.Mike Haduck shows his style of laying tile on a concrete floor. All my videos are my ways and ideas, I always suggest anyone doing any type of work to consult professional help.
After searching a ton of videos on how to lay tiles on a rather crooked and unsquared patio I think this is the most helpful to lay them dry first which is what I thought of doing but was not sure. Excellent video.
I like the way you got it done Mike. I have done tiling over the years in my own homes with no issues. However after watching some of the drama in more recent videos these days I almost scrapped the idea of my upcoming job. This video re enforces my confidence. I have tiled over many different substrates without all what I call drama I see lately and there has been no issues over the many years they have been in place.
I started watching you last week with the “how I lay brick” your a good teacher I appreciate what your doing since then I watch a lot more of your videos it’s golden knowledge
I can learn a lot from you Mike, your relaxed and easy to understand way of providing knowledge is perfect. Im in Australia and today, I'm off to do some tiling with the advice of your good counsel, thanks!!
Mike, I literally could watch you all day. These are great tips. You are a wonderful Teacher! Thank you so much for these videos, you saved me a lot of headaches!! I’m a new SUBSCRIBER ❤️Thank You!!
Mike Haddock you are my favourite stone mason of all time! Everything I learnt was from you and for this Mike I am ever so grateful for every video you have made. You are my master stone masonry mentor, it's great to be able to watch RU-vid from anywhere in the world and get taught by the best in the business.
There is now a tile underly called DITRA which is a bit expensive per square foot but levels the minor imperfections in a concrete floor and prevents cracking in the grout lines. I'm doing an entry hallway for the first time and it helped a lot watching how you make those cuts, thanks Mike.
Thanks Mike, a useful video. I'm about to tile another floor and the tip about placing the tile right up to the previous one and then moving it away will be very helpful
thank you Mike you are the best I understand clearly and being older havent tiled for years and all the new concrete fixers are so confusing for me and watching your video helps me so much thank you for sharing God Bless
hello from Wednesday September 21 2022. this vid popped up again and just like all the rest of the vids .. it's incredibly informative. Hope you are having a beautiful autumn and life is goood
There are tried and true ways to do things. With ceramic/porcelain floor tile the best way to trowel the thin-set onto the base is in straight parallel lines that are perpendicular to the front and back edges of the tiles and parallel to the side edges. Then, 'working" the tiles in from side to side ensures a complete or near complete fill of the thin-set beneath the tile. Any swirling motions with the trowel undermines the fill beneath the tile and could result in a failure of the tile. All due respect to Mike and his efforts, I would suggest that thin-set application be done in compliance with ANSI standards for tile installation.
Hi David, doing masonry sense the 1960s I judge all my jobs by callbacks, and I haven,t had any, when the ANSI guys start giving me written guarantees I will feel a lot better, no worries, thanks, mike
@@easyrider4649 even "experts" can learn a thing or two... see: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Way5bMh-eYg.html Doing something for many years does not an expert make. Learning is a life-long process.
Mike, you are a master of your craft. Forget all of those nitpicky little rules, you do it right. Also, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, from how to carry yourself and talk to people, that you are a Christian. Takes one to know one. :) Keep up the good work and God bless!:)
Very important to only rake mortar in one direction, no fan pattern. This can vary bonding by %25. Grain tile or stone should be alternated in pattern each tile. Tile snapper should be use with tile pushed all the way against the top and only snapped at the top or you'll bend the leverage bars. Especially on those little home store ones. Lastly, on large format tiles one might consider a decoupling membrane as tile and concrete expand and contract at different rates. Even a roll on would provide crack protection.
In my Florida neighborhood all the back lanais came with painted dash finished floors. Lots of people had tile installed over it but nobody ever ground the paint off first. I’m sure the mud doesn’t stick to the paint, but maybe the dash gives it enough to hold onto. Sounds shaky, but nobody has complaints so far...
You can hear those tiles are grounded when you are sliding them into place,too a shallow depth trowel,no back buttering.Just making it more difficult for yourself when you come to a hump in the floor too.
