people begin to associate you with “quality” workmanship.

Got a really bad example of shoddy workmanship? Send it in as we’ll be posting many more of the worst grouting and caulking jobs we find throughout the year. Got a great story? Leave a comment below.

The post Top 10 Worst Tile Grouting and Caulking Jobs appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

Whether you just purchased a home with wood floors or you’ve recently decided to repair and replace wood flooring, you want to protect your investment. It’s important to learn a bit about proper wood floor care so you can protect and prolong the beauty of your wood floors. Regardless of what kind of hardwood you put down, knowing how to care for wood floors can really make the difference between a great-looking floor and one that wears prematurely. With that in mind let’s begin taking a look at some of the basics that apply to nearly every hardwood floor.

Set a Schedule for Wood Floor Care

If you keep up with wood floor care, you won’t get overwhelmed. Start with a weekly cleaning plan. Don’t be afraid to clean more frequently—but dusting may be sufficient for any sort of daily care. Regular weekly cleaning plays an even more important role up north. Ice, snow, and mud can wreak havoc on a wood floor over time.

Keep your wood floors clean, and you can rely on them for many years. We prefer products designed specifically for wood floors. If you have any concerns, you can test out the cleaner in a closet or somewhere any poor results won’t be as noticeable.

Polish Protects Wood Floors Over the Long-term

Sunlight and traffic simply work to dull wood floors over time. They erode and destroy any protective coatings if you don’t regularly clean and care for your wood floors. To guard against this, we recommend putting a coating of polish on your wood floors 2 times per year. Some people recommend more applications—but that depends on the product used.

You can find excellent hardwood floor care and cleaning products at most retailers, including Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Amazon.

Deal With Hardwood Floor Spills Quickly

Water is the number one detriment to hardwood floors in most homes (along with other spilled liquids). If you were involved in the selection of your hardwood floor, you probably know the destructive nature of unwanted moisture. Even when choosing a flooring product this makes a difference in the type of material you should install.

Water on the topside of a hardwood floor can be destructive not only to the structure in the long term but also to its beauty in the short term. Dry your floors immediately if there is a spill.

What to Avoid When Caring for Wood Floors

Don’t Use Water

We recommend against cleaning wood floors with water—that includes laminate or engineered floors. While some flooring claims to be waterproof for long periods of time—you never know when you might have gaps or places of entry where moisture can penetrate.

As we recommended above, you really want to keep dust and grime off of your floors. Knowing how to clean wood floors is an important part of caring for them. However, when you clean your wood floor, don’t use water. Instead, use either a dust mop or—at the very least—a broom that features exploded tips. These broom tips help to trap the dust when you sweep while avoiding the necessity of frequently wet mopping.

Avoid Using Beater Brushes on Vacuums

Along with the broom recommendation, don’t use beater brush vacuums—just suction. Some vacuums let you disable the brush for non-carpeted flooring. The aggressive brushes can cause damage over time and you really don’t need them on wood floors.

Never Use Steam Mops or Cleaners

It may seem obvious, but never use a steam mop or cleaner on your wood floors. We’ve heard some wild stories and recommendations on using those to rid floors of stains. While sealed floors can probably handle it, many engineered floors have glues and bonding agents that could suffer negative effects. You could also encounter areas of your “sealed” wood floor that don’t bear up well under that kind of treatment.

And if you use a steam mop on a laminate floor, you might completely bubble up the edges of the top layer—resulting in a completely ruined floor. In the end, that simply isn’t a method we recommend—best to avoid them entirely.

Watch Those Shoes and Pet Nails!

You don’t hear about shoes all that often when talking about hardwood floor damage, but wait until you have kids and they walk in wearing cleats! You can also damage floors with stilettos and other really narrow heels. Just be aware of how hard shoes can damage your flooring over time. Pay particular attention to entryways.

You can try small area mats at the entrances to clean off shoes. These can be very effective at preventing a majority of dirt from being tracked in. As with most things, preventing a problem is better than correcting a problem. With that in mind, you may even want to start taking off your shoes when entering the house. We’ve had that practice for years and it works pretty well.

Also—keep the nails trimmed on your dogs and cats. You’d be surprised how that can affect the look of your wood floor over time!

Add Felt-Bottom Furniture Pads to Prevent Scratches

Your furniture may also cause damage to your floors. One easy way to prevent that damage is to place glides with fabric bottoms beneath the legs of your furniture. Another commonsense pointer is to simply be careful anytime you move furniture.

Don’t Use Oil-Based Polishes

Unless you like slipping and falling, stay away from oil-based polishes. I once oversprayed Pledge on a coffee table and our two boys spent the next couple of hours “ice skating” on the living room floor. The good news is I think they took care of the problem for us—and they didn’t have far to fall.

For the rest of us, creating the equivalent of “black ice” on your living room and dining room floor probably isn’t a great way to live a long and prosperous life. Aside from the slippery factor, oil-based polishes can dull your floor over time as the material tends to build up.

How to Care for Wood Floors that Get Lots of Exposure to the Sun

Sun is the next thing to keep an eye on. It may be surprising that constant exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause discoloring. If possible, draw the curtains or close the blinds to protect your floors.

