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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Home Building and Remodeling Show.
Let's go.
Welcome everybody to the HomeBuilding and Remodeling Show.
My name is Chris Kirby and I'llbe your host.
(00:21):
I am the owner of threeconstruction companies on the
Alabama Gulf Coast.
The show is about residentialconstruction.
We're going to cover topics ofhome building and remodeling.
Are you thinking of doing aremodel or building a home?
Are you a contractor looking toimprove your knowledge base or
grow your business?
Have you ever done a remodelproject or built a home?
(00:42):
There were so many things youwish you knew or that you could
have done differently during theprocess.
Then this show is for you.
We break down the process ofbuilding and remodeling and how
to have the best results duringyour project.
Whether you're a DIYer lookingfor tips, someone looking to
hire a contractor to do aproject, or a contractor looking
(01:04):
to expand your knowledge baseor your business, welcome aboard
.
Glad to have you.
Stay tuned.
We kick off the show with mythoughts on home building and
remodeling.
I'll share best practices andtalk about some of our
experiences in business and outin the field.
These shared thoughts andlessons learned are meant to
help you on your very ownjourney.
(01:25):
Let's go.
So our month of May, we've beenfocusing on tile, and a lot of
the intro to our podcast is justme generally giving some
business tips and some advice tothe contractors out there, and
I wanted to continue that themeas we continue to hit on tile
(01:45):
tile trends with our interiordesigners and also we're talking
about tile installation andbest practices, and one of the
and one of the biggest thingsthat you know I wanted to hit on
was quality, and what we'vebeen looking at is, you know, we
don't always want to win everyjob.
It's just not feasible and Ifeel like if you are winning
(02:08):
every job, you're probably notcharging enough, and I know
that's easy to say and you mayhave heard that a lot, but it's
the truth and, honestly, if youstart to negotiate your price
down too much, you're going tolose money and you may win the
job, but you're losing money and, honestly, you don't want to be
known for being the cheapestcontractor as you're going
(02:28):
through and starting yourjourney, because a lot of what
we talk to are people who arejust beginning their careers in
the contracting industry.
You know, my best advice foryou is just to make sure that
you have integrity, that you'rehonest.
Accountability is something thatlacks in our industry, and I
(02:51):
say accountability because evenin our company we get it wrong.
You know we set deadlines, wetalk about process, we try our
best to make sure that thingsflow smoothly, we have meetings,
and so I don't want you to getit twisted that I have all the
answers, because I just do not.
And you know I've been readinga lot of leadership books lately
(03:14):
, and one in particular.
You know, john Maxwell, whereyou know he just talks about how
he would have made a lot ofdumb decisions had it not been
for the people he surroundedhimself with.
And that's the way I feel.
I have a lot of experts thatwork for me, that are experts
and craftsmen and women in theirfield.
(03:34):
I don't have all the answers.
However, I lean on them heavilyand, as a brand new tile
contractor, if you don't havethat, seek that, find a mentor.
In our industry, mentorship islacking and I feel like the best
advice I can give you as abrand new contractor is to find
(03:57):
somebody to emulate, findsomebody that you can talk to,
that can guide you as you breakaway.
You have to think of the reasonthat you wanted to start your
own company.
Was it because you felt likeyou were underappreciated?
Was it because you felt likeyou weren't getting paid enough?
Did you feel like they weren'tlistening to you?
(04:20):
Or do you just sincerely thinkyou've outgrown the company and
that you want to start your ownbusiness because you would make
more or have more freedom?
Or you know, one of thosethings is usually why people
start their own company.
And I'll be honest with you thebusiness side, I feel, is why
(04:42):
most contractors fail.
It's not because they can't dothe work.
You can do the work.
You were the number one or youwere somebody's right hand and
you can do the work.
It's the management, it'smanaging the time, finding the
work, finding help.
Also, you know, it's one ofthose situations where you think
(05:04):
it's easy until you do it.
And then you walk a mile in theshoes of a business owner and
you understand especially asmall business owner just
starting out just how hard it iseasier to just be able to do
the work and go home at nightwith a workload that's
(05:26):
accomplished than it is to runeverything else.
You know it doesn't all theleads that come in and keeping
work on the books is hard,especially when you just started
now and you're not wellestablished as your own company.
