Expert Answers in Ceramic and Porcelain Tile

ANSWER – The white material on the back of the tile is called engobe.  It is a ceramic pasted that is applied to the back of the tile for the firing process so the tiles do…

ANSWER –  It sounds like a real mystery.   The only time you get a puddle of water on your bathroom floor near your toilet is when you shut off the water supply to the house…

ANSWER –  The Daltile Avondale West Tower product looks to be an unglazed/through-body porcelain tile.  It comes in polished and unpolished.  I am assuming you have the unpolished material.  Porcelain tile is very durable.  Unglazed…

ANSWER – Generally speaking, cement based mortars should be fully cured within 28 days assuming it isn’t raining or is in cold temperatures.

I would expect that an interior installation of a cementitious grout should…

ANSWER –  If the tile was installed correctly, it should not be harmed by a flood caused by a water heater failure.  There is no way the water could have migrated 10-15 feet below the…

ANSWER – If the original tile installation was installed with a particular Thin-set mortar, then the repair should have been made with the same mortar or a rapid version of the same thin-set mortar.

Mastic…

ANSWER – I am guessing that you had a through-body/unglazed porcelain tile since you said it was a matte finished porcelain tile and you said that the installers were able to grind the surface to…

ANSWER – When there is a problem it normally is not due to one deficiency, but due to multiple compounding deficiencies.

You state that the peel and stick moisture barrier was properly installed.  If if…

ANSWER – What you are referring to is the Pot-Life, which refers to how long the mortar stays workable inside the bucket, and Open-Time, which refers to how long the mortar stays workable as you…

ANSWER – I am assuming that you are saying that you will be installing a porcelain tile over cementitious backer board that you will be attaching to a hardwood floor.

Make sure the floor does…