Continental Glacier Soils

Posted on by Tim Carter

The following photo was taken in 1986 on or about June 24th.

The location of the photo was 3166 N. Farmcrest Drive, Amberley Village, Ohio.

You can clearly see two distinct soil profiles in the photo.

The light-brown clay soil that's about four feet thick was produced by the Wisconsin Continental glacier that was starting to recede back to the North Pole about 12,000 to 15,000 years ago.

Beneath it is a much darker soil that was created by the Illinoian Continental glacier that was in Cincinnati, Ohio about 600,000 years ago.

Continental Glacier Soils

You can see the two distinct glacial soils above the footing on the far wall. © 2017 Tim Carter - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - DO NOT COPY or PIRATE this photo without permission.

You don't often get to see deep soil profile photos like this that have so much contrast.

I built the house at this location and I got my geology degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1974.

How to Garage Shelving Ideas

Posted on by Tim Carter
Garage Shelves

Garage shelving ideas: These are clever garage shelves loaded with countless wares! Thin plywood is supported by electrical cable staples of all things! © 2017 Tim Carter

"Yes, small shelves can go in between wall studs in a garage. You can stack small items, boxes of nails, aerosol cans, boxes of garden fertilizer, and many other things on these tiny shelves."

How To Garage Shelving Ideas

DEAR TIM: I need some creative garage shelving ideas. I’ve got a limited budget, bare stud walls with no insulation and I’ve accumulated countless small boxes of nails, screws, spray paint cans, boxes of fertilizer, etc.

Please save yourself the trouble telling me about all the fancy cabinets, shelving units, etc. I just don’t have the money. All I can afford is $30 at the most. Wave your magic wand so the clutter disappears off my garage floor! Mona G., Lost Creek, KY

DEAR MONA: I’ve just summoned my fellow New Hampshire wizards and we’re about to cast a protective spell on you, your garage clutter and all of your terrestrial allies.

In all seriousness, I’ve got great news for you. All of the things you need for a simple solution are aligned. This is indeed your lucky day.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local handymen that can build these shelves in one day for you!

Can Garage Shelves Go Between Wall Studs?

Yes, small shelves can go in between wall studs in a garage. You can stack small items, boxes of nails, aerosol cans, boxes of garden fertilizer, and many other things on these tiny shelves.

Allow me to share a story with you. I’ve got a great friend who lives in southern California. I visit him on a fairly regular basis. He and his wife have a wonderful detached garage that’s just like yours. But what I'm about to share would work even if your garage walls were covered with drywall!

My friend's garage has a durable cement stucco outer covering, but the inside is just bare 2x4 walls. He’s accumulated all the things you’ve described and much more over the sixty-plus years he’s lived in this home.

Where is Wasted Space in a Garage?

There's wasted space over the hoods of cars. There's also wasted space along walls.

Several times my friend asked me about ways to try to tame the clutter and I mentioned putting up a shelf that overhung the hoods of the cars. Many garages have a vast amount of wasted space in the air and this shelf was perfect for his larger items.

But he had all sorts of small things covering the floor of the garage making it nearly impossible to find anything. I’ve have the same problem in my own garage.

What Can You Store in the Wall Stud Cavities?

You can store just about anything on thin shelves in wall stud cavities.

Two months ago, I visited him and he took me out to the garage. The floor was clean. I could see concrete everywhere! All of his cans, spray bottles, boxes of plant fertilizer, boxes of nails and screws, bottles of motor oil, paint roller covers, brushes, you-name-it were all organized nicely tucked inside the wall stud spaces!

What Material Should I Use For the Shelves?

He and his industrious wife had purchased one sheet of 1/4-inch plywood and had it ripped into 4-inch-wide strips. This yielded, are you sitting down, an astonishing 88 linear feet of shelving!

All he had to do was use a simple hand saw to cut the shelves to the width of the space in between the vertical wall studs. They maximized the storage space by doing their best to organize things that were related to one another and the same height.

Doing this allowed them to put as many shelves as possible in one wall cavity in between two wall studs.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local handymen that can build these shelves in one day for you!

What are the Best Tiny Shelf Supports?

Electrical cable staples are perhaps the best shelf supports for these tiny shelves.

As if that weren’t clever enough, he and his wife came up with a simple, yet strong, way to support each shelf. They used electrical cable staples as tiny shelf cleats. It took just four, two to each side, to support each shelf.

cable staples

Simple cable staples like this will hold a tremendous amount of weight. CLICK THE IMAGE TO ORDER THEM NOW.

For shelves that would support fairly light-weight items, I told him he could have used small 6-penny finish nails. These are very inexpensive.

How Do You Install the Tiny Garage Shelves?

You don’t have to have a fancy tool to get the shelves level in both directions. A common torpedo level is all you need to get the shelf level side-to-side.

torpedo level

I own this torpedo level. It's my FAVORITE one. It's very accurate and it comes with magnets so it stores on metal peg board or two nails I drive into a stud. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO ORDER IT.

You can use a shelf panel that’s got a nice square cut on it to create the level line that becomes your guide for the cable staples or finish nails.

Close Up Garage Shelving

All you do is determine the height you want the shelf, press the shelf flat up against the side of a wall stud and trace a pencil line along the short edge of the shelf. Assuming the walls of the garage are plumb, this will automagically create a 90-degree level shelf.

Should I Tilt Some Shelves Backwards?

Yes, you want to tilt some shelves backwards so there's less of a chance the items will fall.

My friend decided some shelves that held liquids shouldn’t be level. He wanted a slight backwards tilt so the bottles and cans would lean back towards the wall. This is easy to do by just putting one cable staple above the pencil line and the other one below.

How Do I Install the Small Garage Shelves Over Drywall?

Guess what? Even if you had told me your garage walls were insulated and drywalled you can still do this! You’d have to spend a little more money to buy some 2x4s, but that money might be in your car cup holders or you’ll discover it when you burrow down into your couch cushions.

My garage is drywalled and as soon as it warms up I’m going to build a simple wall out of 2x4s. I’ll then use a few simple L brackets to secure the bare wall to the studs behind the drywall. Then I just have to do what I described above to organize all my small things.

Many garages have a foundation ledge that sticks up above the concrete floor and it’s the perfect spot to rest this bare wall. I can’t wait to get started here at my own home!

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local handymen that can build these shelves in one day for you!