So one of the biggest things Ican say to all the tile
contractors and contractors ingeneral just starting out is to
(05:48):
find a mentor, and that'ssomething that I didn't have.
Yeah, I had people withtechnical skill, but I just
didn't have a mentor thatreached out and said hey, let me
guide you through X Y Z inbusiness, because I'm telling
you right now, the business sideof things is where most people
fail Cashflow, financials, work,lead generation.
(06:13):
There are so many things to dowhen you run a small business,
especially if you're going to doit right Paying taxes, paying
Uncle Sam, making sure that youfind you know you find quality
help, these things retainingthat person, making sure they're
going to show up, making surethey don't embarrass you on the
job site, you know, doing theactual work itself, and then
(06:38):
finding time to sit down and notonly go and do an estimate, but
when are you going to write theestimate?
And now we move into Shop Talk.
It's the portion of the showwhere I bring in a co-host and
we cover trending topics in homebuilding and remodeling.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Hope you enjoy.
Let's go.
Oh yeah, it makes that good.
You spread it and then withinthree or four minutes it's
locking up on you and then yougot issues when you're trying to
clean it up well, so it, so theyou can do it too thick, too
thin, like too watery, differentthings like that, it'll mess up
, I mean have.
You need them, so they sell aone gallon um the smaller
(07:20):
buckets home depot.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
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 cookingfood, right, those ingredients,
how you mix them and how youstir it up.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
All of that stuff matters yeah, I mean, some of
them want you to mix for acertain amount of time.
Let it rest.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yeah, mix again yeah, and let it rest.
I noticed that when I wasfilming justin doing he was
doing that subway tile out thereon the new construction, he was
definitely following.
You know, I guess that all sethas like a 10 minute setup time
and so that stuff does matter,right.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I mean especially with the all set, because if you
mix it to their specificationsit gets real fluffy and it makes
it lighter actually and easierto work with.
I yeah, it gets real fluffy andit makes it lighter actually
and easier to work with.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I got you Okay, so it's actually easier to follow
the instructions.
Right, it performs how it'ssupposed to.
Yeah, okay.
And sometimes if you don't dothat part right and you know we
like to warranty our work, butthat 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
(08:31):
want you to use.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah, because you're going to turn in the SKUs from
all the back, every product thatyou so you could actually void
the warranty with something assimple as not following the
instructions.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Okay, all right.
So the grout process isimportant.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Very important.
Yeah, I mean because it's thefinal touch to it.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And I'll tell you what really I think another
thing that we had to do on thatsame job where it kept glazing
over and we kept having to cleanand if you know, for all you
contractors out there, you knowwhat I'm talking about.
We've had it happen a couple oftimes in the past not recently
(09:10):
where it'll glaze over and youkeep trying to clean it and it
just keeps glazing.
But you know, another thing wehad to do down there was we
actually had to go back in anddo some grout touch-ups right,
just the touch-ups.
But I think he actually wentdown there and used some grout
paint to fix some areas, becauseI I don't know if it was
because we had two differentgrout colors or it's probably
miss mix, yeah, um so one batch.
(09:32):
So again, that goes back.
Okay.
So what you're telling me is,when you're grouting, you can
actually have a lighter, darkermix if, if it's, is it two
different people mixing it, isit two different bags, how does
that work?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
so you'll have two-part grouts yeah, where you
get the the grout?
Yeah, mix with the grout coloryeah 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 lineyou'll have like a charcoal gray
(10:11):
because it's not mixed properlyyeah, throughout.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So when you're doing a larger shower, how do you
prevent that from happening, man?
Because you're not going to useone mix all the way through, or
are you?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
well, if you, you're going to be using the same brand
product, same color.
So as long as you mix it, thesame way, the correct way you
should be fine, okay.
All right.
And then they have products forhazing and stuff.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Well, okay, that goes back to some of the let's talk
about sealing these things.
Okay, sealing the grout rightNow.
A lot of the grout these days.
Does it not have a built-in?
Yes, okay, all right, becausewe get those questions all the
time.
Well, are you going to comeback and seal it?
Is it sealed?
Blah, blah, blah.