If you included some sort of UV curing or protection in your wood floor finish you have a huge advantage here. These modern solutions provide much-needed color protection from the sun’s harmful rays.

For those who have to deal with existing floors, adding UV-protective film on your sun-facing windows might be a great way to help eliminate fading of your wood floor.

Final Thoughts

The last tip for cleaning hardwood floors is to be picky about the cleaners that you use. Anytime you plan to use a cleaner, ensure that it specifically works for cleaning hardwood floors. A common characteristic of hardwood floor cleaners is that their PH is neutral. This helps avoid damage and build-up that eventually hides the luster of your floor.

Have any additional tips? If so, please leave them in the comments below.

The post Wood Floor Care – How to Care for Wood Floors appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

If you’ve ever lived in an old house—a really old house—then you know the problem of termites. They can wreak havoc on old wood floors. If you have access to replacement wood (in our case, heart pine boards taken from the attic), you can get those floors looking good as new in virtually no time flat. Knowing how to repair and/or replace wood flooring in an old house can really save you some money. Learn this skill and you can increase your home’s value while helping it look fantastic in the process.

Tools Needed to Repair Wood Flooring

We recommend having the following tools handy for this job. It doesn’t take a ton to replace wood flooring, but you will end up making lots of cuts. You also need to fasten the new pieces using a pneumatic or cordless nailer.

• Flat bar or pry bar
• Shop vaccuum or dust extractor
• Cordless circular saw (with vacuum attachment)
• Oscillating multi-tool
• Air compressor
• Ridgid 15ga finish nailer
• Belt sander (with vacuum attachment)
• Orbital sander (preferably with vacuum attachment)

First Step: Remove the Old Wood Flooring

Before we can show you how to replace your wood flooring you need to get rid of the problem areas. We recommend picking an out-of-the-way area to start. Once you get the hang of things, you can move back into those high-traffic areas towards the center of your living room.

The first step in repairing wood flooring is to size up the area to be repaired. You want to remove as much of the damaged wood as possible. Wood putty doesn’t look good, so don’t try and save a piece that’s 80% good unless you absolutely don’t have enough replacement material.

We also like to get a birds-eye view of the work to be done. This especially helps you prioritize when you have multiple locations that need replacing. Once you map out the best way to allocate your replacement wood for the repair, you can get started on your first area.

Making the First Cuts

Starting with a circular saw, make two rip cuts down the middle of the first board. You want to rip two lines because you want to remove the wood by pulling it horizontally away from the adjacent boards. You don’t want to lift upward as that would damage the tongue of the pieces you intend to leave in place. We prefer using a circular saw we can connect to a shop vac, thereby minimizing dust.

Prying Out the Bad Board

After you’ve ripped a couple of channels into the wood, you can then use a small flat bar or pry bar to remove the channel.

Once the channel is removed you can coax the remaining wood out and clean the area of the wood flooring you intend to repair.

Keeping Partial Boards in Place

Keep in mind that if you don’t need to remove an entire board when you repair wood flooring. You can use an oscillating multi-tool to cut a perpendicular line across the wood to form a break point. Make sure you make the cut right over the center of a floor joist. That gives you somewhere to nail the new board:

Removing Tough Boards

You don’t want to break any tongues off adjacent boards. Should you run into difficulty removing part of a board, make a wedge-shaped notch cut near the end using your oscillating multi-tool. This lets you swing the wood back on itself safely without breaking off the tongue of the adjacent piece of the wood flooring you’re not repairing.

Installing New Wood Flooring

After the difficulty of removing wood, adding in the new piece seems like child’s play. You do want to measure and cut very carefully to minimize the number of gaps between the pieces of wood. We cut the wood outside, using a cordless circular saw and then brought it in for final installation. You could also use a miter saw.

Finish the wood flooring installation by using a finish nailer to fasten the boards directly to the joists. Our 1920’s home had no underlayment so we had to pick our fastening points carefully. Two pops per joist are sufficient, and you’ll want to angle the nails. This holds especially true at the ends to ensure the new wood stays secure. The final steps will serve to fill in the gaps and small nail holes.

Finishing the Wood

Finishing the wood involves a few steps. First, you need to use a belt sander to get the wood flush with the adjoining pieces. Remember to use a tool you can connect to a shop vac to again pick up the majority of dust during this step:

After you’ve sanded the wood flush, use an orbital sander to provide the secondary level of sanding. This lets you achieve a smooth surface suitable for your clear coat finish.

The last step involves adding wood filler (or wood putty to fill in the gaps and give you a smooth, filled surface, suitable to stain or clear coat. You want to use a strong wood filler that allows for a natural blend with the finished wood. Plan on sanding the wood once again after applying the putty to get everything nice and smooth and eliminate any extra filler from the surface.

After you apply the final coat of finish you should barely notice where you repaired and replaced the wood.

The Final Word

It’s a lot of work learning how to repair and replace wood flooring. We feel the end result always makes up for the work. When you determine that a floor is salvageable and only in need of spot repair, it’s a whole lot more efficient and practical to replace small areas than to re-lay an entire floor. We hope this helped you know a little more about how to repair wood floors. At the very least, we hope it inspires you to take on your own wood flooring project.