Column 1181

Hot Water Recirculating Loop – How to Install

Posted on by Tim Carter

Hot Water Recirculating Loop TIPS

Gravity - It's Magic

When water is heated, it gets lighter. It wants to float to the top of cooler water.

Cool water is heavy and wants to fall. If you have a loop that projects upwards, the cool water wants to fall down the loop while the hot water goes up. Gravity fuels the motion.

Complete The Loop

It works in this fashion in your house. You already have half of a gravity loop in place. This is your hot water piping distribution system which begins at your water heater and ends at the farthest fixture which requires hot water.

If you were to install copper piping leading back from the farthest point and from other high points in the existing system, you'd have a loop. This return loop pipe connects into the bottom of the water heater.

You remove the drain valve and install a 3/4-inch nipple, a ball valve, a tee and a new boiler drain so you can drain the heater.

It's that simple.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local plumbers who can install a hot water recirc system!

Slow Flow

The flow of water through the loop is very slow. It doesn't need to be fast.

The only thing that's important is hot water is near each fixture when you need hot water.

Without a loop there's no movement, so any movement is better than none!

Pumps for Slabs

If you live in a house on a slab or where a majority of the hot water lines drop below the water heater, you need to use a recirculating water pump. If you purchase a Grundfos recirculating pump like the one just below, you don't need to add any extra piping!

See that funny stubby U-shaped fitting under the pump? It connects between the hot and cold-water shut-off valves at the farthest sink away from the heater.

The pump uses the cold-water line to send water back to the water heater! Ingenious!

recirculating pump

This is a reliable recirculating pump you can install on top of your water heater. The weird threaded fitting goes under the sink that's farthest away from the pump. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO ORDER THIS PUMP.

Pump Location

These pumps are often located near the water heater, however, they can be anywhere in the loop. The pumps circulate water at low pressure and low speeds.

Once again, there's no need to have lots of water moving through the loop. It is just important that the water is hot near the fixtures.

If you install one of these pumps, remember that you need to install unions on either side of the pump.

Unions are special threaded fittings that contain an inner flared surface or flat surfaces with special washers that allow you to break into the piping system and reconnect without soldering.

Water meters are always installed using unions. Look at yours and you'll see what I mean.

Insulation

Once you decide to install a gravity recirculating loop, you need to be concerned with energy loss. A gravity loop will work fantastically without insulation. In fact, it works best without it!

But, this can also cause your water heater to cycle on and off more often. Remember, you are bleeding heat from the heater when the loop contains hot water.

Type of Insulation

There are numerous ways to insulate the pipe. Many insulating materials are made exclusively for water piping. They fit snugly over different sizes of pipe.

Some insulation, like the foam types, must be installed as you install the pipe, not after the loop is constructed. The foam slides over the pipe sections.

When you select your insulation material, ask how and when it should be installed.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local plumbers who can install a hot water recirc system!

Hold Off Framing

Piping installation methods must also be altered. Some people attach water piping to the sides of floor joists. You can't do this with an insulated loop system. The pipe must stand away from floor joists so that the insulation is not crushed. Special inexpensive pipe hangers allow you to do this easily.

Save Energy

All of the hot water lines that lead from the heater must be insulated. They need to be insulated up to where the return loop lines connect and slightly beyond.

The return loop also needs to be  insulated except for a short distance before the loop connects to the bottom of the water heater. If you insulate the entire system too well, it may not work!

Remember, the water has to cool at some point for the loop to start its gentle movement. I suggest that you leave the final 15 feet of return loop uninsulated.

Water Heater Heat Traps

Modern water heaters have small rubber flapper check valves in the top of the heater. These need to be removed if you want a gravity loop to work. The check valves are mandated to preserve energy in non-insulated piping scenarios.

If you don't remove these flappers, the water can't move through the loop.

Cozy Up 

Houses that don't have a recirculating loop system have hot water pipes that branch off a main line and stretch to each fixture. An ideal loop system would have the loop run as close as practical to each fixture.

The closer the loop is to the fixture, the faster you'll get hot water when you open a faucet.

Air Locks - BIG PROBLEMS!!

As you construct your loop system, you must be concerned with air traps. What are these?

Think about the drain traps under your sinks. Imagine if you did this upside down with a water line in a loop system.

Air naturally bubbles out of pressurized water. Normally it makes it to the top-most fixture in your plumbing system.

If you, or your plumber, inadvertently creates a trap, the water will not move through the loop.

Mystery Air

Air can get into a plumbing system in any number of ways:

  • water main break
  • repair process in your own home
  • dissolved air within water

If you create a trap, the air will collect in the trap and BLOCK movement of water within the return loop. This happens because the air will not move down to the water heater.

Air is not a problem in the regular water piping system. The rapid movement of water through the pipes when you turn a faucet on pushes the air out of the way. Remember, water moves sloooowly through a gravity loop.

Check Valve

Just before the loop enters the bottom of the hot water heater you might need to install a simple check valve. These are one-way valves.

This valve will prohibit in-rushing cold water from the bottom of the hot water heater from flowing backwards through the loop when you open a hot water faucet somewhere within the system.

Check valves are not always necessary. Some systems need them because of friction loss and other obstructions that make it easier for the hot water to flow backwards through the loop rather than the correct direction - from the top of the heater!

Drill A Hole

These valves can be installed after the loop is completed. You can install this valve in the vertical - or horizontal - loop pipe just before it enters the water heater.

The valve should be within 5 feet of the water heater and it needs a 1/8-inch hole drilled in the flapper of the valve.

You might want to try installing the loop first without one and see what happens. If you begin to get cold water at a faucet when you should get hot, you know you need a check valve.

Final Connection

As the loop returns to the water heater it connects at the low point of the heater. This is always the location of the heater drain valve. This valve is simply screwed into the heater.

Attach a wrench to the valve and turn counterclockwise. It will come out.

Install an insulated nipple in place of the valve. This will minimize corrosion possibilities.

Then as soon as possible install a tee fitting with female threads at the tee. If you use the right one, the drain valve will screw right back into the tee. The other end of the fitting allows you to connect the loop to the heater.

Install a ball valve on the loop side of the tee so if you want to drain the water heater you can shut off the ball valve preventing all the water in the loop from coming out of the boiler drain

Shut-Off Valves

While on the subject of valves, let's talk about the shut off valves on top of water heaters. I've seen some aggressive homeowners install a shut off valve on both the hot and cold water line.

They thought this would help in the event they need to switch out the heater. Well it does help. It also creates a potential BOMB.