(10:56):
Right, so talk to me about thatprocess.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
So all the new stuff, the Mopay and all that has a
built-in sealer, but it doesn'thurt 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 Ishould say the town Daphne.
Well, they have water issues,so if you're using a
(11:19):
light-colored grout with theircity water, you get yellow.
It'll start yellowing andbrowning within a year.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
So you're telling me that thegrout and the water, where the
water comes from, can mattersometimes.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Yeah, if you've got a water issue in your
municipality, you would like theextra protection, right, okay,
all right, gotcha, so I had to.
What was the lady's name?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So you're saying, just after continuously taking
showers with some rough water orsomething, it could make a
difference.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Right.
So it wasn't even six monthsafter her shower was done and
Daphne we went.
She called me over there.
It was like real yellow.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Right where the shower head, like Kind of drips
and yeah.
So I got it cleaned up and thenI sealed it and she called back
a few months later and saidthat she wasn't having any more
issues.
Yeah, called back a few monthslater and said that she wasn't
having more issues.
Yeah, but I mean, I guess it'sdue with how much chlorine or
lime or whatever.
Okay, your water is there, youknow.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
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 isimportant 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.
(12:51):
Yeah, okay, what else, when itcomes to tile, what are some
common issues that we run intoafter the fact?
Okay, lippage, all right,that's really not after the fact
, that's kind of during.
Okay, is that where thoseleveling wedges and clips?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
come in.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Is there a time you don't use leveling wedges or
clips?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I mean so if you're trying to use tiles that already
have a beveled edge and you'retrying to just stack.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, it's not really necessary.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
You know what I mean?
Okay, but that's when you'regoing to have to pay attention
to what you're doing and makesure everything Continuously
check.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Yeah, I mean yeah, okay, but for the most part,
especially for beginners, youneed to be using leveling wedges
and clips.
Oh, definitely, is there aright way to use those, like can
you make a mistake with thewedges and clips?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I'm sure yeah, so they make the pliers to use.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Snip them right to install them.
So, oh, I got just yeah, yeah.
But um, so you're pushing.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I got yeah and the direction that you do them.
That way you're not pullingaway from, you know pulling.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
So you want to make sure that, when, when you're
that system, that all yourwedges 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 adifference?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yes, so I'm trying.
It's been so long since I'vedone it.
So if you're laying and you'reworking your way up, if you put
your clip here and then you'restarting to push this wedge up,
it will push that tile up.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
I gotcha.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And make your grout line off and then you'll try to
slide it back down.
Then you get thin set allthrough and it's just not a
tight Gotcha.
You know what I mean.
You can over push them andthey'll break.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yeah.
So what about getting thosethings out?
A lot of people have questionsabout that too.
So like, when you're doing afloor or something like that,
how do you get the clips out?
So you're popping out thewedges, how do you get them
clips out?
How are you supposed to getthose clips out?
Speaker 2 (15:01):
I've never been taught how to get them out.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Okay, you supposed to get those clips out.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I've never been taught how to get them out, okay
, so usually you just hit, kickthem.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Kick them on the floor or hit, get them.
Yeah.
So it's okay for those malletand hit them.
It's okay to have.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I mean they're, they're made to wear there's got
to be some type of cutter, butI don't know, it's just uh.
They're a pain in the butt toowhen you break them off.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
You've got a little tiny piece that pokes up.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
They just are a little too short to where you
can get.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
So then that's when a helper comes in with a razor
knife, you have them.
Go and cut them down, becausethere's nothing worse than
having so like the brand we usethe eighth inch ones are red
yeah.
Than having so like the brandwe use the eighth inch ones are
red, yeah.
And if you don't cut that thingdown properly, after you grow
out you'll see little red spotsall through, and we've had that.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
How do you know if you've got?
So that was the wedges andclips and you get them out and
make sure that you don't leavetoo much to where, when you
grout, you can't grout.
How do you make sure thatyou've put enough grout in there
?
We've had issues, or there'sbeen issues, where you'll start
(16:14):
getting gaps, right, right,you'll end up in little holes.
Yep, little holes, okay.
So what does that mean, though?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
If you, if you see, you're just not smashing it in
there properly is that wherethat float is probably just
going?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
really, they're kind of smoothing it out, but what is
that?
Aren't you supposed to edge itin with that float, or how do
you do that?
