Laying Tile Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

When extending an existing ceramic tile floor into an addition, it is important to keep the grout lines straight and in line. Don’t trust your eye. You won’t be able to keep these lines straight by just eyeballing them. You have to create guidelines to follow.

One method is to use a regular chalk line to make your lines. Place a loose tile on the existing tile floor and wrap the chalk line around the tile, hooking the line to the underside of the tile. Pull the string tight and line the string up with the edge of an existing tile. Run the string down to the end of the existing tile floor and first check to see if the original tiles are in line. If so, you are in luck. Make a mark on the concrete floor just beyond the existing tile and directly under the chalk line.

Then extend the chalk line all the way to the end of the room and line it up with the existing grout line and the mark you made. Mark the location of the string when it is all set. Then place a heavy object on the string to hold it in place. Make additional marks under the string at several locations.

Then using a level or straight edge, draw your line along those marks. By drawing the line with a pencil, you are a thinner, crisper line. This is easier to follow then a chalk line. Plus it will not be erased as easily as a chalk line.

DeWALT Wet Saw Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

Tim examines a new DeWALT Wet Saw with diamond blade for cutting ceramic tile. These saws are good when you have to trim a small piece off a ceramic tile, because you can’t snap it off. This saw is also good for making an L-shaped cut in tile.

Ceramic wet saws feature a blade that is a lot different from a blade used for cutting wood. The ceramic wet saw blade does not have any teeth. It has small pieces of diamonds embedded on the cutting edge. These diamond pieces cut the ceramic tile, slate tiles or granite.

It is imperative that you keep the saw blade wet all the time when cutting tile. This wet saw features its own recirculating pump and reservoir. This water coolant keeps both the tile and the saw blade cool, increasing the life of the diamond blade.

This saw pivots up and down and tilts left and right to make cuts at 22-1/2 or 45 degrees. The saw itself is mounted on rail and it travels the length of the piece of tile being cut. The base features a rubber surface that when wet holds the tile in place while it is being cut. There is a built-in miter gage for assisting in cutting a tile at 45 degrees.

A diamond wet-saw will make those thin cuts or angled cuts easier. Check them out.

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Thinset On Concrete Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

When you are ready to install ceramic tile on a concrete slab, here a few of Tim’s tips for proper installation. The first tip when working on a concrete floor is to wear knee pads or a kneeing stool. This will protect your knees over the long haul.

The next tip is to use a crack isolation membrane between the concrete floor and you ceramic tile. If you are matching the height of an existing tile floor, this might not be possible.

Next, apply a layer of thinset down on the concrete. The thinset, when cured, will have a very hard surface for the ceramic tile. This will put the tile from pulling down, due to weight or foot traffic, and end up cracking. Before applying the thinset, be sure the floor is clean and smooth, then take a sponge and some clear water, lightly sponge off the area where you are working. This will remain any remaining dust on the floor. Be sure the floor does not end up too wet.

Use a notched trowel to smooth the thinset to a uniform thickness. Hold the trowel at a 45 degree angle to ensure that you do not scrape off the thinset, making it too thin. Be sure to keep the thinset off existing tiles.

Then press your tile down into the thinset, keeping the edge of the tile parallel with your guideline. Getting the concrete slab a little damp before laying the thinset and tile will increase the bonding between the thinset and the concrete.

Thinset For Ceramic Tile Floors Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

Mixing thinset is needed when you are laying ceramic tile. It is a powder that comes in 50 pound bags. It looks a lot like cement. And a little dusty when pouring it from the bag into the mixing bucket.

The bag will be marked with thin-set mortar. It is available in either gray or white. The white thin-set is useful if you are putting down a white floor. Just in case some of the thinset surfaces between the ceramic tiles.

Thinset is basically Portland cement powder and very fine silica sand. When mixed with water, it makes like a miniature concrete. That’s important when putting down ceramic floor tile. Why? If you were to use spreadable floor mastics, that look like cake icing, the mastic never really gets hard. Thus if you walk on the floor tile or place something very heavy on a tile, it could crack. That does not happen with thin-set. When thinset cures after about a day or two, it is just like concrete.

Some thinsets have water-based, powdered glues, called acrylic hardeners or modifiers, that make the thin-set very sticky. But regular thin-set, when mixed right, is very sticky.