BOMB In Your Home

If some idiot turns off both valves (happens everyday somewhere), and the pressure relief valve malfunctions or was never installed, and the heater thermostat malfunctions, the heater will explode. It's happened more than once.

Only install a valve on the COLD water line, never on the hot line.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local plumbers who can install a hot water recirc system!

Column B413

Brush Marks on Trim – How to Prevent

Posted on by Tim Carter
brush marks

Sanding a painted surface is easy with handy palm or hand-held sander. © 2017 Tim Carter

Brush Mark Prevention TIPS

DEAR TIM: My son was visiting me and decided to do a good deed. With the help of my wife, he painted our front door. The color is a magnificent bright red but the finish has many brush strokes.

Up close, the door looks horrible. What's the best way to refinish the door? Can I simply sand the high spots or must I strip the paint from the door? My son and wife used a disposable brush.

Was that the problem? How can I avoid brush strokes in a newly painted finish? Renard I., Rochester, NY

DEAR RENARD: Ugh! I've seen my fair share of painted surfaces that look good except for the defect you describe. Other defects such as unfilled holes, un-sanded peeling-paint edges, un-caulked cracks, etc. can also ruin an otherwise great paint job.

Professional painters and those that sell paint sundry items constantly preach the mantra of using the best tools when painting, as well as doing all necessary preparation before paint is applied.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters who'll redo your front door.

Your wife and son had the best of intentions, but possibly underestimated the required steps to achieve professional results.

Previous Poor Work

The actual technique of applying the paint may not have been a problem. It's entirely possible the previous coat of paint had the ugly brush marks and this new coat of paint could not hide them.

Gloss Paint Unforgiving

If your son used a high-gloss paint, this could be part of the problem. Let's assume the previous coat of paint was flat or an eggshell sheen and had brush strokes.

Flat or eggshell paints tend to do a great job of disguising surface imperfections, even some brush marks.

Gloss paint is the exact opposite. They amplify the smallest surface imperfections.

Gloss paints reflect much of the light rays that strike the surface of the painted object. The light rays bounce off at different angles when they strike imperfections, like a combed brush stroke.

This is why the brush marks stand out. You can see the tiny shadow lines from the light rays bouncing off at different angles.

You can see this in glossy car finishes when a car door or hood has the slightest ding or dent in it.

Start Smooth

Certain paints have more body to them and some can hide subtle surface defects by bridging over them. Even if such a paint was used, I'd never depend upon it to cure an obvious surface defect.

If the previous painter created the problem, the surface should have been sanded to remove the brush marks before the next coat of paint is applied.

Paint Needs To Cure

At this point the best thing to do is to wait until the new paint hardens, or cures, enough so it can be sanded. This curing process can take anywhere from ten to thirty days. In certain situations it may take longer.

Some paints may not cure for up t0 sixty days. The hotter it is the faster paint cures. If you try to sand uncured paint, it will rapidly clog the sandpaper.

Sheets Of Paint

Attempting to sand a paint finish less than five days old can lead to disastrous results as the film can actually tear apart. If you're so impatient that you can't wait, then chemical stripping is the path you must take.

Personally, I'd only strip the door as a last resort. Paint stripping can be a messy task to say the very least.

Sand To Smooth

I'd start sanding using a hand-held power sander that has an orbital sanding pattern. These power sanders do an excellent job of removing surface defects when equipped with the right paper.

Try using 120-grit aluminum-oxide sandpaper for the first sanding. Aluminum oxide is the light-brown sandpaper you see at paint stores or home centers. It's self-sharpening and affordable.

sandpaper

Here's an assorted pack of aluminum oxide sandpaper that will do a great job on soft wood. CLICK THE IMAGE TO ORDER IT NOW.

Look For Dust

You'll know the paint is hard enough to sand if the sander begins to produce dust from the paint film. If you don't see any dust and the paper has started to clog with paint, STOP.

Wait five to seven days and try to sand again.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters who'll redo your front door.

Smooth Like Glass

Once you're able to successfully sand, the surface of the door should be very smooth to the touch after you run the sander over it several times. Before you begin to sand the offensive brush strokes, run your hand across them.

You should be able to feel the uneven surface unless you have very thick calluses on your fingertips. After sanding with 120 grit paper, you should be able to feel a much smoother surface.

Don't hesitate to change the sandpaper on a frequent basis. Fresh paper cuts faster.

Paint Horizontal

Once the door surface is smooth and dust-free, it is time to repaint. If you desire as smooth a finish as possible, I would absolutely remove the door from its hinges and paint the door while it is laying flat on two sawhorses or portable work stands.

This allows gravity to help flatten the paint after you apply it. Painting the door flat eliminates the possibility of runs.

Secret Paint Conditioner

The pros use a paint additive to get silky smooth finishes. This is one of their best-kept trade secrets. I've had stunning results using Floetrol. It comes for both latex and oil paint. CLICK HERE to get Floetrol for latex paint.

Floetrol latex paint conditioner bottle

This is a fantastic time-tested paint additive. It tames paint and makes it lay FLAT. CLICK THE IMAGE TO ORDER IT NOW.

The paint conditioners reduce the surface tension of the paint allowing the paint to spread out evenly under the force of gravity. When you combine a paint conditioner with laying the door flat, you'll get superior results.

Great Brushes

Be sure to use the most expensive brush you can buy and match it to the type of finish paint you choose to use.

China bristle is often preferred for oil paint and a polyester brush is usually the weapon of choice for latex based paints. A professional-grade brush will yield incredible results.

Purdy polyester brush

Here's a great Purdy polyester brush for latex paint. If you care for it, it will last for years. I have some Purdy brushes that are 20 years old. CLICK THE IMAGE TO ORDER NOW.

Let Dry

Once the paint is dry, you can put it back on the hinges making sure to remove any weatherstripping from the door jamb. If the uncured paint touches the weatherstripping, it can peel away from the door the next time you open it.

Leave the weatherstripping off the door jamb for about ten days.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters who'll redo your front door.

Column 478

Chinese Drywall Causes

Posted on by Tim Carter
drywall

End view of drywall with factory label removed. © 2017 Roger R Henthorn

Chinese Drywall ALERT

SEVERE ISSUE!

The first thing everyone wants to know is, "What's causing the problem? What's in the drywall that's causing health deterioration and the corrosion of metal in homes?"

Fly Ash From Power Plants

The answer is simple: fly ash in the drywall from Chinese power plants. Fly ash is that part of the rock - coal is rock - that simply won't burn.