How do you make sure it gets?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
so you want to run, you want to trial it over, like
you use a trial on the edge andget it over, and then I'd like
to smash it in.
Do you know what I?
Speaker 1 (16:43):
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 (16:55):
For what?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Now we're going to move into the portion of the
show where we talk interiordesign.
We're going to bring in aninterior designer and we're
going to talk trending designand products.
Hope you enjoy.
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Everything all at the same time and again, too,
having a designer who's going tomake sure they're ordering
everything from the samedistribution center.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
I'm not going to pull something from Miami and then
something from North Carolina.
I'm going to make sure it'scoming from the same place.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Got it Okay, yeah, great, all right, and number
five.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Pattern tile and tile patterns.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Okay, the pattern tiles.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
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 muchmore popular nowadays.
Um, they're being utilized notonly for floors, but people are
getting again more advantageousto where they're like this is my
home, I own it, I want to dowhat I want to do and they're
doing it on backslashes gotchaand then we get a tile patterns
where you're taking tiles orturning them into a chevron
(17:53):
gotcha turning it into a basketweave, instead of just that
simple running board.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
You know know, half split or three quarter split
installation and sometimes youknow, I've seen a simple effect
that's dramatic, is like even on.
We installed some gray glasssubway tile in a kitchen and
instead of running ithorizontally they ran it
vertically and it made a hugedifference.
Just that simple change rightthere and I was like I don't
know if that's going to lookgood, but now I've seen it made
(18:17):
a huge difference.
Just that simple change rightthere and I was like I don't
know if that's going to lookgood.
But now I've seen it a coupleof times and just that simple
change is a little different,but it made a huge impact in
their overall kitchen.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
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 tilesand tile patterns, the other one
I was going to get into isabstract shapes and pattern
reliefs.
One of the ones that we saw atmarket was a pattern relief
where it looked like a palmfrond had been pressed into the
tile itself.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
I got you.
Okay, now that right, there ishard.
Well, it's not hard.
Again, it goes back toknowledge and knowing what
you're doing.
But those patterns in the tileor waves or any of that stuff,
you have to get that right onfor it to look right, and
especially if they're meant tojoin right, join together at
(19:15):
corners or whatever it is, ifthe pattern is supposed to be
continuous, it's even yes, it'seven harder.
With what do you call that?
When it does this Patternreally?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Yeah, Okay, talking about pattern, really yes, yes
or bookmatch.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Bookmatch Yep, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
So yeah, again, that comes down to your installer and
also having the knowledge ofhow to place that.
The other one was raised sogeometric yeah, raised yeah,
really, really popular, and oneof the ones that, um, I'm going
to showcase later is the tileactually comes.
It creates almost a 3d form.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
That comes off the tile itself yeah, that's, that's
what I was talking aboutactually, 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 orset it right or do a proper
layout, yes and it'll look off.
Yep, absolutely Okay.
(20:07):
So that was your five.
So number one was color.
Dopamine colors, dopaminecolors.
I love that.
Number two was Handcrafted.
Handcrafted Number threeTerrazzo Terrazzo Number four.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Sustainability.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Sustainability and number five Patterned.
Okay, I got a bonus question.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Done.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Large format.
Okay, is that in Okay?
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Oh, it's still in it's still in.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
And when I say large, we have a piece out here.
I don't know what size that is.
What size that back, that backtile?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
The 24 by 68.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
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, youhave to be super sensitive with
installation.
You have to know what materialto use as far as your mortar and
setting it and things like thatbut also the breakage on those.
(21:07):
It's easy to break.
Those, you know, are thoseporcelain?
They are Okay.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
All right, porcelain's denser.
So generally, you do want aporcelain.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Yeah, okay, gotcha Okay.
So large format is still in,it's still trending.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I do not see that going anywhere for quite some
time, and if anything, it's justgoing to be.
The tiles are going to getbigger.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Thanks for joining us today.
As always, we are grateful forour listeners and your continued
support.
Please subscribe to our YouTubechannel.
Follow us on social media viaFacebook, instagram and TikTok.
Get more info at our website,wwwthehomebuildingshowcom.
(21:49):
And, as always, remember who weare the Home Building and
Remodeling Show you.
