Discover the cornerstone of any successful home building project: uncompromising quality. I'm Chris Kerby, your expert navigator in the complex universe of construction, here to arm you with insider tips and tricks in the tile industry that will transform your approach to home remodeling. Whether you're wrestling with the nuances of grout sealing or the precision required for large format tile installation, this episode is your go-to resource. We'll explore how the right sealant can shield your shower from the ravages of discoloration, and I'll shed light on mastering the art of lippage avoidance, ensuring your tile work stands as a testament to craftsmanship.
Prepare to elevate your skill set as we break down the allure and challenges of handling those awe-inspiring 24 by 68-inch tiles. With the right tools and techniques in your arsenal, the fear of breakage and improper installation becomes a thing of the past. We'll delve deep into the desirable properties of porcelain tiles in large formats and forecast the future of this enduring trend. Plus, don't miss the 'Shop Talk' segment where a co-host joins the conversation, dissecting the hottest topics and sparking dialogue that resonates with professionals and amateurs alike. Join us and contribute to the online discussion as we lay the foundation for excellence in home building and remodeling together.
Discover the cornerstone of any successful home building project: uncompromising quality. I'm Chris Kerby, your expert navigator in the complex universe of construction, here to arm you with insider tips and tricks in the tile industry that will transform your approach to home remodeling. Whether you're wrestling with the nuances of grout sealing or the precision required for large format tile installation, this episode is your go-to resource. We'll explore how the right sealant can shield your shower from the ravages of discoloration, and I'll shed light on mastering the art of lippage avoidance, ensuring your tile work stands as a testament to craftsmanship.
Prepare to elevate your skill set as we break down the allure and challenges of handling those awe-inspiring 24 by 68-inch tiles. With the right tools and techniques in your arsenal, the fear of breakage and improper installation becomes a thing of the past. We'll delve deep into the desirable properties of porcelain tiles in large formats and forecast the future of this enduring trend. Plus, don't miss the 'Shop Talk' segment where a co-host joins the conversation, dissecting the hottest topics and sparking dialogue that resonates with professionals and amateurs alike. Join us and contribute to the online discussion as we lay the foundation for excellence in home building and remodeling together.
The Home Building and Remodeling Show. Let's go. Welcome everybody to the Home Building and Remodeling Show. My name is Chris Kirby and I'll be your host. I am the owner of three construction companies on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The show is about residential construction. We're going to cover topics of home building and remodeling. Are you thinking of doing a remodel or building a home? Are you a contractor looking to improve your knowledge base or grow your business? Have you ever done a remodel project or built a home? There were so many things you wish you knew or that you could have done differently during the process. Then this show is for you. We break down the process of building and remodeling and how to have the best results during your project. Whether you're a DIYer looking for tips, someone looking to hire a contractor to do a project, or a contractor looking to expand your knowledge base or your business, welcome aboard. Glad to have you. Stay tuned.
Speaker 1:
We kick off the show with my thoughts on home building and remodeling. I'll share best practices and talk about some of our experiences in business and out in the field. These shared thoughts and lessons learned are meant to help you on your very own journey. Let's go. So our month of May, we've been focusing on tile, and a lot of the intro to our podcast is just me generally giving some business tips and some advice to the contractors out there, and I wanted to continue that theme as we continue to hit on tile tile trends with our interior designers and also we're talking about tile installation and best practices, and one of the and one of the biggest things that you know I wanted to hit on was quality, and what we've been looking at is, you know, we don't always want to win every job. It's just not feasible and I feel like if you are winning every job, you're probably not charging enough, and I know that's easy to say and you may have heard that a lot, but it's the truth and, honestly, if you start to negotiate your price down too much, you're going to lose money and you may win the job, but you're losing money and, honestly, you don't want to be known for being the cheapest contractor as you're going through and starting your journey, because a lot of what we talk to are people who are just beginning their careers in the contracting industry. You know, my best advice for you is just to make sure that you have integrity, that you're honest.