High-Sulfur Coal

The Chinese use poor quality high-sulfur coal to make electricity. This coal may contain other harmful chemical elements that, once mixed with gypsum in drywall, create toxic gas that's causing the issues in American homes.

Understand the fly ash is a waste by-product from the power plants that normally would be thrown away or put into a landfill.

Fly Ash Filler

However, for years fly ash has been used as a FILLER in both drywall and concrete.

Here is the USA, we use low-sulfur coal in our power plants. The resulting fly ash does not contain the high concentrations of sulfur and other possible elements that are contributing to both health issues of occupants who live in houses with the tainted drywall.

Corrosion Severe

The sulfur in the drywall is creating an offgas - hydrogen sulfide.

This gas reacts with metal objects causing corrosion. It targets:

  • electrical wiring
  • coils on air conditioners
  • copper plumbing
  • metal ductwork
  • joist hangers and structural connectors

It's interesting to note that many newer drywall manufacturing plants are built very close to coal-fired power plants so they have a cheap and readily available supply of fly ash.

We are currently researching ways to determine if you have Chinese Drywall and might have associated corrosion. We are posting additional information as we find it.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a press release titled HUD and CPSC Issue Guidance on Repairing Homes With Problem Drywall. This release  is an interim remediation guidance to help homeowners struggling to rid their properties of problem drywall linked to corrosion of metal in their homes such as electrical components.

drywall

Factory label on end of drywall. © 2017 Roger R Henthorn

A report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) provides some guidance for preliminary identification on Problem Drywall. Their report Interim Guidance - Identification of Homes with Corrosion from Problem Drywall can be read by clicking on the title. This report is in PDF format.

The CPSC report refers a guide issued by the state of Florida. Information on that report is shown below.

The state of Florida has posted a Self-Assessment Guide for signs that a home may be affected by drywall Associated Corrosion. The link to their site is http://doh.state.fl.us/environment/community/indoor-air/inspections.html

USAToday has an article relating to damages awarded to families for homes ruined by sulfur-emitting Chinese drywall. Click here to read the article titled "Judge awards families $2.6M over tainted Chinese drywall."

Check back later for updates. An update was provided in the April 11, 2010 and the  April 6, 2010 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Brick Leaks

Posted on by Tim Carter
Brick Leaks

Can you see what I see? There's no visible flashing behind the brick, I don't see a water membrane covering the wood framing behind the brick! What's more, do you see any weep holes? I sure don't. © 2017 Tim Carter

Brick Leaks TIPS

DEAR TIM: Every time a wind-blown rain saturates our brick veneer home water streams into our home. I've noticed that the wood floors in our living room are warping as well.

The brick and mortar appear fine. What's causing the leaks? How should the brick have been installed? What, if anything, can be done to stop the water penetration? Brenda F., Brockton, MA


DEAR BRENDA: I hate to tell you this, but you've got some very serious problems. If they're not corrected, serious structural failure will be in your future.

I'm quite confident that if I did a post mortem examination of your brick walls, I would find serious workmanship errors.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters that can spray on special silane-siloxane water repellents.

Brick Leaks Lots

Virtually every brick wall will allow water to penetrate. The water has three possible paths. It can enter directly through the brick, the mortar, and/or the contact zone between the brick and mortar.

Vertical Head Joints Worst

The primary path of water into brick walls is the contact zone between brick and mortar and mortar joints that are not filled completely.

Your wall leaks, I'll wager, are most likely originating at the vertical joints between many of the brick. Bricklayers call these head joints.

Because of the way bricklayers butter the one side of a brick, these head joints are susceptible to leaking. One side of every brick has got this weakness.

The bricklayers often cut away the bed, or horizontal, joint mortar as they set the brick to the string line. This mortar has already lost some of its valuable moisture from laying on the previous course.

The bricklayer then takes this scraped mortar and puts it on the end of the brick he just laid. He does it at an angle and only a small amount of the mortar contacts the side face of the brick. The mortar makes a less-than-desirable bond with the brick.

Mythical Mortar

The quality, type, and moisture content of the mortar is a critical factor in preventing brick veneer wall leaks. The mortar for a brick veneer house needs to have a high lime and low cement content.

Do you recall the great line written by J.R.R. Tolkien in his book The Fellowship of the Ring? It was said by the character Galadriel, 

“And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge.”

This applies directly to hydrated lime. It's rapidly becoming a myth in the building industry. Older brick buildings, those built prior to 1900, almost exclusively used hydrated lime mixed with sand instead of Portland cement.

hydrated lime

This is excellent hydrated lime. It's a fine white powder and it's going to look great on your home. CLICK THE IMAGE TO ORDER SOME RIGHT NOW.

The lime in the mortar, through the years, can actually heal tiny cracks that might develop between the brick and mortar. Hydrated lime is an amazing material to mix with sand to make mortar.

Mortar that is too wet or has too much cement can shrink as it dries. This shrinkage can produce tiny cracks that allow water to easily penetrate the wall.

Solid Masonry Construction

Older brick houses usually were never a brick veneer. Often the brick walls were two, three and sometimes four brick thick bonded with lower-strength, high-lime content mortar.

The inner courses of brick were very soft and absorbent. Rainwater would collect within the wall and then be released to the atmosphere once the storm passed.

Brick Veneer - Hidden Waterfalls

Modern single-thickness brick veneer walls deliver the wind-driven rain within a matter of minutes to the wood frame system just on the other side of the brick. This water needs to be collected and transported immediately to the exterior of the house.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters that can spray on special silane-siloxane water repellents.

Flashings

This is accomplished by installing flashing materials at the base of the brick wall, above all doors and windows, and below all window and door sills. The flashing must be continuous and needs to be made from a material that allows joints to be permanently sealed.

High-quality brick-veneer flashings can be made from modified asphalt and high-quality polyethylene and copper/asphalt combinations. Do not use the low quality "garbage bag" or PVC type plastic. It's useless.

Cover All Wood

The exterior of your wood-framed walls should also have been covered with a water-resistant membrane. Overlapping horizontal pieces of time tested tar paper will work.

However, there are many air and moisture barriers that will do as good a job or better at preventing the leaking water from contacting your wood framing. These moisture barriers must be installed so they lap over the wall flashings.

Weep Holes

Weep holes at the bottom of all walls and at the top of windows and doors need to be no less than 4 feet on center. Two-feet on center is preferable.