The Home Building and Remodeling Show.
Let's go.
Welcome everybody to the HomeBuilding and Remodeling Show.
My name is Chris Kirby and I'llbe your host.
(00:21):
I am the owner of threeconstruction companies on the
Alabama Gulf Coast.
The show is about residentialconstruction.
We're going to cover topics ofhome building and remodeling.
Are you thinking of doing aremodel or building a home?
Are you a contractor looking toimprove your knowledge base or
grow your business?
Have you ever done a remodelproject or built a home?
(00:42):
There were so many things youwish you knew or that you could
have done differently during theprocess.
Then this show is for you.
We break down the process ofbuilding and remodeling and how
to have the best results duringyour project.
Whether you're a DIYer lookingfor tips, someone looking to
hire a contractor to do aproject, or a contractor looking
(01:04):
to expand your knowledge baseor your business, welcome aboard
.
Glad to have you.
Stay tuned.
We kick off the show with mythoughts on home building and
remodeling.
I'll share best practices andtalk about some of our
experiences in business and outin the field.
These shared thoughts andlessons learned are meant to
help you on your very ownjourney.
(01:25):
Let's go.
So our month of May, we've beenfocusing on tile, and a lot of
the intro to our podcast is justme generally giving some
business tips and some advice tothe contractors out there, and
I wanted to continue that themeas we continue to hit on tile
(01:45):
tile trends with our interiordesigners and also we're talking
about tile installation andbest practices, and one of the
and one of the biggest thingsthat you know I wanted to hit on
was quality, and what we'vebeen looking at is, you know, we
don't always want to win everyjob.
It's just not feasible and Ifeel like if you are winning
(02:08):
every job, you're probably notcharging enough, and I know
that's easy to say and you mayhave heard that a lot, but it's
the truth and, honestly, if youstart to negotiate your price
down too much, you're going tolose money and you may win the
job, but you're losing money and, honestly, you don't want to be
known for being the cheapestcontractor as you're going
(02:28):
through and starting yourjourney, because a lot of what
we talk to are people who arejust beginning their careers in
the contracting industry.
You know, my best advice foryou is just to make sure that
you have integrity, that you'rehonest.
Accountability is something thatlacks in our industry, and I
(02:51):
say accountability because evenin our company we get it wrong.
You know we set deadlines, wetalk about process, we try our
best to make sure that thingsflow smoothly, we have meetings,
and so I don't want you to getit twisted that I have all the
answers, because I just do not.
And you know I've been readinga lot of leadership books lately
(03:14):
, and one in particular.
You know, john Maxwell, whereyou know he just talks about how
he would have made a lot ofdumb decisions had it not been
for the people he surroundedhimself with.
And that's the way I feel.
I have a lot of experts thatwork for me, that are experts
and craftsmen and women in theirfield.
(03:34):
I don't have all the answers.
However, I lean on them heavilyand, as a brand new tile
contractor, if you don't havethat, seek that, find a mentor.
In our industry, mentorship islacking and I feel like the best
advice I can give you as abrand new contractor is to find
(03:57):
somebody to emulate, findsomebody that you can talk to,
that can guide you as you breakaway.
You have to think of the reasonthat you wanted to start your
own company.
Was it because you felt likeyou were underappreciated?
Was it because you felt likeyou weren't getting paid enough?
Did you feel like they weren'tlistening to you?
(04:20):
Or do you just sincerely thinkyou've outgrown the company and
that you want to start your ownbusiness because you would make
more or have more freedom?
Or you know, one of thosethings is usually why people
start their own company.
And I'll be honest with you thebusiness side, I feel, is why
(04:42):
most contractors fail.
It's not because they can't dothe work.
You can do the work.
You were the number one or youwere somebody's right hand and
you can do the work.
It's the management, it'smanaging the time, finding the
work, finding help.
Also, you know, it's one ofthose situations where you think
(05:04):
it's easy until you do it.
And then you walk a mile in theshoes of a business owner and
you understand especially asmall business owner just
starting out just how hard it iseasier to just be able to do
the work and go home at nightwith a workload that's
(05:26):
accomplished than it is to runeverything else.
You know it doesn't all theleads that come in and keeping
work on the books is hard,especially when you just started
now and you're not wellestablished as your own company.