All you have to do is a water to the thin-set powder. Use a mixing knife or a very stiff putty knife, as the mixture gets very density. A flexible blade could bend or break off while mixing. Slowly add the water a little at a time, stir and check to see if you have the right consistency. The proper consistency should be like pancake batter. Thick, but pourable. Don’t get it too wet, slowly add water and continue stirring.

Thinset works well in ceramic tile showers. Only mix up enough thinset that you can put down on the floor and cover with tile in 15 minutes. If it sits in the bucket too long, it will start to crystalize and hard. If you add more water to it, called retempering, that is bad. Only mix enough that you can use in that time frame.

Wet Saw Indoors Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

If faced with wet cutting tile and you have to do it indoors, don’t just pray to the remodeling gods. Get a wet saw enclosure. The water spray will hit the wall, fall into the catch basin and then drip into a bucket under the saw.

You can cut your tile inside and not have water spray all over the place.

Removing Drywall Tip Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

You remove drywall with some effort. To take down large sheets get a wide pry bar under it at stud locations.

Remove Drywall

Revised February 2018

When getting ready to tear down drywall, it's fun to do demolition work. But don’t make this rookie mistake.

In the corners, the drywall probably has a paper tape that bends around the corner. You don’t want to mess up the other wall, you are not removing. If you just tear into the drywall and begin pulling it out, you will tear into the corner tape and pull it from the other wall.

Wall Removal Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

Wall Removal

Before taking down a wall, be sure it is not a load bearing wall or a supporting wall. There are some clues that will assist you with your decision. But first, the adjoining wall is a bearing load. Why? In the next room, there is a big box on the ceiling. There is probably a big beam behind the beam. Therefore, the wall under the beam should be a load bearing wall.

Back in the other room, the big box covering the beam is not there. So, the floor joists are probably running the opposite direct from the room with the beam. But that alone does not mean that the wall to be removed is a non-load bearing wall. Have to do some more checking. Check the floor above the wall to see if there is something on top of it.

In the room above the wall to be removed, there is nothing about that wall. More proof that is probably not a load bearing wall. More checking is still needed. If you have a set of blueprints for your house, check for a structural page, some times marked with an S in the title block. The blueprints will show the direction of the floor joists and the location of that support beam.

Since the floor joists are not located on top of that wall, it is not a support wall and it can be removed. One last check - use a stud finder to be sure the floor joists are running the direction as indicated in the blueprints.

If you are not sure after doing these checks, be sure to call a residential structural engineer. Don’t make a mistake and collapse you house. Check first and be sure.

Featured in the June 5, 2016 AsktheBuilder Newsletter.

Ice Safety Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

(Jaws music theme playing in the background.) Tim is heading out onto the ice on Lake Winnisquam. He has a phobia about falling through the ice and drown. There are many accidents of that nature every year. So, he wants to be sure about the ice thickness and ice safety.

But first, this was filmed on March 13, 2009. That is Friday the 13th!!! Aside from the fear of Friday the 13th, mid-March is a dangerous time of the year to be out on the ice. As the temperature changes, the ice thickness changes rapidly also.

To check the ice thickness, Tim will venture out onto the ice where he knows the water depth is not over his head. So even if he does fall through, he will be okay - water depth wise. He is hoping that the videographer will help save him. (The camera shakes "No.")

The state of Minnesota has a great web site that provides information regarding ice thickness and safety. For example, 4 inch thick, clear ice is more then enough thickness to walk on safely. Ice 12 inches thick can support a pickup truck.

To check the thickness, find a spot where you are comfortable with the water depth under the ice. Use a cordless drill with a chip auger bit. Tim is using a 16 inch long drill bit, measured from the chuck. Drill your test hole. Tim has drilled down until 5 inches of the chip auger drill bit is still showing. That means that the ice is 11 inches thick near the shore line. However, the thickness of the ice can change in different locations on the lake. Be sure to check different locations and each day.

Be safe. Check the ice and have all the proper equipment in case you happen to fall through.

Ice Drilling Video

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

Tim shows you a creative use of a cordless drill and a chip auger bit. The chip auger bit can be used to check the thickness of ice on a lake.

Drill into the lake ice until you run out of bit or reach the bottom of the ice. In this case, the auger bit was 16 inches long coming out of the cordless drill chuck. And the drill bit did not break through the bottom of the ice. So it is at least 16 inches thick in the middle of March in New Hampshire.