The cavity behind the lowest courses of brick needs to be free and clear of mortar droppings. This allows leaking water to easily escape through the weep holes.

Mortar Catch

An ingenious saw-toothed plastic netting can accomplish this task easily. It fits behind the first few courses of brick.

Silane-Siloxane Water Repellents

Your leaks may be able to be stopped with the application of high-quality water repellents. These materials contain special chemicals called silanes, siloxanes, or a blend of the two. CLICK HERE to get a fantastic one that will do a great job.

silane - siloxane water repellent

This is a magnificent silane - siloxane water repellent that soaks into concrete. CLICK THIS IMAGE NOW TO ORDER IT.

Examine your brick walls. Look for tiny hairline cracks in the vertical joints. Remove and install new mortar if you find obvious water entry points. After the joints dry, apply the water repellents according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Leaf Blower Secret

A second application may be necessary and it usually needs to be applied within minutes of the first coat. It helps to use a backpack leaf blower operated by a helper while you apply the water repellents.

The blower drives the repellent deep into the brick and mortar. The blower blasts the wall immediately after you apply the liquid.

If this does not solve your leak problem, I'm afraid that your only solution might be to re-install the brickwork properly.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters that can spray on special silane-siloxane water repellents.

Column 198

Column and Beam Construction

Posted on by Tim Carter
column and beam construction

Column and beam constructon is in a home I built in Amberley Village, Ohio. The columns are poured concrete with steel reinforcing. The beams are 10 inches tall and weigh 31 pounds per linear foot. You can span up to 14 feet with these! © 2018 Tim Carter

Column and beam construction is common in most homes. Beams can be as short as 3 feet or as long as 16 feet. Don't guess sizes. Consult with a professional engineer.

Revised February 2018

Column and Beam Construction TIPS

Week In Week Out

Every week I get an email from a homeowner who wants to tear down a wall or she/he's contemplating some other structural modification to their abode.

In every case they want me to wave my magic wand and size a beam for them. If they only knew how complex beams and columns were!

My answer is ALWAYS the same. Hire a local structural engineer. You do this to prevent a collapse!

Column And Beam Construction Video

Here's a great video showing decorative wood columns and beams. Simple ones are made with 2x4s and 2x12s!

 

Related Links

Removing a Load Bearing Wall - Check Plans First

Column to Beam Connection Is Important - Don't Rely on Nails

Beam Installation Basics

Headers, Beams and Wall Sensors

 

Complex Math

The reason for this is simple. For one thing, each situation is different. The loads above the beam location can be significant or there may be very little load. Just about every situation is different.

Structural engineers need to look at your home or plans and calculate all the loads that will be carried by the beams. Don't underestimate the complexity of this.

Then they have to decide what material to use that will support the loads. It's not easy.

You don't just email someone and expect an answer.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local structural engineers.

Columns = Concentrated Loads

The column locations at each end and under the beam are critical as well. Columns concentrate beam loads. These concentrated loads must rest on solid materials.

A rookie homeowner often forgets this vital aspect of beam construction.

For example, a rookie may nail two or three studs together that support a giant double 2x12 header beam.

These vertical studs are nailed to a wall bottom plate but there's nothing but air under the OSB, plywood or 1x6 flooring.

Over time the bottom plate sags and can, in the worst cases, punch through the bottom plate and floor.

column and beam construction

Here's a great shot of a triple laminated beam. The columns supporting it are solid wood 2x6's. You can see them packed together on the far wall and the corner where the two exterior walls meet. What we can't see in the photo is if the carpenter put extra blocking under the exterior bottom wall plate so the load is transferred to the poured, or cast, concrete foundation wall. The floor joists for the second floor will hang off this beam using galvanized joist hangers. This photo also shows three other beams in the exterior walls. They're made from 2x10s and pieces of OSB. They're over each window or door opening in the photo. © 2018 Tim Carter

Continuous Load Path For Beams & Columns

Structural engineers and great builders know all about continuous load pathways. 

This is a fancy phrase for creating a solid bearing pathway from the bottom of the beam all the way down to the soil under the footing of the structure.

This pathway can be complex and circuitous where columns rest on top of beams below. Believe me, you never want to guess so always hire a structural engineer to create your structural drawing of what needs to happen so your home doesn't collapse.

Beams Galore

There are many different materials that can be used to create beams. Here are a just a few common ones:

  • solid wood 2x material
  • engineered lumber of all sorts
  • steel
  • steel sandwiched with wood 2X material
  • steel-reinforced concrete
  • brick and stone arches

Bearing Wall Video

This is a video I shot inside my New Hampshire home. I was lucky enough to have halfway-decent plans that the previous owner gave me at the closing.

I didn't build the house in New Hampshire. But watch this video to see how beams and columns can be hidden and partially exposed in a home.

Pay close attention to the blueprints part of the video. Count your lucky stars if you have pages like I did!!

Floor Joists

A simple beam that most people forget about is a traditional floor joist. The normal floor system you may have in your home is simply a collection of beams that span between two points.

Windows and Doors

Over each exterior window and door in your home you'll almost always have a beam. It might be as small as two 2x6s nailed together with a piece of 1/2-inch oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood in between them. Or, it could be three long 2x12s spanning 12, or more, feet!

Beam Span & Species Tables

Beams are complicated beasts. If you decide to use lumber, not all lumber will support the same weight for a given size and species of lumber.

Douglas Fir lumber is stronger than hemlock. There are vast beam sizing tables that allow you to size lumber according to its species and grade. Leave this to professionals. Don't try to do it yourself.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local structural engineers.

Different Beams

The last home I built for my family contained three different types of beams.

It had:

  • 10-inch-high W10 x 31 steel basement I-beams
  • Laminated veneer engineered lumber beams
  • 2x sandwich beams over windows and doors

Laminated Lumber

Laminated lumber beams are made by gluing 2x material on top of one another. Imagine stacking 10 or more 2 x 6's on top of one another.

These beams can be made to enormous sizes and can often be seen as architectural beams in public buildings. St. Vincent Ferrer church in Cincinnati, Ohio had massive laminated beams that supported a massive roof.

Solid Timbers

You can also use a giant sawn timber as a beam. These are found in post and beam construction you'd see in old barns or a simple log home.

Lally Column Video

Here's a video I shot at a new home in New Hampshire. It shows a steel column supporting a wood beam.


My 10-Inch Beams

That is why I chose to use 10-inch-high steel beams in my basement. I don't have steel columns every nine feet in my basement. My steel beams span 15 feet or more without support.