The post How to Repair and Replace Wood Flooring appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

If you just bought a home or installed tile, eventually it will get dirty. Knowing how to clean and seal grout on floor tile can really come in handy. Cleaning and sealing grout in floor tile is one of the most difficult tasks around the house. No matter how good a job you do applying grout or sealing it after installation, there comes a time when it needs to be cleaned. Understanding how to take care of the problem easily and effectively is important.

It doesn’t matter if you installed porcelain vs ceramic tile—or even another type like travertine. All tile uses grout, and grout picks up lots of dirt over time. Mold, mildew, food stains, and just plain old foot traffic causes most of the dirt. Keeping it clean is a necessity. Follow our How-to recommendations below to clean and seal grout and keep your tile floor looking beautiful.

How to Prepare the Floor Before Cleaning and Sealing Grout

Thoroughly sweep the floor to make sure you don’t have any dirt or debris left on it. Follow that by giving it a good wash down with plain water. Make sure the water gets into the tile grout. Let the water dry before you move onto the next step.

Use Household Cleaning Products

While you can choose to purchase commercial cleaners, our favorite way of how to clean and seal grout uses what you likely have on-hand already. Yep, you can get good results just by combining some ingredients you have around your home.

Diluted vinegar combined with baking soda can be an effective grout cleaner. Make sure you wear gloves while dealing with the chemicals so they don’t cause you any skin irritation. Apply your mixture of baking soda/vinegar or your commercial cleaner to the grout. Let it sit for a few minutes.

Scrub the Grout

Use a sponge or floor brush to scrub the grout thoroughly. Again, this might take a little bit of effort because grout stains can be stubborn. If you’re having trouble, reapply the cleaning products and let them sit a little longer before starting to scrub.

Try Sandpaper on Small Areas

Small areas might require less work than you think. You might find you can apply a different approach to removing a small stain. Before you go through the trouble of applying a cleaner to the grout, try removing it by rubbing—with sandpaper. We recommend starting with 80-120 grit paper which has a nice rough surface.

Always rub in the same direction and concentrate on hitting just the grout line. You’ll need to use a little elbow grease to get the dirt or grout stain removed.

This method doesn’t always work, of course, and you certainly don’t want to sand a large area.

In the end, you may still end up cleaning and sealing grout. It can, however, save you some time and elbow grease if you simply spilled something on a specific area. On really tough stains, plan on using some type of cleaning agent. You may even need to try the more aggressive “nuclear option” we outline below.

Rinse After Cleaning and Before Sealing Grout

After the dirt is gone, use a wet mop and wipe down the floors. This will remove all of the cleaning products from the tile. Any time you engage in cleaning and sealing grout you need to get the chemicals up so they stop eating away at the material.

Apply a Sealer

Once the floor dries, you should apply a grout sealer. The sealer can prevent the grout from becoming as dirty in the future because it forms a barrier against dirt, debris, stains, and other things that might make it look grimy. Some of the sealants will also block out moisture to prevent the development of mildew. Carefully choose the right sealant for your tiles and follow the instructions on the container. Let the sealer dry before anyone has access to the floor.

Although the task of cleaning the grout may still sound pretty difficult, following the steps above will ensure that you get better results than you might with just a commercial cleaner alone. Once you apply the grout sealer, however, you’ll find that keeping the grout clean is going to be much easier. You will need to re-apply the sealer every couple of years to maximize the benefits of using it. Do your best to wipe up stains and dirt along the way, too.

How to Clean and Seal Grout – The Nuclear Option

If you absolutely cannot get your grout clean, using a manual grout saw is actually a fast way to remove a thin layer of grout from the surface of the tile seams. You will be surprised at how fast you can fly around the room, especially if the tiles have straight edges. Be prepared to go through a carbide-tipped blade every 100 square feet or so. Because of this, tools with removable blades are best.

For even faster removal, grab a diamond grout removal blade and an oscillating multi-tool. You can remove grout in short order using this method. We recommend this for grout replacement or any larger areas.

Grout removal then allows you to go back and re-apply a new layer of grout. After doing this your tile will look like it was freshly laid. Of course, when you’re done, don’t forget that cleaning and sealing grout will keep you from having to do this all over again in a few months!

The post How to Clean and Seal Grout in Floor Tile appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

Not too long ago we took a look at some of the worst grouting and caulking jobs we’d seen. Now, we topped even that list in terms of atrociousness and utter devastation of both technique and character. These have to be the world’s worst tiling jobs we’ve ever seen. When you see something crazy…you just have to share it!

Everybody’s seen them. Tile jobs that went wrong. If ever there’s evidence of needing to hire a professional, it’s those times when I walk into the bathroom at a restaurant or public facility and gaze upon the destruction of a tile job obviously undertaken by a staffer or otherwise unqualified individual. And I’m not saying that Joe Schmo shouldn’t try to take on a small tile job, but if you don’t have the required skills, a discerning eye, or just a sense of personal pride—you’re better off hiring the pros to do it for you.

Last year we took a look at some of the worst tile and grout jobs we’d seen. This year I think we topped that list in terms of atrociousness and utter devastation of technique and character.

Don’t Repeat These World’s Worst Tiling Jobs

Everybody’s seen them. Tile jobs that went wrong. If ever there’s evidence of needing to hire a professional, it’s those times when we walk into a restaurant bathroom or public facility and gaze upon the destruction of a tile job obviously undertaken by a staffer or otherwise unqualified individual.

