Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Setting Tile



For the last 10 days I have had Tileman John setting tile in my house. He is a nice guy, with the 'gift of gab'. I know a lot about him, his wife Chrissy, his son, their 10 rabbits, the cat, his brothers Danny and Donny. I know that he likes to make things out of his leftover grout-alligators and a Llama. He saves stuff that he can use for another project. He makes things out of stone. He prefers Kit Kat Bars to other candy. He is a hard worker.


One of the things that I have learned is that setting tile is like making a quilt, without a pattern. Depending on where you start, you may not like the layout at the other end of the room. How are you going to finish the corners? How wide do you want the grout? Italian tile is not 12". If you add an extra 1/4" often enough it makes a big difference in the finished size. Grout is like thread, it holds the tile together, and it will either enhance the look, or can be distracting if you use the wrong color. And like quilters, only a tileman knows how much work goes into a floor.


Thanks John, for the beautiful job you are doing. I know how hard you have worked, and I love the 'almost' finished project!

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