So one of the biggest things Ican say to all the tile
contractors and contractors ingeneral just starting out is to
(05:48):
find a mentor, and that'ssomething that I didn't have.
Yeah, I had people withtechnical skill, but I just
didn't have a mentor thatreached out and said hey, let me
guide you through X Y Z inbusiness, because I'm telling
you right now, the business sideof things is where most people
fail Cashflow, financials, work,lead generation.
(06:13):
There are so many things to dowhen you run a small business,
especially if you're going to doit right Paying taxes, paying
Uncle Sam, making sure that youfind you know you find quality
help, these things retainingthat person, making sure they're
going to show up, making surethey don't embarrass you on the
job site, you know, doing theactual work itself, and then
(06:38):
finding time to sit down and notonly go and do an estimate, but
when are you going to write theestimate?
And now we move into Shop Talk.
It's the portion of the showwhere I bring in a co-host and
we cover trending topics in homebuilding and remodeling.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Hope you enjoy.
Let's go.
Oh yeah, it makes that good.
You spread it and then withinthree or four minutes it's
locking up on you and then yougot issues when you're trying to
clean it up well, so it, so theyou can do it too thick, too
thin, like too watery, differentthings like that, it'll mess up
, I mean have.
You need them, so they sell aone gallon um the smaller
(07:20):
buckets home depot.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
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 cookingfood, right, those ingredients,
how you mix them and how youstir it up.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
All of that stuff matters yeah, I mean, some of
them want you to mix for acertain amount of time.
Let it rest.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yeah, mix again yeah, and let it rest.
I noticed that when I wasfilming justin doing he was
doing that subway tile out thereon the new construction, he was
definitely following.
You know, I guess that all sethas like a 10 minute setup time
and so that stuff does matter,right.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I mean especially with the all set, because if you
mix it to their specificationsit gets real fluffy and it makes
it lighter actually and easierto work with.
I yeah, it gets real fluffy andit makes it lighter actually
and easier to work with.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I got you Okay, so it's actually easier to follow
the instructions.
Right, it performs how it'ssupposed to.
Yeah, okay.
And sometimes if you don't dothat part right and you know we
like to warranty our work, butthat 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
(08:31):
want you to use.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah, because you're going to turn in the SKUs from
all the back, every product thatyou so you could actually void
the warranty with something assimple as not following the
instructions.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Okay, all right.
So the grout process isimportant.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Very important.
Yeah, I mean because it's thefinal touch to it.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And I'll tell you what really I think another
thing that we had to do on thatsame job where it kept glazing
over and we kept having to cleanand if you know, for all you
contractors out there, you knowwhat I'm talking about.
We've had it happen a couple oftimes in the past not recently
(09:10):
where it'll glaze over and youkeep trying to clean it and it
just keeps glazing.
But you know, another thing wehad to do down there was we
actually had to go back in anddo some grout touch-ups right,
just the touch-ups.
But I think he actually wentdown there and used some grout
paint to fix some areas, becauseI I don't know if it was
because we had two differentgrout colors or it's probably
miss mix, yeah, um so one batch.
(09:32):
So again, that goes back.
Okay.
So what you're telling me is,when you're grouting, you can
actually have a lighter, darkermix if, if it's, is it two
different people mixing it, isit two different bags, how does
that work?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
so you'll have two-part grouts yeah, where you
get the the grout?
Yeah, mix with the grout coloryeah 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 lineyou'll have like a charcoal gray
(10:11):
because it's not mixed properlyyeah, throughout.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So when you're doing a larger shower, how do you
prevent that from happening, man?
Because you're not going to useone mix all the way through, or
are you?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
well, if you, you're going to be using the same brand
product, same color.
So as long as you mix it, thesame way, the correct way you
should be fine, okay.
All right.
And then they have products forhazing and stuff.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Well, okay, that goes back to some of the let's talk
about sealing these things.
Okay, sealing the grout rightNow.
A lot of the grout these days.
Does it not have a built-in?
Yes, okay, all right, becausewe get those questions all the
time.
Well, are you going to comeback and seal it?
Is it sealed?
Blah, blah, blah.