The lakes stay cold for a long time in the Northeast. You can use your cordless drill to check the ice thickness.

LED Flashlight

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: An LED flashlight is on my must-have list of tools to buy. Do LED flashlights really live up to all the marketing hype? I want a bright LED flashlight, so do they come in different intensities? Can you get a super-bright LED flashlight? What other features should I look for as I shop for these fascinating flashlights? Stan S., Kirkland, AZ

DEAR STAN: I have more than one white LED flashlight, and they’ve become my favorite ones. I don’t think I’d invest money in a company that makes those tiny incandescent bulbs you find in traditional flashlights as LED flashlights will surely become the standard, if they aren’t already.

You mentioned that you want a bright LED flashlight. I don’t think they come any other way. In fact, many people complain LEDs are too bright. I find that the beam, when directed into my eyes, can be painful. You absolutely can buy LED flashlights that produce different intensities of light. The usual measurement of brightness is lumens.

These LED flashlights produce powerful beams of white, red and green light. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

I have a fabulous LED headlight that has a powerful beam that measures 100 lumens. It has a switch that allows me to produce less light if the main beam is too intense. Other flashlights I own produce 80 lumens and one smaller inspection LED flashlight produces just 25 lumens. This small LED flashlight is not much bigger than a cigar, but 25 lumens is a lot of light! I also like this small light because the case isn’t round. If I set the flashlight on a sloped surface, it doesn’t roll away.

There are many features you should look for. Some depend on what you intend to do with the tool. For example, I own one LED flashlight that requires no batteries. It’s a crank LED flashlight. Inside the tool is a miniature generator and a battery. You wind it up, and it makes light. This is great for a car or camping when you feel you need to store a flashlight, but don’t want to be hassled wondering if the batteries will be charged when you need the tool.

Look for LED flashlights that are impact tested. This means that if you drop it from some height, it will still operate. Some that I own will survive a 15-foot drop. That’s pretty impressive as far as I’m concerned. I want durability, not a fragile flashlight that stops working if I drop it just three feet from my hand to the ground.

I would look for a red LED flashlight. That doesn’t mean the outer case is red, it means that the tool has red LEDs. These special flashlights have one or more LEDs that produce red light. Red light is easier on your eyes at night because when it’s dark, the pupils of your eye dilate to accept more light. The red light is not as intense and allows you to illuminate objects while your pupils stay dilated.

If you use harsh white light at night when viewing something up close, your eyes react negatively. I’m sure you’ve had this happen to you when driving at night. If an idiot approaches you with their high-beam headlights on, you lose your night vision as you pupils contract because of the massive amounts of light entering your eyes. Two of my LED flashlights have both the white LEDs and these red ones. In fact, they have a third unique LED that’s green!

The green LED in two of my flashlights is very remarkable. Green light, as opposed to white light, is the most friendly light for our eyes. Scientists have told me that the human eye response is peaked at a wave length of about 555 nanometers. Green light is visible anywhere from 490 to 560 nanometers. This green light improves depth perception and contrast. If you use green light to inspect things for cracks, slight imperfections, etc., you’ll see them faster and easier than if you use bright white light. I never knew that!

Absolutely get LED flashlights that are waterproof or water resistant. You never know when you’ll be out in the rain or working in a damp area. All of my flashlights are water resistant.

Consider getting a headlight LED flashlight. This is one that you wear on your forehead like a miner. The one I have has comfortable elastic straps that adjust easily. The light itself swivels up and down so it’s easy to adjust where the beam of light is focused. Using this light allows me to work with both hands and the light is always where I’m looking. I love my headlight flashlight and kick myself for not getting it years ago. Mine is equipped with white, red and green LEDs!

A rechargeable LED flashlight is not a bad idea, but make sure you plan to use it where you always have access to power. Once these tools run out of stored power, they are useless until recharged. That’s my only complaint - the fact that while recharging, you have no light at all.

The LED flashlights typically use less battery power as the LEDs simply can produce more light with less energy than a traditional incandescent bulb. But the more LEDs you have in your tool, and the more lumens they produce, they can burn through batteries. Always pack extra batteries. I love using the newer rechargeable AA and AAA batteries in my LED flashlights. I always have plenty of fully charged batteries on hand.

Below are Amazon.com affiliate links for these LED Flashlights.

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Wall Removal

Expert Advice For Your Home