We’re not saying that Joe Schmo shouldn’t try to take on a small tile job. However, if you don’t have the required skills, a discerning eye, or just a sense of personal pride—you’re better off hiring a Pro to do it for you.

Without further ado, here are the world’s worst tiling jobs you’ve ever seen (and our obligatory running commentary of sarcasm):

#10 Don’t Drink and Tile

Maybe you should wait until after work to have that beer. Seriously, if you can’t make a straight line you might want to get some help, or a laser layout tool… or something. This tile job looks more like an M.C. Escher painting… and that’s before you consider the lackluster grout job. While we might blame the tiles—someone decided to rotate them in uneven groups of three. No one gets to claim innocence in this restaurant bathroom.

#9 Just Add More Grout!

When you want to renew that old tile and make it new again you just add a ton more grout…right? What’s not pictured here is the wrap-around portion just off to the right where the grout is literally 1/2-inch wide. I guess since it’s white they figured no one would notice? Remove old grout before adding new and you can avoid this problem altogether.

#8 Let the Color Blind Guy Pick the Tile

What’s worse than mixing white with off-white? Mxing off-white with “cigarette stain yellow”. This beauty of a tile job apparently looks pleasing to somebody. We just think it’s a bad choice from the get-go. Take a brief color theory class or steal an idea from Pinterest. Whatever you need to do to get a cohesive tile design…just don’t mix these two colors ever again. Please.

#7 You Missed a Spot

This little bump may seem like nothing, but in a sea of tile, it sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb. It doesn’t take the best oscillating multi-tool available to fix this problem—but it might help. In reality, though, you should never leave a bump like this on tile when you grout. Many of the worst tiling jobs come down to something very small that ruins the entire look. Fortunately, this one’s an easy fix.

#6 Worst Tiling Jobs Where You Just Slap Some Caulk on There

We’re not sure what was being thought of here, but the bottom line is that it looks like the solution was a lazy, thick line of white Alex caulk. It’s not the worst thing we’ve seen, but it sure isn’t pretty. There are sanded caulks on the market. They will cost a bit more, but assuming you can charge the client, there’s no reason not to at least attempt to blend in better with the existing grout.

#5 Budgeting Grout, This Worst Tiling Job Takes the Cake

Caulk is cheap—so is grout. Apparently, this tiler decided to skimp on the grout, which resulted in serious shrinkage and ruining the otherwise decent tile job. If the grout doesn’t look right, the tile looks wrong. Take that to heart and make sure you have the right amount and consistency to avoid a call back.

#4 Grout Sponge? Never Heard of It

A sloppy job removing excess grout will leave streaks like this on corners. If you don’t get all the way in there, you don’t remove the excess. That leaves you with residual grout that is harder to remove down the line. If you notice, this was a re-grout, so we can’t blame the original installer. Whereas we’re thankful they went with grout over caulk, finishing the job properly would have been better. Instead, we get a good decision followed by poor execution.

#3 Plan Your Tile, Then Lay It

When you don’t plan your tile you end up with odd results. Here you can almost see the gears turning. Likely, the tile guy got to the corner and realized he’d be laying split tile down the entire inside corner of the door. Who wants to do that? So, at the top of the door, you’re left with a dilemma. His solution? Create a very odd-shaped L-tile, which he apparently broke, rather than cutting out the corner notch with a diamond blade.

Plan your layout and always carry a 4-inch angle grinder with a diamond blade.

#2 Not-so-Mitered Corner Kick

We love soccer, so we’re used to enjoying a nice corner kick. This one, however, is going to hurt mighty bad if you graze it with a toe. Mitering outside corners is a huge thing when dealing with tile in a kitchen or bath. You don’t want to miss this little detail as it can actually cause a pretty nasty injury to a homeowner. Those corners are sharp!

#1 Ah, Just Slap it in There

This worst tiling jobs example lives at the local baseball field where the minor leagues play and the majors hold their Spring training. Apparently, some tile fell out—possibly from mold or humidity—who knows. To some maintenance guy the solution was simple: use Liquid Nails to secure the new tile to the wall!

Yes, of course, why bother fixing it when you can just slap on some glue and affix said tile to the wall. I mean, this time they’ll at least stay! And while you’re at it, don’t bother making sure the tile is smooth, or even bothering with pesky grout. Grout is for sissies.

Wrapping Up the Worst Tiling Jobs

Hope you enjoyed our little worst tiling jobs article… And if you’re a tile guy, please feel free to contact us and let us know of any horror stories you might have encountered. We know you’re looking!

The post World’s Worst Tiling Jobs You’ve Ever Seen appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

I love my old craftsman-style house. It was built in 1923, and it has such an abundance of character and charm. It’s fun to restore and renovate, simply because you get to unveil and experience some of the old-world charm that seemed so natural for those older homes. One area of these old houses that never seems to do well, however, are the fireplaces. Mine used the old style of common brick that used an unusually deep V-groove pattern. I can’t tell if this brick was specially formulated to serve as a backer for stucco, or if it was simply a local style, but it wasn’t attractive. I wanted to figure out how to tile over a brick fireplace to dress up the home with a new look.