(10:56):
Right, so talk to me about thatprocess.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
So all the new stuff, the Mopay and all that has a
built-in sealer, but it doesn'thurt 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 Ishould say the town Daphne.
Well, they have water issues,so if you're using a
(11:19):
light-colored grout with theircity water, you get yellow.
It'll start yellowing andbrowning within a year.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
So you're telling me that thegrout and the water, where the
water comes from, can mattersometimes.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Yeah, if you've got a water issue in your
municipality, you would like theextra protection, right, okay,
all right, gotcha, so I had to.
What was the lady's name?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So you're saying, just after continuously taking
showers with some rough water orsomething, it could make a
difference.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Right.
So it wasn't even six monthsafter her shower was done and
Daphne we went.
She called me over there.
It was like real yellow.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Right where the shower head, like Kind of drips
and yeah.
So I got it cleaned up and thenI sealed it and she called back
a few months later and saidthat she wasn't having any more
issues.
Yeah, called back a few monthslater and said that she wasn't
having more issues.
Yeah, but I mean, I guess it'sdue with how much chlorine or
lime or whatever.
Okay, your water is there, youknow.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
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 isimportant 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.
(12:51):
Yeah, okay, what else, when itcomes to tile, what are some
common issues that we run intoafter the fact?
Okay, lippage, all right,that's really not after the fact
, that's kind of during.
Okay, is that where thoseleveling wedges and clips?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
come in.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Is there a time you don't use leveling wedges or
clips?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I mean so if you're trying to use tiles that already
have a beveled edge and you'retrying to just stack.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, it's not really necessary.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
You know what I mean?
Okay, but that's when you'regoing to have to pay attention
to what you're doing and makesure everything Continuously
check.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Yeah, I mean yeah, okay, but for the most part,
especially for beginners, youneed to be using leveling wedges
and clips.
Oh, definitely, is there aright way to use those, like can
you make a mistake with thewedges and clips?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I'm sure yeah, so they make the pliers to use.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Snip them right to install them.
So, oh, I got just yeah, yeah.
But um, so you're pushing.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I got yeah and the direction that you do them.
That way you're not pullingaway from, you know pulling.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
So you want to make sure that, when, when you're
that system, that all yourwedges 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 adifference?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yes, so I'm trying.
It's been so long since I'vedone it.
So if you're laying and you'reworking your way up, if you put
your clip here and then you'restarting to push this wedge up,
it will push that tile up.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
I gotcha.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And make your grout line off and then you'll try to
slide it back down.
Then you get thin set allthrough and it's just not a
tight Gotcha.
You know what I mean.
You can over push them andthey'll break.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yeah.
So what about getting thosethings out?
A lot of people have questionsabout that too.
So like, when you're doing afloor or something like that,
how do you get the clips out?
So you're popping out thewedges, how do you get them
clips out?
How are you supposed to getthose clips out?
Speaker 2 (15:01):
I've never been taught how to get them out.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Okay, you supposed to get those clips out.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I've never been taught how to get them out, okay
, so usually you just hit, kickthem.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Kick them on the floor or hit, get them.
Yeah.
So it's okay for those malletand hit them.
It's okay to have.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I mean they're, they're made to wear there's got
to be some type of cutter, butI don't know, it's just uh.
They're a pain in the butt toowhen you break them off.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
You've got a little tiny piece that pokes up.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
They just are a little too short to where you
can get.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
So then that's when a helper comes in with a razor
knife, you have them.
Go and cut them down, becausethere's nothing worse than
having so like the brand we usethe eighth inch ones are red
yeah.
Than having so like the brandwe use the eighth inch ones are
red, yeah.
And if you don't cut that thingdown properly, after you grow
out you'll see little red spotsall through, and we've had that.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
How do you know if you've got?
So that was the wedges andclips and you get them out and
make sure that you don't leavetoo much to where, when you
grout, you can't grout.
How do you make sure thatyou've put enough grout in there
?
We've had issues, or there'sbeen issues, where you'll start
(16:14):
getting gaps, right, right,you'll end up in little holes.
Yep, little holes, okay.
So what does that mean, though?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
If you, if you see, you're just not smashing it in
there properly is that wherethat float is probably just
going?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
really, they're kind of smoothing it out, but what is
that?
Aren't you supposed to edge itin with that float, or how do
you do that?
