Expert Answers in

ANSWER – Hiring the right installer is the difference between a delightful result and a nightmare.  Most installers don’t go to school to learn the trade, so even with good intentions, more often than not…

ANSWER – There is a lot of natural stone sold as granite that is not true granite.  Due to the large demand for stone today, stone that would not have been sold or used before is…

ANSWER – The ceramic tile you described is either a glazed porcelain tile or an unglazed porcelain tile.  Either way the surface of the tile is technically impervious with an absorption rate of less than…

ANSWER:   I assume this is an interior application.

There are products that will allow you to bond ceramic tile to exterior grade plywood, but it is not considered the best substrate to bond to.  It…

ANSWER – Beware of exterior decks and particularly when they are over a wood substrate.  There are many exterior deck failures that become very expensive to replace.

The TCNA handbook does not show an exterior…

ANSWER – If there is a crack in the ceramic tile floor you need to determine what caused it to determine how to fix it.

It could be the tile had voids or was not…

ANSWER – I can’t really determine if your floor is sturdy enough for the Travertine tiles by your description.  If your floor isn’t sturdy enough it can be adjusted to be sturdier.

The concern on…

ANSWER – I’m not sure what you mean by “my zoning officer has informed me that I am now over my impervious coverage for my property.”

Travertine is not an impervious stone rather it is…

ANSWER – It appears the tile installers subjected the counter top to excessive movement during their tile installation.  The seam of the granite is a weak point so the force it was subjected to was…

ANSWER – The easiest way to remove a cement film off flagstone or tile is using an acid if done correctly.  If there is thick excess grout on the flagstone then that should be scraped…