Tile Layers needed for advice and labor

Ok, since Tuck started this Home Improvement thing, I figured I would keep it going.

I’m looking at starting to update my house. One of the first things I’m looking at doing is retiling my entry and to tile my kitchen floor.
1)I’m looking for labor help (will pay you for your time).
2)Also looking for advice. I have sheet vinyl currently in my Kitchen and Tile in my entry(adjacent/next to my kitchen. All my door casings, cabinets etc. in my kitchen have been cut or set for this sheet vinyl. If I want to put Tile in my kitchen, how do I go about this since my cabinets are set lower than the tile will be?? I know I can just tkae off the door casing and cut it to fit, but what about my cabinets?

I’m looking at starting this project in about a month or so. Trying to get things figured out now. I can buy my Tile/Slate/Marble really cheap. I plan on helping with labor, etc, for I would like to know how to do this stuff. I’m looking for assistance and advice on completing this project.

Thanks in advance. I live in Blaine (North Side of Cities) within 2 miles North from the National Sports Center.

I did this in our kitchen/entry 3 years ago. Hopefully, your working out beforehand, especially your back and knees.
1. Are you trying to match the tile in your entry? Finding a color match could be tough as the tile would be from different runs. If you’re ripping up the tile, and vinyl, first thing is to make sure floor is level.
2. if the underlayment is sound and the vinyl in good shape, you may be able to go over the vinyl- rough it up to get a good base for the adhesive.
3. Rent a tile cutting saw- dont try messing around with “hand scoring”.
4. Bring the tile in a couple of days b-4 you’re starting day so it gets to house temp.
5. Your kitchen cabinets should have been attached to the wall studs, so moving them may be a tall order, YOu may have to put the tile up to the cabinets and put down new quarter round.
Just my 2 cents, but GOOD LUCK!
p.s. be sure to do a very good job sealing the grout, to prevent stains.

Thanks for causing flashbacks Rob. I did 300+ sq. feet of tile once. Once… I did it all by myself back in ’89 and had two, yes two tiles float a bit on me. No one could tell but me. I could never walk into that room without focussing on those two tiles. I sold that house in ’92, but can picture that room and those two tiles like I finished it this morning. I need to go lay down.

Have you thought of using a click together type lamenent flooring that looks like a tile?? There are many out there that you cannot really tell a difference unless you walk on them with bare feet. Using a floor like this will eliminate the need to do anything to the floor in your kitchen other than lay down a bit of backing. It will also pretty much eliminate your cabinet problem. As you cut the floor to almost fit then put a trim strip in the kick plate of the cabinets.

HEY RIPPER I HAVE DONE A LITTLE TILE WORK ON THE SIDE. ARE YOU THINKING CERAMIC OR TONGUE AND GROOVE OR WHAT?? HOW MANY SQ. FEET. I WORK JUST RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD NEXT TO THE SPRING LAKE PK. HIGH SCHOOL. I WOULD BE WILLING TO GIVE YOU A HAND IF NEEDED. LET ME KNOW WHEN!

Hey Lip ,
If you are going with tile rip out your vinyl floor.I know its a pain in the aars. I can tell you how with out removing your cabinets. Let me know if your interested.

When I did my floor, I ripped up all the linoleum and then being the anal retentive moron that I am, I used zip strip to get it bare to the sub-floor.

I got tired of waiting for help on my bathroom project so I bought a Stanley how-to book at Home Depot for tiling. I layed the tile last week and just finished grouting last night. All by myself. Next week I seal the grout and done.

I have set tile for 20 years! Give me a call I have seen it all!!! 218-546-7241 Kevin

Your killing me…… by the way it cost a lot more if YOU help.

i also tiled a 14 x 14 entry. tore out the old linoleum. rent a pnematic chisel, cost me $18 a night, and i did it in about 2 hours, right down to the slab. tiling was fun to say the least. my knees hurt just thinking about it. under your base cabinets, should be a kick plate. this can be removed, and ripped to set on top of the new tile. some have a 1/4 round along the bottom, this can just be pulled off and re nailed on top of tile when done too. good luck lip !!!

big g

Thanks for all the tips, advice what to do’s , what not to do’s. Like I said I’m still about a month away and I’m just trying to plan this all out. I apprecciate all the help. I have some homework to do and when I get closer I may be giving a few people a call or PM for some help. I have a home Depot book that kind of summarizes the steps, but still a little scared to try it my self. So I figured with some help of a IDA expert and some , we would be able to figure it out when the times comes. Again and I may be in touch in a few weeks with some of you

Thanks again Guys!

Lip, feel free to give me a shout when the time comes. My brother in law has a tile saw, I’m pretty sure I could get again.

big g

Lip if your going to do it yourself heres a few rules that have to be followed. When going over linoleum you have to put an underlayment down of dur-rock, its a thin cement board that holds the tile adhesive and is a floor leveler. Don’t go over any linoleum because the tile adhesives won’t adhere to it. Using deck screws to lay this is the best idea but ringshanks is a good way too to keep it from squeaking. Using pl-400 construction adhesive wheather your nailing or screwing it down is also o very good idea, the lesss the cement board moves the less chance you’ll have of the grout cracking, its cheap. Without taking the floor cabinets up you can cut the dur-rock to fit up right next to the cabinets first removing the base thats nailed to the toe kick if there is any. If the base board is nailed to the cabinets when pulling the nails out do it from the backside, pull the nails from the base out the backside so it dosen’t cause any chipping of the wood because the head of the nail is bigger than the nail hole that the shank made, this way it can be remounted again and will still look nice. If theres tile anywhere thats already down you can leave that or pull it up. Its fairly easy to do that with hammer and a scraper to remove the cement that stays stuck after the tile is removed. If you want to leave it make sure it contrasts with the new tile and when cutting it use the same margin or space between the tile thats between the exhisting tile. Never go over linoleum because the tile adhesive won’t stick, thats the way linoleums made. Make sure when you lay the cement board as an underlayment its as level as can be without going over board. When your cementing the tiles down use a straightedge of some type, a 3′ or 4’level is a good one and precut all your immediate pieces then when your cementing them down use the level to tap them into place so all the tiles lay flat with one another as you put 8 to 10 tiles down. This will keep high spots to a minimum and make it look nice. Menards has cheap tile saws for sale that are around $50 verses that for renting one but its nice to have help thats got one and has done this befor but its not hard. If you need more help message me and i can tell you how to do it from floorprep, layout to the final sealing to keep it from staining. Good luck and its really not that hard, about like changing brake shoes on your truck.