To make sure I didn't hit my head in the basement, I also poured nine foot four inch high foundation walls. This gives me plenty of clearance under my steel beams.

Flitch Beams

Imagine taking a 1/2 inch steel plate and putting it between two 2x10's. This is a flitch beam. You get the benefit of working with wood but the strength of a steel I-beam.

The steel comes from the fabricator with 9/16th-inch holes punched in it. You trace the hole locations onto the 2x material that will be on either side of the steel.

Taking your time to drill countersink holes, you create pockets to install carriage bolts with washers and nuts. You make it all work so the bolt ends are flush with the surface of the 2x material.

Box Beams

You can make a simple box beam by taking plywood and nailing and gluing it to 2x4's or 2x6's. This is called a box beam. I don't like using these unless an engineer calls for it.

Steel is King for Columns & Beams

The strongest of all beam materials is steel. You can span greater distances given the same beam height using steel in lieu of any other material.

The taller the steel beam, the longer distance it can span between columns.

All too often I see small 8-inch-tall steel beams in the basement of homes with steel columns every 8 or 9 feet. This isn't necessary if you go with a taller beam.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local structural engineers.

Column B224

Brick Water Repellents

Posted on by Tim Carter
Brick water repellents

Brick water repellents look like this just after applying. This shine goes away completely once the silane/siloxane water repellent dries.

"These houses and commercial buildings often were constructed using two or three layers of brick or block behind the face brick you'd see on the outside of the wall. The brick in each layer was different."

Brick Water Repellent Checklist

DEAR TIM: I have a problem with my brick veneer house. It develops leaks during wind-driven rains. I can't seem to locate the source of the leaks. I purchased a brick sealer to solve my problem.

I saw water repellents at the store, but the salesperson said they don't work as well. What do you think? B. N.

DEAR B. N.: Slow down! Do you still have the receipt for the sealer? You may need it.

The sealer you purchased may actually harm your brick house. A water repellent may be a better choice.

Are Brick Leaks Normal?

The leaks you're experiencing are normal. Brick walls leak water and are not waterproof. 

Unfortunately, many homeowners think brick walls are waterproof.

Can Brick Absorb Water?

Bricks and mortar have a great capacity to absorb water. Both contain tiny passageways that actually suck water into the wall. Water can also enter through tiny cracks between the bricks and mortar.

You can build a brick wall that does not transfer water to the inside of a home. The way to do this was discovered hundreds of years ago.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters that can apply the special water repellents.

Did Old Brick Buildings Leak?

Old brick buildings did leak water, but the builders knew how to construct them so the water didn't damage the interior of the building.

Water leakage into older homes is rarely noticeable. I'm talking about old brick buildings built before 1900.

How Were the Old Brick Buildings Constructed?

These houses and commercial buildings often were constructed using two or three layers of brick or block behind the face brick you'd see on the outside of the wall. The brick in each layer was different.

The outer brick that was exposed to the weather was fired longer and hotter in the brick kiln. This created a hard brick that had a low water absorption rate.

Were the Hidden Inner Brick Softer?

The inner, hidden, courses of brick in the wall were softer. They were not left in the kiln as long and were not as hard. They soaked up water like a sponge.

When it storms and wind blows rain against the brick wall the water drops are driven into the wall by the weight of the water and the wind pressure. Usually the water passes where the vertical mortar touches the brick.

The soft brick could absorb lots of water.

What Happens to the Water After a Storm?

When the sun appears after the storm, the water is released back into the atmosphere the same way it came into the brick. The breeze and sun pull the water out of the brick like a tow truck pulls a car out of a ditch.

What is Brick Veneer?

Brick veneer is a non-structural layer of brick on the outside of a building. It's only one wythe thick which is why it's considered a veneer.

In your case, you only have one layer of brick. Once this layer has been breached, the water finds its way into your house.

How Bad is the Water Leakage on Brick Veneer?

If you could look behind a brick wall that's being lashed by a wind-driven rainstorm, you'd see water flowing down the backside of the wall. It's one of the downsides to having only one layer of brick.

Where Does Most Water Enter Brick Veneer?

Water may enter through cracks or small holes in the mortar. Pay particular attention to the small vertical (head) joints between each brick. This is the most likely place where water is entering.

The method most modern bricklayers use to butter the one edge of a brick is to cut off the mortar from the bed joint of the brick they just laid and use this to butter the end of the same brick.

This does not fill the vertical joint completely and the bond between the mortar and brick is very narrow because the moisture has already been sucked from the mortar after it was cut off the bed joint.

Are the Vertical Head Joints Filled Solid?

Rarely are these vertical joints filled solid with mortar. When the bricklayer spreads mortar over the tops of the course of brick to lay the next course the mortar often bridges the vertical head joint below. There's no guarantee the joint fills solid with mortar.

Are Horizontal Bed Joints in Brick Solid?

The horizontal joints (bed) in your brick wall are usually filled in solid and resist water penetration. If you find small holes or cracks, repair these before applying any coating.

mortar joint

This is a closeup photo of a horizontal mortar joint between two layers of brick. Note the tiny cracks where wind-driven water can seep into the wall. (C) Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

What are the Types of Brick Coatings?

There are two categories of clear brick coatings:

  • film-forming sealants
  • penetrating water repellents

Film forming sealants create a continuous barrier on the surface of the brick and mortar. They should be avoided if your brick experiences cold weather.

They block the tiny passageways in the brick and mortar. Not only will they stop water from getting into the brick, but they also stop water from getting out. These compounds frequently contain acrylics, mineral waxes (paraffin), urethanes, and silicone resins.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters that can apply the special water repellents.

How Do Brick Sealer Water Repellents Work?

Brick sealer water repellents work in a different way. These products are designed to penetrate deeply into the brick and mortar. Some can reach as far as 3/8 inch past the surface of the brick.

They coat the insides of the tiny passageways in the brick and mortar. However, the passageways remain open allowing the brick and mortar to breathe. These water repellent contain silanes, siloxanes, or a blend of these chemicals.

What is the Best Brick Sealer?

You want a silane-siloxane water repellent brick sealer that's soaks into the brick and mortar. CLICK HERE to get a great one.

silane - siloxane water repellent

This is a magnificent silane - siloxane water repellent that soaks into concrete. CLICK THIS IMAGE NOW TO ORDER IT.

Film forming sealants can cloud and haze over. They can contribute to brick spalling (flaking) in colder climates. Water repellents rarely discolor brick.