The current fireplace had textured brick that leaned forward slightly. At the top, it cantilevered out in three places (via brick) to support the rather plain mantel. It may have worked in the 1920s, but to me, it just looked rough.

Tiling Over a Brick Fireplace Starts With Demo

I didn’t want to do a lot of demo work, but I didn’t have much of a choice if I was going to tile over brick. The top of the fireplace, just under the mantel, pushed too far forward to achieve the look I wanted. I wanted a flat front with a simple piece of mitered crown trim underneath the mantel. To accomplish this I needed to break out some of the existing brick. It didn’t take long until I realized, with some consultation from my friend and master trim carpenter, David Delk, that I really needed to take off the entire top of the existing fireplace and rebuild it.

When you’re dealing with brick, silica dust control is a big deal. In order to control it, I recommend using one of the many dust control shrouds available on the market. They work with both angle grinders and saws. Properly connected to your best dust extractor, they control debris and material from absolutely covering your home. Get this right and you’ll save yourself, and/or your client, a lot of hassle later.

We used a DeWalt DWV012 10 Gallon HEPA dust extractor on this job, and it was a great solution. You may also need the use of a cold chisel and hammer to get to some areas. Just try and control the dust as best as possible when using hand tools. Also remember to cover the floor with at least two layers of thick drop cloth. Debris can fly as far as 6-10 feet—and brick isn’t friendly when it hits a wood floor or gets trampled underfoot. We also love ZipWall ZipDoor kits for isolating rooms.

Framing in the New Mantel

Once I removed the top of the fireplace, I rebuilt the framing for the mantel using pressure-treated lumber. The mantel secured to the brick via construction adhesive as well as Blue Tapcons. These anchored easily into the existing brick located just behind. I didn’t have to worry about anything other than structure, however, since I’d be adding 3/4” wood over the entire fireplace. This not only covered the brick, but it also provided makeshift supports all the way up to the mantel.

Shopping List for Putting Tile Over a Brick Fireplace

We opted to grab out materials from the local Lowe’s home improvement warehouse. It had everything we needed to get up and running. Our shopping list included:

• Top Choice pine (a single 1x12x8, and three 1x8x8 boards)
• Crown molding
• Chair rail trim
• Tapcon screws
• Construction adhesive
• Trim boards
• Caulk
• Tile
• Thinset
• Grout
• Paint and primer

All told, we spent approximately $350 in materials for this project including paint. It’s important to think through your materials before beginning a project. We like Lowe’s because their website lets us build our project virtually. You can add products and materials to “Lists” for later retrieval and ordering. After you figure it all out, just place the order and have the store pull all your materials for you.

Refacing the Front of the Fireplace with Wood

The next step in my fireplace resurface and remodel involved covering that brick with 3/4” wood. At first, I wanted to use poplar. Poplar is a great knot-free material that paints easily and cuts and sands well. I was very surprised, however, to find that Home Depot had some excellent (unbelievable, really) Grade A pine boards that didn’t have a single knot! Normally, I’d never consider pine, but the cost savings was too great. I voraciously grabbed a 1x12x8 and three 1x8x8 boards to complete my project. I’d ultimately be painting all of this wood white. So—with a little care—the pine would be indistinguishable from my original poplar design.

I cut these boards with a Makita 8-1/2” sliding miter saw, placing the shortened 1x12x8 across the top of the fireplace. It would sit just under the mantel. On the left and right, I had vertically oriented wood that I cut from 1x8x8 boards. These 1x8x8 side boards ran all the way from the floor to the mantel—just over 4 feet in length. The remaining wood served as material for custom trim boards. They would carry through my baseboard molding across the base of the fireplace.

Securing the Wood to the Brick

I secured the wood to the brick using construction adhesive and 2-1/4” Tapcons. I pre-drilled these and drove them using a Milwaukee M18 FUEL impact driver. For the 1×12 at the top of the fireplace, I used construction adhesive and also finish nails to secure it to the pressure-treated lumber and brick underneath. After measuring and installing the top piece (using temporary side pieces to ensure the correct length), I measured and cut the front side pieces. These extended from the bottom of the 1×12 to the floor. I countersank all of the Tapcons so I could plug and fill them later before painting.

When ripping and cross-cutting the side boards from the 1x8x8’s, I made sure to measure and place them behind the front boards. My design was to simply nail the face of the wood into the side pieces, fill, and use a cordless Makita 18V orbital sander to finish the corners so that, when painted, they would be perfect. The trick worked, and I was able to combine all edges and corners perfectly with no bumps or ridges in the finished product.

Planning and Designing the Tile Over the Brick Fireplace

It’s far easier, in my opinion, to tile into a frame, and it’s far easier to paint when you don’t have to worry about getting it all over your newly grouted tile. Getting the order right is important, and I’m sure there are several schools of thought when executing a tile over brick fireplace renovation. For me, it was frame the wood, tile over brick, paint, then grout. In terms of additional prep—there really wasn’t any. I simply took my time and back buttered the pieces before troweling the inset surface to be tiled.

