Welcome back to our latest Pro-Follow series focused on how to refinish hardwood floors. Refinishing a hardwood floor is a great way to bring new life to a floor that is showing too much wear and tear or if the finish is no longer protecting the floor. It’s also a necessary part of extending an existing hardwood floor like we showcase here.All of our Pro-Follow articles are the result of shadowing expert, professional contractors on actual job sites. There’s no better way to learn about home improvement than straight from... 

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This is a comprehensive guide with detailed instructions for installing a ceramic or porcelain tile floor. Below you’ll find tutorials for every step of the process, with expert knowledge and tips from professional tile contractors. Read on for links to the individual articles and recommended tools for laying tile. We hope you enjoy the series!This series covers everything for installing a ceramic or porcelain tile floor, including leveling the floor, installing underlayment, marking guides, laying tile and grouting joints. Just... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsGrouting tile joints is last step for installing a tile floor, and what better way to learn than from two seasoned, professional tile installers. Jim and Rich are the guys from Diamond Tile located here in Maryland, and each of them have over 27 years of experience laying tile.... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsIf you’re just joining us, we’ve been working through a series of articles all about installing a tile floor, and I’ve partnered Jim and Rich from Diamond Tile here in Maryland. Jim and Rich are expert tile contractors, and at this point the floor has been “leveled”,... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsWelcome back to another Pro-Follow. I’ve been working with Jim and Rich from Diamond Tile as they tile Fred & Kim’s basement floor, and it’s been great to see how professional tile contractors tackle this job. The guys have finished installing DITRA, and... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsCement board replaces the old plaster and lathe underlayment for tile. It’s a lot easier to work with preformed cement board rather than laying a bed of mortar on the job site, and it still carries the same great qualities. Cement board is moisture and mold resistant,... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsThere’s a lot of information (and mis-information) online about what constitutes a suitable subfloor for tile, and it’s tough to find a clear answer. The difficulty is that tile can be installed over a number of substrates, and each requires specific preparations... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsEven a perfectly level subfloor won’t guarantee a beautiful, long-lasting tile floor. Stresses between the concrete or wood subfloor can still cause tiles to crack and delaminate and for grout joints to crumble. For example, wood expands and contracts with seasonal changes.... 

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Tile Subfloor, Thickness, Deflection Installing Electric Radiant Heat Pouring Self Leveling Mortar Leveling (Flattening) the Subfloor Installing Cement Board (CBU) Installing Schluter DITRA Marking Guidelines for Tile How to Lay Tile How to Grout Tile JointsBefore laying tile or installing a tile underlayment like Schluter DITRA, it’s important to check the subfloor to ensure a flat, even surface. At its worst, a very uneven floor will result in broken or loose tiles and cracked grout joints. Slightly uneven floors can cause... 

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This past week Fred, Kim and I were able to tackle another project for the official OPC workshop. We applied an epoxy garage floor coating to cover those ugly oil stains and give the shop a nice, polished look. I’m amazed at the difference the floor makes and would recommend an epoxy coating for anyone looking to class-up their garage, basement or other concrete surface. Read on to learn how we did it and a few tips to remember when you start this project. Editors Note: A lot of readers have found this article helpful in transforming... 

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