Because they soak into the brick and mortar, sunlight has a tough time breaking them down. Check the label on your product to see what chemicals it contains. If it's a film-forming sealant, think long and hard before applying it to your brick.

What is the Best Way to Apply a Brick Sealer?

The best way to apply a brick sealer is with a helper and a backpack leaf blower.

Read the label on the water repellent as they often say once they cure you can't put on a second coat. Some can cure in as little as 15 or 20 minutes.

brick sealer

The brick sealer has been applied on the left side of the wall. You can clearly see the wet edge. Once the water repellent is applied and it dries, the brick look just like they did before you started.

How Many Coats of Brick Sealer Should be Applied?

Many of the products recommend two coats of repellent so you can't get too far ahead of yourself. If the first coat dries, or cures, it will not allow the second coat to penetrate into the mortar joint.

Why Should I Use a Backpack Leaf Blower?

You use the backpack leaf blower to simulate what a fierce storm does. The wind pressure forces rain into the brick. Allow the leaf blower to drive the silane-siloxane water repellent deep into the brick wall. As you spray, your helper blows the repellent into the wall right behind you.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters that can apply the special water repellents.

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Stair Trim Molding

Posted on by Tim Carter
Stair Trim Molding

Look at this detail. This is my actual main staircase. The trim molding on the sloping stringer was cut off the top of a piece of baseboard. You can see how the stringer of the staircase appears to just bend over the front edge of the landing and continue as a piece of baseboard on the landing. © 2017 Tim Carter

Stair Trim Molding TIPS

DEAR TIM: I have wasted about 25 linear feet of solid-wood baseboard trying to get perfect cuts. The problem is not in the rooms, but as I try to extend the trim moldings up the stairs of my house.

No matter how I set my miter saw, the angles I cut do not work. Surely there must be an easy way to determine what the angle must be. How do you do install stair trim moldings? Brian K., Levittown, NY

DEAR BRIAN: With the current cost of solid-wood trim going up instead of down, your failed carpentry experiments are death on a stick. You simply can't afford to make mistakes when using expensive trim moldings.

The sad fact is the answer to your dilemma was staring right at you the entire time. Your first piece of scrap trim molding, a pencil and 15 seconds of time would have produced an exact template of the angles that needed to be cut.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local finish carpenters that can show you how to do this.

No Need For Geometry

Cutting stair trim moldings at precise angles can, and does, bring back memories of failed high school geometry tests to many a homeowner who tackles difficult carpentry tasks on an irregular basis.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing is the mental picture one often has of how the trim looks like in another person's house, but not being able to determine just how those simple angles are duplicated.

If you go back to the stairs and look at the flat landing and the stair stringer along the wall, you'll note that the top edge of the sloping stair stringer and the horizontal floor meet at a point.

The bottom of each of the two pieces of trim will indeed meet at this precise point. But the meeting point of the top of the trim pieces is shrouded in mystery.

Custom Trim Moldings Video

You may not realize it, but you can get molding custom made. If you don't like the trim selections at the lumber yard, and big-box home centers have the WORST selection, then consider having custom trim milled for you home.

WATCH THIS VIDEO:

Trace the Trim

To determine where the tops of the two trim pieces meet up on the wall, you need to use a small piece of the wasted trim you generated. This stair trim molding can be as little as one-foot long to serve as the tool you need.

Sloping Steps Baseboard

I've already drawn the pencil line that is parallel with the landing using the piece of white sloping baseboard you see as the guide. The white baseboard is now in place on the stringer and you can see how the top crosses the horizontal pencil line. Trace the top edge of the baseboard now so the two pencil marks cross one another. Remove the baseboard and draw a line from the top intersection point of the two lines down to the point on the stair stringer where it transitions from flat to sloped. This line represents the miter joint between the two pieces of finished trim. © 2017 Tim Carter

 

Place the piece of trim on the flat landing and extend the bottom of the trim 3 inches over the point where the sloping stringer meets the landing. Use a very sharp pencil and trace a line along the top of the entire piece of scrap trim.

Now place the trim on the sloping stringer and slide it up so the bottom of the trim projects up past the flat landing. Do so until the top of the trim intersects the pencil line you just drew on the wall. Use your pencil to trace a second line along the top of the sloped piece of trim.

Draw the Miter

Because the top and bottom of the stair trim are parallel, the two pencil lines you created with the trim will be parallel with the sloping stringer and the flat landing.

Use a straightedge to connect the point where the two pencil lines meet to the point where the top of the sloped stringer meets the flat landing. This angled line represents the cut line you will create on both pieces of trim.

You don't need a fancy angle finder to determine the angle. I prefer to cut test pieces of trim and see how they fit before transferring the angles to long pieces of expensive trim.

Mark & Cut Test Pieces

Take two pieces of the scrap trim and cut each one about one-foot long. Place one piece on the sloped stringer and slide it up the stringer until the tip of the trim just touches the intersection of the two pencil lines.

Hold the trim piece in this position and carefully make a mark on the bottom of this piece of trim where the sloped stringer meets the landing.

Place the piece of trim flat on the floor and use the straightedge to create a line across the face of the trim from the tip of the trim to the mark you just made on the bottom of the trim.

Place the trim in your miter saw so it lays flat and rotate the blade until the blade is parallel with the pencil line. Turn on the saw and make a precise cut along this line.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local finish carpenters that can show you how to do this.

Check out these obtuse angle cuts on the same stair trim molding at the bottom of the staircase where the stairs dive into the first floor. © 2017 Tim Carter

Do this exact same exercise with the other piece of scrap trim as it sits on the landing. Once these two pieces of trim are cut and placed in position, the two angled cuts should meet perfectly and no filler should be needed at the joint. If you do this successfully, consider yourself a journeyman carpenter!

Obtuse Too

This method of bisecting the angle works in just about any situation where two straight lines meet at any given angle. In the case of an ascending set of stairs and a landing, the intersection produces an obtuse angle that creates short cuts across the face of the trim molding.

But the opposite happens on the small triangular wall where the stairs dive into the first floor. In this situation the baseboard trim and the matching trim on the underside of the stringer, not the top, create an acute angle.

The method of determining the cut angle is exactly the same as you attempt to figure out on the wall where the tops of the two moldings intersect.

Long Cuts Work

The cut angle across the face of the trim molding can be very long and one would think the two pieces of trim would never meet precisely. But if the angle is calculated correctly, the cuts are perfect and the resulting cuts produce a tight fit. If you don't believe me, stop by for a visit and look at my entrance hall staircase.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local finish carpenters that can show you how to do this.