Speaker 1:
Accountability is something that lacks in our industry, and I say accountability because even in our company we get it wrong. You know we set deadlines, we talk about process, we try our best to make sure that things flow smoothly, we have meetings, and so I don't want you to get it twisted that I have all the answers, because I just do not. And you know I've been reading a lot of leadership books lately, and one in particular. You know, john Maxwell, where you know he just talks about how he would have made a lot of dumb decisions had it not been for the people he surrounded himself with. And that's the way I feel. I have a lot of experts that work for me, that are experts and craftsmen and women in their field. I don't have all the answers. However, I lean on them heavily and, as a brand new tile contractor, if you don't have that, seek that, find a mentor. In our industry, mentorship is lacking and I feel like the best advice I can give you as a brand new contractor is to find somebody to emulate, find somebody that you can talk to, that can guide you as you break away.
Speaker 1:
You have to think of the reason that you wanted to start your own company. Was it because you felt like you were underappreciated? Was it because you felt like you weren't getting paid enough? Did you feel like they weren't listening to you? Or do you just sincerely think you've outgrown the company and that you want to start your own business because you would make more or have more freedom? Or you know, one of those things is usually why people start their own company.
Speaker 1:
And I'll be honest with you the business side, I feel, is why most contractors fail. It's not because they can't do the work. You can do the work. You were the number one or you were somebody's right hand and you can do the work. It's the management, it's managing the time, finding the work, finding help. Also, you know, it's one of those situations where you think it's easy until you do it.
Speaker 1:
And then you walk a mile in the shoes of a business owner and you understand especially a small business owner just starting out just how hard it is easier to just be able to do the work and go home at night with a workload that's accomplished than it is to run everything else. You know it doesn't all the leads that come in and keeping work on the books is hard, especially when you just started now and you're not well established as your own company. So one of the biggest things I can say to all the tile contractors and contractors in general just starting out is to find a mentor, and that's something that I didn't have. Yeah, I had people with technical skill, but I just didn't have a mentor that reached out and said hey, let me guide you through X Y Z in business, because I'm telling you right now, the business side of things is where most people fail Cashflow, financials, work, lead generation.
Speaker 1:
There are so many things to do when you run a small business, especially if you're going to do it right Paying taxes, paying Uncle Sam, making sure that you find you know you find quality help, these things retaining that person, making sure they're going to show up, making sure they don't embarrass you on the job site, you know, doing the actual work itself, and then finding time to sit down and not only go and do an estimate, but when are you going to write the estimate? And now we move into Shop Talk. It's the portion of the show where I bring in a co-host and we cover trending topics in home building and remodeling.
Speaker 2:
Hope you enjoy. Let's go. Oh yeah, it makes that good. You spread it and then within three or four minutes it's locking up on you and then you got issues when you're trying to clean it up well, so it, so the you can do it too thick, too thin, like too watery, different things like that, it'll mess up, I mean have. You need them, so they sell a one gallon um the smaller buckets home depot.
Speaker 1:
Yes, that has the measuring where you can measure gotcha and do it correctly yeah, so they'll tell you consistency, just like if you're cooking food, right, those ingredients, how you mix them and how you stir it up.
Speaker 2:
All of that stuff matters yeah, I mean, some of them want you to mix for a certain amount of time. Let it rest.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, mix again yeah, and let it rest. I noticed that when I was filming justin doing he was doing that subway tile out there on the new construction, he was definitely following. You know, I guess that all set has like a 10 minute setup time and so that stuff does matter, right.
Speaker 2:
I mean especially with the all set, because if you mix it to their specifications it gets real fluffy and it makes it lighter actually and easier to work with. I yeah, it gets real fluffy and it makes it lighter actually and easier to work with.