I chose a nice porcelain tile that I got at the local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. It’s a great level IV tile product and has plenty of resilience for use on the hearth as well as the inset area around the fireplace opening. I chose a 12×12 tile for the hearth. Using the same tile, I cut 3-1/2” strips to build a brick pattern for the inset area above. I began the job with a QEP 750X tile saw, a 7-inch benchtop model. After a short while, I quickly went to a more robust Bosch TC10 Tile Saw to finish the job.

Cutting and Placing the Tile

While crosscuts would have been fine, ripping through the heavy porcelain tile was simply too much for the motor on the 750X. Because I was ripping tile, I used a tile stone to manually ease the edges of all of my cut pieces to achieve a more uniform look after grouting. Laying the tile was a simple matter of back buttering each piece, and using the Hart Quick-Tatch Trowel to lay down a nice 1/4” raked layer of thinset across the hearth and inset fireplace surfaces.

Grouting the Tile

I added a trim piece just below the main 1×12 board that carried through around the sides. My custom crown molding piece went underneath the mantel. I say “custom” because I needed to angle it differently than the traditional 60/40 due to the size of the mantel and the constraints put on me by windows located on either side of the fireplace. This simply entailed some trial and error to get the right miter and bevel settings—but I like that sort of thing and it didn’t take long to get it sorted out. I secured my trim pieces using a Ryobi One+ Narrow Crown Stapler—one of my new favorite tools due to its ease of use and portability.

To preserve all of the nice paint work on my newly-resurfaced fireplace, I used green painter’s tape to cover the inside edges of the wood surrounding my central tiled area. I also covered the bottom wood where it hit the hearth floor tile. After this, I mixed up some grout (it doesn’t take a lot) and set to work. The painter’s tape worked like a charm, allowing me to freely work the grout as needed without worrying about messing up my painted surfaces. I was able to do the entire job with just one batch, and when I was done I wiped it down with a sponge. A dry rag was perfect for taking up the dry haze several hours later, and I stepped back to examine my work.

Wrapping It All Up

Aside from some trim caulk my tile over brick fireplace project was finally finished—and the new look really freshened up the house. There’s nothing like a refinished fireplace to completely set the tone of a room. The only problem was that resurfacing a fireplace with tile quickly got us thinking about how much better the room would look repainted. A consultation with a painter friend who is a genius at color, and a short trip to Sherwin Williams, gave us some great ideas…but that’s another article.

The post How to Tile Over a Brick Fireplace appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

If you’re not happy with the look of your current garage floor, you might want to consider adding a coat of paint. Paint can dress up even the dullest and oldest-looking floors. However, painting and sealing garage floors isn’t the same as painting other surfaces. For one, a garage is subject to a lot more abuse and traffic than a typical floor. It also must be able to withstand dirt and even grease, something an interior is unlikely to see. Follow these steps for painting and sealing garage floors and surfaces.

1. Clean the Garage Floor

When painting and sealing garage floors you want to be working with a completely clean surface – something that could be a major challenge in a garage. It’s exponentially harder if you tend to have lots of grease or oil on the floor surface. You can purchase cleaners designed specifically for these surfaces or you can create your own using three parts water to one part bleach. Just make sure you protect your hands and have proper ventilation in the garage while cleaning.

2. Repair the Garage Floor Before Sealing

After the floor dries, you’re going to need to do some crack repair. You can purchase patches and fillers for concrete or mortar at your local home improvement store. Just make sure you understand the material used to make your garage floor. Follow the directions to apply the material to the floor. Make sure you let it set before you move onto the next step.

3. Etch the Floor

When you are painting concrete, you have to open the pores in the material, or else the paint will not set properly. Etching will allow that to happen, but it’s not always necessary. If you put a little water on the floor, watch how quickly it absorbs into the floor. Fast absorption typically means you don’t require any etching. Otherwise, you’ll need to purchase a commercial etching product and apply it to the floor.

4. Add the Primer or Sealer

After etching the floor, let it dry fully per the instructions on the etching product. After this, you can add a coat of primer to the floor. Using a long-handled roller brush makes the application easy. Make sure you apply the coat evenly since this forms the base for the epoxy paint. Let it dry for at least eight hours.

5. Paint the Garage Floor

Remember that you’re going to need special garage floor paint for this surface. Painting and sealing garage floors can’t be done with simple interior or exterior paint. You need to use epoxy paints which can hold up to tires and the amount of abrasion and abuse a garage floor deals with. Materials you want to consider should have labels that explain their composition and durability.

You’ll also want to use only nylon brushes. Begin painting just as you would any other surface now that it’s been properly prepared and you are using the appropriate products. You do not want to apply more than two coats.

You can use many different materials to coat a garage floor. On top of this, you can find various additives and specialty products to enhance any paints. We’ll summarize a few of the more common types.

Epoxy Paint for Garage Floors

Epoxy is one of the more widely used floor coverings. It dries hard and provides a very durable surface. Epoxy garage floor paint bonds well to properly-prepared concrete. Many epoxies work better for indoor use as some tend to yellow with sunlight. If your garage gets direct sunlight keep this in mind as it may lead to uneven color fading.

Polyurethane

Polyurethane is an excellent coating material as they resist UV from sunlight and are excellent at resisting chemicals, dirt, and grease. This is a very durable high-gloss product that leaves a professional look and feel. The downside to this surface material is that the concrete must first be prepped with an epoxy primer to sufficiently bond to the concrete.

