Portland Rhino Tile Service

Cracked grout is normal for newly installed tile and grout. New grout usually cracks about three months after the installation. That is why it is very important after those two months to scrape the cracked grout lines and refill them with more grout and reseal the whole thing. After this you only need to seal the tile and grout lines every six months.This will help your tile last longer. Properly installed and maintained tile should last about 20 years.

Tags:Cracked, Grout, Grouting, line, Lines, portland, rhino, service, tile

I am currently developing a video on how to properly build a custom shower pan from the floor up. All Oregon state laws and codes will be followed to insure a sound shower pan. As for other slate laws you will have to do research on your own. This video will be available by October 1st 2008.

Tags:Code, Custom, Law, Oregon, Pan, portland, service, Shower, tile

What some people don’t realize is that it is very important to screw down the floor before installing Hardi Backer or tile. Screwing down the floor will eliminate any squeaks or bending in floor that are sometimes directly responsible for cracking grout and tile after it has been installed.

Tags:Custom, Floor, portland, Prep, service, tile

If you are faced with tiling one by one inch hex tile the best way of going about it is to make sure your floor is perfectly leveled. Well, at least at perfectly level as you can make it. What I usually do is set my hardi backer down on the floor and then pour level quick on it to fill all the dips in the floor and even out the humps. Then I set the tile. If I don’t do this the little tile pieces will hug every bend and will make grout lines either very tight in the dips and too wide on the humps.

Tags:Backer, Floor, Hardi, Hex, Level, portland, service, tile

The biggest difference between ceramic tile and natural stone is that ceramic tiles are man-made and natural stone, as we know, is a product of mother earth. As you move away from natural and shift to using man-made tile, they start looking systematic and loose their unique appearance. Most of natural stone tiles can be restored while ceramic tile has to be replaced. Although ceramic tile has disadvantages it certainly makes up for it in the unlimited colors and shapes you can have it in.

Tags:Ceramic, Installation, Natural, portland, service, Stone, tile

There is a diverse variety of natural stones, listed here are the most common stones used for tiling: Granite, Marble, Limestone, Travertine, Slate, Quartzite, Sandstone, Onyx, etc…

Tags:Installation, Natural, portland, service, Stone, tile

There are many fake, manufactured and man-made items in our homes. Natural stone can be the part of our house that feels more like the beautiful earth we live in, linking it and making it one with nature. Not only is natural stone highly durable and looks good in homes but it is also becoming trendy as people are going “green” which means moving away from man-made materials and more towards natural or nature-made materials. Natural stone will give your home a timeless look and a more realistic feel. In some homes the human is the only thing real in the house, sounds sad doesn’t it.

Tags:Home, Installation, Natural, portland, service, Stone, tile

Video Provided By: RhinoTile

When you are working the lines makes sure that you move your sponge in a circular motion, doing this prevents your sponge from pulling out too much grout from the grout lines.

Tags:Grout, Grouting, Installation, line, portland, rhino, service, tile

Video Provided By: RhinoTile

Grouting a tile floor is not that hard if the prep work has been done correctly and the tiles were set flat. To grout a floor just mix grout compound with water in a bucket and get a nice and thick consistency all the way through. The only comparison I can think of at this time would be oatmeal, so it should feel like oatmeal when you mix it. Than get a grout trowel and a margin trowel and start spreading the grout and filling in your grout lines. Use your margin trowel to plop some grout on the tile and use the grout trowel to spread the grout and push it into the lines. Try to overfill your grout lines so it looks like it has a hump and is sticking up higher that the tile, this helps create a grout line that is flush with tile, which is exactly what you want. You can also use your margin trowel to square your edges and corners so they do not look rounded. The more squared off and flush you get it the more professional it looks.

Tags:Floor, Grout, Grouting, portland, service, tile

Video Provided By: Rhinotile.net

When ever you are faced with installing slate tile you will run into a problem. The problem comes when you are grouting it. Even if you mix your grout a little wetter than usual it will still seem like it’s drying super fast, turning sandy, and becoming difficult to work with. This always happens with slate. No worries, I have the perfect solution for this. I have figured out that the reason grout dries so fast and turns sandy is because the slate is spongy and sucks the water out of the grout making it drier and sandy. To avoid this you would have to seal the slate tile twice with a slate sealer. The first coat of sealer should go on after you set the slate tile but before grouting and another coat of sealer should go on after you grout the slate tile. It is a good idea to seal the slate tile twice because it is a very spongy tile and requires a lot of sealer for lasting protection. Also sealing it before you grout makes slate tile a lot less spongy and grouting it becomes a hole lot easier because grout does not dry so fast and get sandy.

Tags:Grouting, Portlnad, rhino, Secret, service, Slate, tile