Speaker 1:
I got you Okay, so it's actually easier to follow the instructions. Right, it performs how it's supposed to. Yeah, okay. And sometimes if you don't do that part right and you know we like to warranty our work, but that stuff matters in the warranty for them as well. For that Sluder stuff, right, you have to use the Allset. Right, it's not negotiable, that's their product that they want you to use.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, because you're going to turn in the SKUs from all the back, every product that you so you could actually void the warranty with something as simple as not following the instructions.
Speaker 1:
Okay, all right. So the grout process is important.
Speaker 2:
Very important. Yeah, I mean because it's the final touch to it.
Speaker 1:
And I'll tell you what really I think another thing that we had to do on that same job where it kept glazing over and we kept having to clean and if you know, for all you contractors out there, you know what I'm talking about. We've had it happen a couple of times in the past not recently where it'll glaze over and you keep trying to clean it and it just keeps glazing. But you know, another thing we had to do down there was we actually had to go back in and do some grout touch-ups right, just the touch-ups. But I think he actually went down there and used some grout paint to fix some areas, because I I don't know if it was because we had two different grout colors or it's probably miss mix, yeah, um so one batch.
Speaker 1:
So again, that goes back. Okay. So what you're telling me is, when you're grouting, you can actually have a lighter, darker mix if, if it's, is it two different people mixing it, is it two different bags, how does that work?
Speaker 2:
so you'll have two-part grouts yeah, where you get the the grout? Yeah, mix with the grout color yeah if you do not read the instructions and do it right, you'll have say you're looking at like a regular gray. You'll have a light gray. Here and down your grout line you'll have like a charcoal gray because it's not mixed properly yeah, throughout.
Speaker 1:
So when you're doing a larger shower, how do you prevent that from happening, man? Because you're not going to use one mix all the way through, or are you?
Speaker 2:
well, if you, you're going to be using the same brand product, same color. So as long as you mix it, the same way, the correct way you should be fine, okay. All right. And then they have products for hazing and stuff.
Speaker 1:
Well, okay, that goes back to some of the let's talk about sealing these things. Okay, sealing the grout right Now. A lot of the grout these days. Does it not have a built-in? Yes, okay, all right, because we get those questions all the time. Well, are you going to come back and seal it? Is it sealed? Blah, blah, blah. Right, so talk to me about that process.
Speaker 2:
So all the new stuff, the Mopay and all that has a built-in sealer, but it doesn't hurt If a customer wants to have it sealed. It's never a bad idea, especially like we have a local area here I don't know if I should say the town Daphne. Well, they have water issues, so if you're using a light-colored grout with their city water, you get yellow. It'll start yellowing and browning within a year.
Speaker 1:
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. So you're telling me that the grout and the water, where the water comes from, can matter sometimes.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, if you've got a water issue in your municipality, you would like the extra protection, right, okay, all right, gotcha, so I had to. What was the lady's name?
Speaker 1:
So you're saying, just after continuously taking showers with some rough water or something, it could make a difference.
Speaker 2:
Right. So it wasn't even six months after her shower was done and Daphne we went. She called me over there. It was like real yellow.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Right where the shower head, like Kind of drips and yeah. So I got it cleaned up and then I sealed it and she called back a few months later and said that she wasn't having any more issues. Yeah, called back a few months later and said that she wasn't having more issues. Yeah, but I mean, I guess it's due with how much chlorine or lime or whatever. Okay, your water is there, you know.
Speaker 1:
I mean yeah okay, it too scientific yeah, yeah, but I mean that that's good to know, though that you know. You know probably hard water, soft water, different types of water, that stuff matters. So sealing definitely is important part of the process, but most grouts have built it. Yeah, they come with it now. Okay, got it. Just so you all know that. Yeah, okay, what else, when it comes to tile, what are some common issues that we run into after the fact? Okay, lippage, all right, that's really not after the fact, that's kind of during. Okay, is that where those leveling wedges and clips?
Speaker 2:
come in.
Speaker 1:
Is there a time you don't use leveling wedges or clips?