How do you make sure it gets?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
so you want to run, you want to trial it over, like
you use a trial on the edge andget it over, and then I'd like
to smash it in.
Do you know what I?
Speaker 1 (16:43):
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 (16:55):
For what?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Now we're going to move into the portion of the
show where we talk interiordesign.
We're going to bring in aninterior designer and we're
going to talk trending designand products.
Hope you enjoy.
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Everything all at the same time and again, too,
having a designer who's going tomake sure they're ordering
everything from the samedistribution center.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
I'm not going to pull something from Miami and then
something from North Carolina.
I'm going to make sure it'scoming from the same place.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Got it Okay, yeah, great, all right, and number
five.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Pattern tile and tile patterns.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Okay, the pattern tiles.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
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 muchmore popular nowadays.
Um, they're being utilized notonly for floors, but people are
getting again more advantageousto where they're like this is my
home, I own it, I want to dowhat I want to do and they're
doing it on backslashes gotchaand then we get a tile patterns
where you're taking tiles orturning them into a chevron
(17:53):
gotcha turning it into a basketweave, instead of just that
simple running board.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
You know know, half split or three quarter split
installation and sometimes youknow, I've seen a simple effect
that's dramatic, is like even on.
We installed some gray glasssubway tile in a kitchen and
instead of running ithorizontally they ran it
vertically and it made a hugedifference.
Just that simple change rightthere and I was like I don't
know if that's going to lookgood, but now I've seen it made
(18:17):
a huge difference.
Just that simple change rightthere and I was like I don't
know if that's going to lookgood.
But now I've seen it a coupleof times and just that simple
change is a little different,but it made a huge impact in
their overall kitchen.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
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 tilesand tile patterns, the other one
I was going to get into isabstract shapes and pattern
reliefs.
One of the ones that we saw atmarket was a pattern relief
where it looked like a palmfrond had been pressed into the
tile itself.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
I got you.
Okay, now that right, there ishard.
Well, it's not hard.
Again, it goes back toknowledge and knowing what
you're doing.
But those patterns in the tileor waves or any of that stuff,
you have to get that right onfor it to look right, and
especially if they're meant tojoin right, join together at
(19:15):
corners or whatever it is, ifthe pattern is supposed to be
continuous, it's even yes, it'seven harder.
With what do you call that?
When it does this Patternreally?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Yeah, Okay, talking about pattern, really yes, yes
or bookmatch.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Bookmatch Yep, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
So yeah, again, that comes down to your installer and
also having the knowledge ofhow to place that.
The other one was raised sogeometric yeah, raised yeah,
really, really popular, and oneof the ones that, um, I'm going
to showcase later is the tileactually comes.
It creates almost a 3d form.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
That comes off the tile itself yeah, that's, that's
what I was talking aboutactually, 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 orset it right or do a proper
layout, yes and it'll look off.
Yep, absolutely Okay.
(20:07):
So that was your five.
So number one was color.
Dopamine colors, dopaminecolors.
I love that.
Number two was Handcrafted.
Handcrafted Number threeTerrazzo Terrazzo Number four.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Sustainability.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Sustainability and number five Patterned.
Okay, I got a bonus question.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Done.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Large format.
Okay, is that in Okay?
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Oh, it's still in it's still in.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
And when I say large, we have a piece out here.
I don't know what size that is.
What size that back, that backtile?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
The 24 by 68.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
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, youhave to be super sensitive with
installation.
You have to know what materialto use as far as your mortar and
setting it and things like thatbut also the breakage on those.
(21:07):
It's easy to break.
Those, you know, are thoseporcelain?
They are Okay.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
All right, porcelain's denser.
So generally, you do want aporcelain.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Yeah, okay, gotcha Okay.
So large format is still in,it's still trending.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I do not see that going anywhere for quite some
time, and if anything, it's justgoing to be.
The tiles are going to getbigger.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Thanks for joining us today.
As always, we are grateful forour listeners and your continued
support.
Please subscribe to our YouTubechannel.
Follow us on social media viaFacebook, instagram and TikTok.
Get more info at our website,wwwthehomebuildingshowcom.
(21:49):
And, as always, remember who weare the Home Building and
Remodeling Show you.
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