The Water Bead Test for Checking Your Grout Sealer Integrity Grout is the most misunderstood component of a tile assembly. Most homeowners and even some green contractors view it as a colored caulk that fills gaps. It is actually a porous cementitious product that acts like a hard sponge. If you do not seal it…
You have spent hours on your knees with a bucket and a mop, yet the floor looks like someone smeared a gallon of whole milk across the boards. It is a common frustration for homeowners who treat their laminate surface like it is solid hardwood or tile. Most people believe that more soap equals a…
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. The homeowner thought a thick underlayment would hide the dips. It won’t. Most guys skip the leveling compound because it is messy and slow, but that is the difference between a floor that lasts forty…
Why your shower grout is turning orange after only six months I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That is the reality of this trade. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I…
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet, but carpet guys often ignore what is under the pad. Most guys skip the leveling compound and think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. When it comes to carpet, the same negligence applies…
The microscopic reality of sanded grout maintenance Sanded grout consists of a Portland cement base mixed with silica sand aggregates to provide structural integrity for joints wider than one eighth of an inch. Cleaning it requires a medium-stiffness toothbrush to reach into the granular valleys of the grout line without scratching the surrounding tile or…
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I smelled like dust for a week and my knees felt like they were full of broken glass. But…
Why your carpet smells like a wet dog after a professional clean I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet, but the worst jobs are the ones where the smell hits you before the front door is even open. Most homeowners think a…
The ‘Ice Cube’ trick for fixing crushed carpet fibers I once walked into a penthouse where the owner was screaming about his ‘defective’ carpet. He had moved a heavy mahogany desk that sat in one spot for five years. The pile was flat as a pancake, compressed into a hard, glossy divot. He wanted a…
Removing permanent marker from a laminate floor requires an understanding of the chemical bond between the ink pigments and the aluminum oxide wear layer. You must use a solvent that breaks down the resin in the ink without dissolving the melamine finish that protects the high-density fiberboard core. If you act quickly, the non-porous nature…