Speaker 2:
I mean so if you're trying to use tiles that already have a beveled edge and you're trying to just stack.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's not really necessary.
Speaker 2:
You know what I mean? Okay, but that's when you're going to have to pay attention to what you're doing and make sure everything Continuously check.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I mean yeah, okay, but for the most part, especially for beginners, you need to be using leveling wedges and clips. Oh, definitely, is there a right way to use those, like can you make a mistake with the wedges and clips?
Speaker 2:
I'm sure yeah, so they make the pliers to use.
Speaker 1:
Snip them right to install them. So, oh, I got just yeah, yeah. But um, so you're pushing.
Speaker 2:
I got yeah and the direction that you do them. That way you're not pulling away from, you know pulling.
Speaker 1:
So you want to make sure that, when, when you're that system, that all your wedges are put in the same manner, or does that matter? Yes, like if you put one up, put one down, put one sideways, I mean, does that make a difference?
Speaker 2:
Yes, so I'm trying. It's been so long since I've done it. So if you're laying and you're working your way up, if you put your clip here and then you're starting to push this wedge up, it will push that tile up.
Speaker 1:
I gotcha.
Speaker 2:
And make your grout line off and then you'll try to slide it back down. Then you get thin set all through and it's just not a tight Gotcha. You know what I mean. You can over push them and they'll break.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. So what about getting those things out? A lot of people have questions about that too. So like, when you're doing a floor or something like that, how do you get the clips out? So you're popping out the wedges, how do you get them clips out? How are you supposed to get those clips out?
Speaker 2:
I've never been taught how to get them out.
Speaker 1:
Okay, you supposed to get those clips out.
Speaker 2:
I've never been taught how to get them out, okay, so usually you just hit, kick them.
Speaker 1:
Kick them on the floor or hit, get them. Yeah. So it's okay for those mallet and hit them. It's okay to have.
Speaker 2:
I mean they're, they're made to wear there's got to be some type of cutter, but I don't know, it's just uh. They're a pain in the butt too when you break them off.
Speaker 1:
You've got a little tiny piece that pokes up.
Speaker 2:
They just are a little too short to where you can get.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
So then that's when a helper comes in with a razor knife, you have them. Go and cut them down, because there's nothing worse than having so like the brand we use the eighth inch ones are red yeah. Than having so like the brand we use the eighth inch ones are red, yeah. And if you don't cut that thing down properly, after you grow out you'll see little red spots all through, and we've had that.
Speaker 1:
How do you know if you've got? So that was the wedges and clips and you get them out and make sure that you don't leave too much to where, when you grout, you can't grout. How do you make sure that you've put enough grout in there? We've had issues, or there's been issues, where you'll start getting gaps, right, right, you'll end up in little holes. Yep, little holes, okay. So what does that mean, though?
Speaker 2:
If you, if you see, you're just not smashing it in there properly is that where that float is probably just going?
Speaker 1:
really, they're kind of smoothing it out, but what is that? Aren't you supposed to edge it in with that float, or how do you do that? How do you make sure it gets?
Speaker 2:
so you want to run, you want to trial it over, like you use a trial on the edge and get it over, and then I'd like to smash it in. Do you know what I?
Speaker 1:
mean. So you'll kind of wedge it in, you'll push it in a little bit to make sure that it's okay, because honestly, that grouts your first defense.
Speaker 2:
For what?
Speaker 1:
Now we're going to move into the portion of the show where we talk interior design. We're going to bring in an interior designer and we're going to talk trending design and products. Hope you enjoy. Let's go.
Speaker 3:
Everything all at the same time and again, too, having a designer who's going to make sure they're ordering everything from the same distribution center.
Speaker 1:
Sure.
Speaker 3:
I'm not going to pull something from Miami and then something from North Carolina. I'm going to make sure it's coming from the same place.
Speaker 1:
Got it Okay, yeah, great, all right, and number five.