Latex Paint

Acrylic latex paint is a solid solution that is easy to apply and can yield fast results. With some products, you can walk on the floor in 4 hours and park on it 72 hours after application.

Concrete Stains for Garage Floors

Concrete that is acid-stained can create a very unique finish and is available in multiple colors. What’s cool about acid stain is you can make the garage floor look like stone, leather or even wood. Concrete stains bond with the concrete and take on the unique texture and color of the concrete. The downside is that stains typically require a protective acrylic seal coat which typically requires a protective waxing one or more times per year.

6. Let the Floor Dry

Once you’ve finished painting the floors, you need to make sure it dries completely. Normally, you’ll need to wait about a full day before you can safely walk on the recently painted surface. However, you have to wait at least one week before you drive your car on the painted surface. Each material is different and following the manufacturer’s instructions is key to making sure your finish is perfect.

Expect Touch-ups

Periodically, you’re going to have to touch up the paint in the garage. That’s because the floor is definitely a heavily trafficked area. You’ll need to make these touch-ups yearly or else you’ll have to repeat the entire process in just a couple of years.

The post Painting and Sealing Garage Floors appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

Adding a tile backsplash is a great way to dress up a kitchen. Often when doing a simple tile backsplash, some cuts are needed to get the tile around switches and receptacles. There are a few options and methods for doing these small cuts that don’t necessarily involve expensive or fancy equipment. Chances are you probably have at least one of the tools needed for cutting ceramic tile.

Before we start, it’s important to note that we have our favorite methods. We’ll start with those and also include other ways you might get the job done. Also—when cutting backsplash, we make certain assumptions. The first is that you only need to make cross cuts for tile at corners and the ends of the run. The second assumption is that any longer rip cuts should be up against the bottom of your wall cabinets. That gives you some “grace” for cuts that might not be ruler-straight.

We also address some tips at the end of this article for compromises we think work to ensure a good-looking job overall regardless of your budget.

Manual Tile Cutter or Snap Cutter

For Pros, we expect nothing short of ruler-straight. For homeowners, however, we understand that you may need to use what you have to get the job completed. A great compromise is the manual tile cutter or snap cutter. These tools prove an easy way to put straight cuts on tile. You can even make diagonal cuts. Really, the size of the tool determines the maximum length of cut.

Cut a Ceramic Tile Backsplash with a Wet Tile Saw

The Pro way is to use a diamond wheel wet saw like the Ridgid wet tile saw. Or you may opt for something like the iQ Power Tools dry cut tile saw. This is the more expensive way to go but also makes the cleanest and dust-free cuts. If you have a lot of cutting to do, a wet saw is the preferred method. If one of these types of saws is out of your budget, you can usually rent one from a local equipment rental store.

Angle Grinder with Diamond Wheel

The next option is to buy a diamond cutting wheel for a small size angle grinder. These blades cut dry, so there is a little bit of dust created. They can make quick and convenient cuts. This is one of my favorite methods for getting the job done quickly. This also serves as a great way to quickly make curved cuts or corner cuts if and when needed.

Dry-Cut Tile Saw

The dry-cut tile saw quickly rose to the top of our list of “favorite tools” for cutting any tile. Price remains the only real downside as only one company, IQ Power Tools, makes this type of saw. For professionals, we feel it’s worth every penny. For more casual use, a dry-cut tile saw could prove a bit cost-prohibitive—particularly for cutting a ceramic tile backsplash.

Interestingly, for smaller jobs, the IQ Power Tools 7-inch tile saw offers similar dry-cutting performance. It does so with a smaller capacity and lower price point which makes it more appealing to those on a tighter budget.

Jigsaw with Diamond Blade

Possibly the oddest method for cutting ceramic tile is to use a jigsaw with a diamond blade. This type of jigsaw blade allows for fairly quick straight and curved cuts in ceramic tile. Make sure to put some masking tape on the bottom of the shoe of the jigsaw so the metal doesn’t scratch the delicate tile surface. Set the jigsaw to medium speed and be sure to turn off the orbital action if your jigsaw has it.

Possibly the biggest issue with this method is securing the tile. You need to make sure you have both the clearance and leverage to make your cuts. In the end, however, this works in a pinch and may save you from buying a specialized tool if you just need to make a few cuts.

Handheld Snap-Cutters

A handheld snap-cutter uses a small diamond blade to score tile and then snap it for a relatively clean cut. You really only want to use these with ceramic tile as porcelain typically doesn’t play well with a simple handheld score-and-snap. The advantages of this tool include its small footprint, ease of use, and inexpensive price.

Wrapping Up with the Best Tool for Cutting Ceramic Tile Backsplash

We have our clear favorites—such as the dry-cut tile saw—however, budgets and needs vary. If you only need to make a few straight cuts or have just a single job, a manual snap-cutter should work wonders. We prefer the sliding rails model over the handheld since you can use it on porcelain tile as well. Larger versions even allow cuts in large tile up to 18-inches or more. You can also make diagonal cuts, though those may prove troublesome in larger tile sizes.

Also remember you can clean up your tile edges—particularly sharp ones—with a stone. You can pick these up at your local hardware store or home improvement warehouse or even online at Amazon.