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Removing Ceramic Tile

Posted on by Tim Carter
removing tile floor

Removing ceramic tile and removing tile floor is easy with the right tools. © 2018 Tim Carter

"The first thing to do is stop hitting the tile with a hammer... Each hammer strike creates conchoidal fractures in the tile. The resulting shards have smooth curved edges that are just like a chipped-flint arrowhead and come at you like a bullet."

Removing Ceramic Tile TIPS

  • Do NOT use a hammer removing tile floor
  • Chip off tile at a low angle
  • Stiff wide putty knife superb
  • WATCH Tile Removal VIDEOS Below
  • CLICK HERE to Get Tim's FREE & FUNNY Newsletter!

DEAR TIM: It's time to remove the 18-year-old ceramic tile in one of my bathrooms. The tile is a smaller octagonal tile that is adhered to a cement board which is nailed to my wood subfloors.  I need to know how to remove tile from a wall.

I tried breaking the tile with a hammer, but the tile shatters into what look to be pieces of glass.

Is there a way to easily remove the tile from the cement board? What is the fastest and easiest way to remove the ceramic tile? What about wall tile? Debbie P., Wilmington, NC

Related Links

Remove Grout from Ceramic Tile

Repair Wall After Tile Removal

DEAR DEBBIE: I don't know if there is a best way to remove the ceramic tile. Each tile reacts differently to force, and the different types of adhesive can make the chore difficult to nearly impossible.

Over the years, I have taken up more than my fair share of ceramic tile, and there are several tricks that I have learned. I've got two great wall-tile removal videos for you below!

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local handymen who can remove ceramic tile for you.

Should I Use A Hammer Removing Tile Floor?

No, don't use a hammer when removing the ceramic tile.

The first thing to do is stop hitting the tile with a hammer. Based upon your description of the tile, it sounds as if you are dealing with porcelain tile. Porcelain tile is extremely hard and has a very high quartz content. These characteristics cause it to react as if it were glass. Each hammer strike creates conchoidal fractures in the tile. The resulting shards have smooth curved edges that are just like a chipped-flint arrowhead and come at you like a bullet. These edges can be razor sharp, so be extremely careful.

What are Good Tile Removal Tools?

The following is a list of good tile removal tools:

Click the image below to BUY all, or some, of the tools in the above list.

Ceramic Tool List

CLICK THIS IMAGE NOW TO ORDER ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO DO CERAMIC TILE.

How Do You Remove Tile From Cement Board?

There are a few ways to remove tile from cement board. Watch this video for an easy way.


You're in luck that your tile has adhered to cement board. This will make the job somewhat easy.

Many years ago, ceramic tile was commonly adhered to fresh concrete that was poured between the floor joists of houses.

The tiles were actually mortared to the concrete mix, and once cured, the tiles and concrete became one unit. The only way to remove this matrix of material is to use a four-pound hammer and lots of muscle power. It's miserable work.

How Do You Remove Cement Board?

You can use a flat spade to pry up cement board. You can also use a wicked tool that resembles a trident. Watch this video to see the technique of driving the tool under the cement board.


If you are trying to remove the tile so as to save the cement board, it is a waste of time in my opinion. It is grueling work to try to remove ceramic tile in an effort to salvage inexpensive cement board.

Get this Honey Badger Demolition Fork you see in the video above. CLICK or TAP the image below to have it delivered to your home.

honey badger demo fork

CLICK or TAP here or the image to have this Honey Badger delivered to your home. 

I feel it is a far better idea to remove the cement board and tile all at the same time. You want to start removing tile where the ceramic tile ends and a different flooring material, such as carpet or hardwood flooring, begins. Don't try to start this job in the middle of the ceramic tile floor.

How Do You Get the Tool Under the Cement Board?

To remove the cement board and tile at the same time, you may have to remove some of the tile and cement board separately at first. I use the small hammer and putty knife for this task. Individual ceramic tiles come off a floor or wall with less effort if you remove the grout surrounding the tile.

The edge of the stiff putty knife can be used to pulverize and remove the grout. You can also use small electric tools with special grinding wheels to do the same thing.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local handymen who can remove ceramic tile for you.

What is the Best Angle When Removing Tile Floor?

It's best to drive a tool under the tile at a low angle.

Once the grout is removed from around a tile, try to pop the tile off the cement board by driving the stiff putty knife under the tile at a low angle. The blade of the putty knife should be nearly parallel with the floor. Strike the end of the putty knife gently with the hammer.

remove tile floor

This is an excellent bent-blade 3-inch putty knife. It's got a chiseled edge to get a bite right away. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO BUY IT.

The tile will either break in several pieces, or it may pop off all at once. Try to remove an area of tile from the floor that is about 8 inches wide and perhaps 2 inches from the flooring material that touches up against the tile.

How Do You Create A Hole in Cement Board?

Strike the cement board with your hammer to pulverize it. It will take a few hammer blows to achieve this, but the cement board will disintegrate. Remove the debris so the wood floor is exposed. I prefer to use a wet-dry vacuum to get up all of the small debris.

Removing Ceramic Tile With a Garden Spade

Take the flat garden spade and drive it between the wood subfloor and the cement board. Try to get about 6 inches of the spade under the cement board. Lift up on the handle to lift the cement board.

removing ceramic tile

You can't get a better garden spade. It's got an arched back so it won't bend. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO BUY IT.

Move the spade left or right if possible to start to pop up the cement board from the wood subfloor. Once you get the cement board to move up, it will readily detach from the wood subfloor as you drive the spade farther under the cement board and tile.

The roofing nails used to attach the cement board to the wood subfloor will be somewhat problematic. You will feel them as you try to move the spade under the cement board. When this happens, move the spade left or right to try to bypass the nails.

Are Cement Board Nails Easy to Remove?

Yes, cement board nails are easy to remove if the nails have a smooth shank.

They will offer little resistance to lifting forces. The trick is to create a gap between the cement board and the wood subfloor. Once you can get the cement board to lift up, it is only a matter of moving the spade farther under the cement board and then using the spade as a lever to pry the cement board off the wood subfloor.

If the tile contractor screwed down the cement board and used thinset under it to fill hollow spots, you're screwed. You'll be beating it all out with a 4-pound hammer.

Wall Tile Removal Videos

 

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local handymen who can remove ceramic tile for you.

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