Speaker 3:
Pattern tile and tile patterns.
Speaker 1:
Okay, the pattern tiles.
Speaker 3:
We're going to where you were talking about, where you take four, put them together, sure adhesive. So that's your pattern tiles. Okay, those are becoming much more popular nowadays. Um, they're being utilized not only for floors, but people are getting again more advantageous to where they're like this is my home, I own it, I want to do what I want to do and they're doing it on backslashes gotcha and then we get a tile patterns where you're taking tiles or turning them into a chevron gotcha turning it into a basket weave, instead of just that simple running board.
Speaker 1:
You know know, half split or three quarter split installation and sometimes you know, I've seen a simple effect that's dramatic, is like even on. We installed some gray glass subway tile in a kitchen and instead of running it horizontally they ran it vertically and it made a huge difference. Just that simple change right there and I was like I don't know if that's going to look good, but now I've seen it made a huge difference. Just that simple change right there and I was like I don't know if that's going to look good. But now I've seen it a couple of times and just that simple change is a little different, but it made a huge impact in their overall kitchen.
Speaker 3:
It takes something simple, which you used to think of as a standard, to oh well, now it's new and it's fresh. Yeah absolutely so. Aside from the pattern tiles and tile patterns, the other one I was going to get into is abstract shapes and pattern reliefs. One of the ones that we saw at market was a pattern relief where it looked like a palm frond had been pressed into the tile itself.
Speaker 1:
I got you. Okay, now that right, there is hard. Well, it's not hard. Again, it goes back to knowledge and knowing what you're doing. But those patterns in the tile or waves or any of that stuff, you have to get that right on for it to look right, and especially if they're meant to join right, join together at corners or whatever it is, if the pattern is supposed to be continuous, it's even yes, it's even harder. With what do you call that? When it does this Pattern really?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, Okay, talking about pattern, really yes, yes or bookmatch.
Speaker 1:
Bookmatch Yep, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:
So yeah, again, that comes down to your installer and also having the knowledge of how to place that. The other one was raised so geometric yeah, raised yeah, really, really popular, and one of the ones that, um, I'm going to showcase later is the tile actually comes. It creates almost a 3d form.
Speaker 1:
That comes off the tile itself yeah, that's, that's what I was talking about actually, where it's that raised pattern? And because sometimes those you, they want to meet, um and be continuous, that right. So if you don't cut it right or set it right or do a proper layout, yes and it'll look off. Yep, absolutely Okay. So that was your five. So number one was color. Dopamine colors, dopamine colors. I love that. Number two was Handcrafted. Handcrafted Number three Terrazzo Terrazzo Number four.
Speaker 3:
Sustainability.
Speaker 1:
Sustainability and number five Patterned. Okay, I got a bonus question.
Speaker 3:
Done.
Speaker 1:
Large format. Okay, is that in Okay?
Speaker 3:
Oh, it's still in it's still in.
Speaker 1:
And when I say large, we have a piece out here. I don't know what size that is. What size that back, that back tile?
Speaker 3:
The 24 by 68.
Speaker 1:
Is it 24 by 68? Holy, it's huge. And you have to know those are. You know, take special tools, the suction cups we did a how-to on this but those again, you have to be super sensitive with installation. You have to know what material to use as far as your mortar and setting it and things like that but also the breakage on those. It's easy to break. Those, you know, are those porcelain? They are Okay.
Speaker 3:
All right, porcelain's denser. So generally, you do want a porcelain.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, okay, gotcha Okay. So large format is still in, it's still trending.
Speaker 3:
I do not see that going anywhere for quite some time, and if anything, it's just going to be. The tiles are going to get bigger.
Speaker 1:
Thanks for joining us today. As always, we are grateful for our listeners and your continued support. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on social media via Facebook, instagram and TikTok. Get more info at our website, wwwthehomebuildingshowcom. And, as always, remember who we are the Home Building and Remodeling Show you.