The post The Best Tool for Cutting a Ceramic Tile Backsplash appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.

You can argue all you want about whether or not to go with porcelain vs ceramic tile. In the end, it probably doesn’t matter all that much if it hangs on a wall. If you simplify it down to basics, porcelain is really just very dense ceramic tile. Seriously.

Porcelain vs Ceramic Tile Material Comparison

All ceramic tiles are made up of the same stuff: clay, quartz (ferrous sand) materials, and water. Manufacturers form and “fire” tiles to high temperatures in a kiln (oven). The clay used in porcelain tile is more refined. Additionally, manufacturers fire porcelain tiles at a higher temperature. This gives porcelain its added density. The advantage of this extra density makes it harder to permeate. As a result, porcelain tile works better when used outdoors. It also does better than ceramic where dirt and moisture may cause staining over time.

Most ceramic tile is glazed with a baked-on surface coating. Glazed tiles can be high-gloss or matte. They can even come in an abrasive slip-resistant finish. You can buy ceramic tiles with decorative styles, patterns, or a custom-painted design. It’s important to note that the glaze only exists as a top layer coating. If a ceramic tile chips, you’ll see the natural ceramic or porcelain color underneath.

How to Tell Porcelain from Ceramic Tile and Vice Versa

You can always read the packaging to tell ceramic from porcelain tile, but what about if you find it “in the wild”? For one thing, porcelain tile has the same color throughout (see below). That’s a big way to tell right off the bat. If you have unglazed porcelain tile, a chip will reveal the same color underneath. Contrast that to ceramic tile (see above) which almost always has a colored glaze on the surface.

Porcelain tile has the same color throughout the material. A broken or chipped piece of unglazed porcelain will have a uniform color throughout its thickness. Ceramic tile often has a glazed surface coloring, so chips may reveal a different color underneath.

You can also detect porcelain from “below”. The bottom unfinished texture of porcelain has a smoother texture than ceramic tile. Ceramic tile typically feels quite coarse. Finally, porcelain tiles weigh more than ceramic due to their higher density.

Porcelain vs Ceramic Tile Hardness

While all this may seem confusing, if you’re tiling indoors then you actually should care more about the general PEI (or hardness) factor of the tile than anything else (excepting, perhaps the color or style of the tile). Porcelain tile also makes a lot more noise when you cut it with a tile saw. While there are indeed other factors to consider, let’s take a quick look at PEI.

PEI (Porcelain Enamel Institute) ratings range from 0 to 5 and reflect the intended use for the tile. You could simplify it and say that the higher the number, the more scratch-resistant and shatter-resistant the tile. For example, you would never put a wall tile with a PEI rating of 0 on the floor. It will likely scratch and/or crack very quickly.

PEI 2 tile can be used on floors, but only where there is a low amount of foot traffic. Most residential floor tile sold in stores is rated PEI 3 or 4. If you’re going commercial, then PEI 5 tile is the way to go as it is designed for abusive and extra heavy foot traffic, including using hand trucks with reasonable loads.

Breaking Down the PEI Scale of Tile Hardness

Here is a quick run-down of the PEI scale. In the issue of porcelain vs ceramic tile, this matters more than the material itself:

Cutting Ceramic vs Porcelain Tile

As we mentioned above, ceramic tile cuts much more easily than porcelain. Porcelain tile also makes a lot more noise when you cut it with a grinder or tile saw. We’ve even confirmed this using the iQ Power Tools iQTS244 dry cut tile saw. Porcelain more or less “screams” when you cut through it. You definitely want to wear some ear-protection.

Mostly, this has to do with the greater density you find in porcelain tile. It takes more energy and time to cut. Both also cut easily using a diamond wheel on a grinder. This helps to quickly cut around necessary objects like pipes and drains. In either case, the added density of porcelain really shows its face when you bring a tile saw around to make your cuts.

In the end, however, the cutting noise and time aren’t really a consideration we place a heavy emphasis on when choosing between ceramic vs porcelain tile. Texture, durability, and the overall look take top priority.

Porcelain vs Ceramic Tile Color

One advantage we see with ceramic tile includes the use of glazing and advanced colors and patterns. While you can get colors and patterns with porcelain tile, it’s hard to beat the value you can find in ceramic tile for wall tile applications. Some ceramic tiles can also include a textured surface, giving the tile more depth. You can pick up pretty inexpensive ceramic tiles with waves or even raised areas and patterns.

Unglazed ceramic tile only really comes in a few colors, so nearly all ceramic tile includes a glazed top surface. This also matters because unglazed ceramic tile absorbs water—not the best thing for a backsplash or bathroom! Porcelain tile doesn’t absorb water and has more natural body color options.

If you want the look of wood, a ceramic tile will have to be “painted” with a wood-looking glaze. Porcelain tile tends to look more natural because the base tile can start with the wood tone or color you’re after.

Conclusion

When considering porcelain vs ceramic tile, glazed or unglazed, you’ll find that both offer almost limitless sizes and shapes to meet your needs in nearly any circumstance or application. Just match the tile to the application and then select the look that’s perfect for your home or office project. Enjoy!

The post Porcelain vs Ceramic Tiles | Which is Better appeared first on Pro Tool Reviews.