Anyone know about hardwood & tile?

Giviner · 03-11-2006, 04:21 PM

I'm in the process of laying hardwood and tile on the main floor in my house. I've never done either before and i'm planning on doing it all myself. I've been told it's not difficult. Anyone know anything about doing it? Or any good sites with instructions.....etc?

Thanks

**kaketj** · 03-11-2006, 05:04 PM

go slow,measure twice,cut once

good luck

Kump33 · 03-11-2006, 05:05 PM

what type of hardwood?.....ive done the real stuff in my living room...hallway and dining room...

you need a compresser and one of these

http://www.nailgundepot.com/shop/files/images/product_thumbnail/t_26309_05.gif

basically lay out the hard wood...and hammer the snot out of it with the nail gun to get it nice and tight...its can get tedious...but man it comes out nice...

then you rent a sander http://www.mainetimberworks.com/images/sander.jpg

sand the crap out of it to get it all nice and smooth...then stain...sand...stain...sand....depending on what colour you want it...then some clear coats...

one week later it should be good to walk on...

ive only done my house hardwood...so that all I really can help with...

hope any of this helps

edit: its pretty fun though to hammer that nail gun thou

**Keith** · 03-11-2006, 05:36 PM

Kump how much did it end up costing you in the end and how many sq. feet did you do?

I've never installed wood floors but it's a project I have planned. I've layed a lot of tile. Father-in-law owns a tile setting company. Pretty straightforward really. Prep surface, lay down mud, set tile, wait, grout. If you have any specific questions let me know.

Shameless Elmer · 03-11-2006, 05:38 PM

I've never done hardwood flooring but I have done tile. Lay out the tile where you're going to lay it so you can get an idea of where the best place to start is and, it will help you see how to transition into other rooms. A lot of people want to start in the middle of the room and work to the outside. This isn't always the best approach, especially if your room is odd shaped i.e. not square or rectangular. Sometimes rooms have short angled walls, especially in dining rooms in newer homes. In a room like this it is especially important to lay out the tile before you start cutting and glueing.

jeepinjc · 03-11-2006, 05:50 PM

I have done alot of hardwood (used to be a finish carpenter) First I would buy the pre-finished hardwood(not pergo) but you can get real hardwood already finished cause the sanding and staining can be a pain in the butt, then like kump said get a gun but get the kind that plugs into the air compressor that way you dont have to beat the crap out of it. Get you first run set (dont make the edges of walls and things tight let a little gap and put quarter-round down when finished)then lay out like five runs that way you can look at the pattern of the joints (rule of thumb no joints 6" close in three runs) then nail them in and repeat till done. Hopefully that isnt to confusing if you have any other questions just ask

Good Luck,
Jason

tommaho · 03-11-2006, 06:43 PM

This will depend on a few things like size of the area to be tiled and kind of existing floor you're working with, but from an experienced amateur here it goes:

If you're talking about slate, ceramic, marble, etc., rent a good wet saw. It'll be loud and messy, but worth every penny. Spend a few extra $$ and buy the pre mixed tile adhesive. Use dark grout. Take some time to eliminate any squeaks by nailing or screwing the existing floor/subfloor. Use a something like hardi-backer under the tile, staggering the joints (and be sure not to put a backer joint on top of an existing floor joint). Take some extra time to consider wether or not you'll ever want the tile to be heated (it's now or never, unless you want to tear up and re-lay the tile and backer :-o ).

If you're talking about vinyl, the best advice I can give is to make sure your floor surfaces are adequately prepped (clean, smooth, clean).

Most importantly: Have fun.

Tom

Giviner · 03-12-2006, 04:12 PM

Thanks for all the help guys. I've got all the hardwood, about 500 sq ft of it. Pre-finished in a meduim oak to match the existing wood railings and stuff in the living room. I'm planning on borrowing a compressor from a buddy and getting one of those pneumatic nailers for sure.

I just got back from purchasing tile. I bought 12x12 porcelain tile for the entryway/hallway/bathroom, along with matching grout, thinset, and tools also. I picked up a few pamphlets about tiling as well.

I do have another question though. The tile in the entryway is going to butt right up against the hardwood in the living room. Any special tricks or things I should know about joining the two together? Or is it just as simple as tiling up to the edge of the hardwood, then laying down a metal or wood transition piece?

Thanks again!

EDIT: oh and you'd be surprised how much tile and mortar you can fit in the back of a Wrangler!

**JeepCreepn01** · 03-12-2006, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shameless Elmer

I've never done hardwood flooring but I have done tile. Lay out the tile where you're going to lay it so you can get an idea of where the best place to start is and, it will help you see how to transition into other rooms. A lot of people want to start in the middle of the room and work to the outside. This isn't always the best approach, especially if your room is odd shaped i.e. not square or rectangular. Sometimes rooms have short angled walls, especially in dining rooms in newer homes. In a room like this it is especially important to lay out the tile before you start cutting and glueing.

WRONG!!!! you want to start in middle, measure to the middle of the room and then split the diference on your tile in the middle and start other wise you will end up with peices on the outside of the room that dont look right, like a big peice on one wall and a small sliver on another, unless you are going with like a random block you want to start in the middle

**Grape Ape** · 03-12-2006, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeepguy81

I do have another question though. The tile in the entryway is going to butt right up against the hardwood in the living room. Any special tricks or things I should know about joining the two together? Or is it just as simple as tiling up to the edge of the hardwood, then laying down a metal or wood transition piece?

That would be strictly up to how it looks and whether you like it or not. The transition from say linoleum to carpet has a metal or wood threshold to keep a peroson from catchingthe edge of the carpet and pulling it up or tripping. With the tile and the hardwood see what the thickness difference is. If there is no difference you can butt the tile directly to the wood. If you butt the tile directly to the wood without a transition piece. My choice would be to lay the wood then the tile, ensuring that you leave the same spacing between the wood and tile as you did all of your other tile, then just fill the space with grout when you grout the tile.

If there is a height difference you can place an oak board down as a transition with a ramp sloping down fron the higher material to the lower, but I would do that as a last resort, as it could become a tripping hazard.

I have done numerous tile to wood floors including one where I installed a paver at the entrance of a home that transitioned to wood woth pavers placed throughout the room to look sort of like a rock pathway through a garden. In each case I built up the floor under the thinner material so that they would both have the same finished height. In every case I was able to do the build up with 1/4" luan if the difference is smaller use thinner stuff bigger difference just use thicker stuff to build up.

If you need more detailed info PM me and I'll give you my phone number.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeepguy81

EDIT: oh and you'd be surprised how much tile and mortar you can fit in the back of a Wrangler!

I wouldn't be surprised. My best one . I was told I could have all the plywood and 2X4's I could haul with my Jeep for free (long story). I dropped the top and stacked 20 sheets of 1/2" plywood and 60- 16' 2X4's on the rollbar and window, strapped it all down. The guy giving it away came by as I was leaving and said that would be the last time he ever told me to take what ever my jeep would haul. Needless to say I did get a bit carried away and had to drove real slow on the bumpstops. But the shed/workshop I built was worth the slow ride home.

Giviner · 03-13-2006, 10:10 AM

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