Hi Ray, I almost never get call backs and if I listen to Anai or any of these other experts I will proably be out of business very fast, I rely on my 45 years of experience, thanks mike
Mike Haduck There is a video that demonstrates clearly that swirling the thinset creates a weak bond with lots of air space. You may not have gotten many callbacks, but drop a heavy on that tile and it will crack and shatter. Proper application avoids this and is superior. Even after 40 years an old dog can learn correct tricks.
Hi Rix, I appreciate it. I know that it depends on how deep the notches are on the trowel. and not using a notch trowel will sometimes leave bigger spaces, but no worries, I appreciate it. thanks mike
This is the video he is talking about ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Way5bMh-eYg.html Although I will admit that this is mainly applicable to commercial applications, this is still the proper and more durable way to install tile.
I HATE when the owners buy stuff. I tell them that I draw the line at the technical stuff, including the mortar. I give them a grout colour chart and tell them to pick one. And I will refuse to do a job where they want to buy the mortar or anything else that is behind the tiles: our guarantee hinges on the proper selection of materials. All in all, I like how you cheated that second one: looks nice with no spacers. I would have stuck with the spacers, counting on the trim to cover the extra gap (typically you have about an inch or more with the baseboard and quarter round trim). I like your work: wish you were tiling on my jobs because it looks like you work fast. Nice trick for the small holes using a grinder: I'm always using a diamond drill sitting there at least five minutes longer, plus setup and cleanup time. Thanks for the tips! :)
+Laurent Blanchet I am just passing along what I learned from the old timers, I know everybody has their own way, as long as it works it is fine.. thanks mike
Hi There. I like your video. thanks. QUESTION ? I am doing a small tiling job. only x 2 square meters bathroom floor. I want to know ? Is there any multi purpose adhesive which I could use for both - sticking on waterproof decoupling membrane onto a concrete subfloor and also using the same adhesive for sticking tiles on top of it ?
I have done a lot of demolitions and I found people's mistakes for using cheap materials and cheap tools just because it looks good on video doesn't mean it was done properly
Hi Tony, I never seen concrete that didn't crack, the trick is putting thr concrete in correctly then waiting for it to shrink and put your tile up to where the expansion joints are, my opinion. It always worked for me, thanks Mike
The previous home owners never tiled under the stove. That, and they tiled kitchen and pantry over linoleum. I can't take all that out but I found very similar tile at hardware store and have about 20" x 31" to fill and hopefully bring to level with the existing area. Can I build up the mortar to same level? Is eye balling it ok? Is fast set mortar ok? After I cut and layout my tile dry, I am hoping for a faster set mortar and match the grout color as best as I can. Thank you for videos. Love all your stuff.
Hi Isaac, I usuall build it up with the fast drying mortar and then after it drys lay the tile on top of that, Lots of different ways to do things, thanks mike
every artist is just working with what the real Creator created. I am just a product of what God created and lucky he gave me some ability, thanks mike
yep , I didn't like it but the customer wanted the color. the stuff stuck to the face of the tile and wouldn't dry in the joints. a lot like putty. just another day. thanks mike
did he just did a hand mix? with a hand shovel? when using thinset mortar you have to mix it by drill(low speed) to make sure the materials are mixed properly.... it seemed a little odd to see it been done this way
that is so very true sir... it just that when my mentor taught me he was freaked out when i showed up with the hand shovel jajaja but ur right when you're a master setter bo matter even if sometimes u even mix it by hand(done it sometimes myself)... so my comment just became invalid -_-
Mauricio Salazar-Ross the only thing I can say is after 30 days your usually safe on a concrete floor, this house was over 10 years old. lots of experts will say how to do this and how to do that but after a while you just know. thanks mike
New tile enthusiast here, I thought people put some sort of underlayment down when laying tile on concrete? Something called de-coupler membrane? Never done a tile floor but I may soon and I looked at other videos and folks were using some sort of underlayment so cracks in the concrete do not migrate? just curious, is it not required to use an underlayment when tiling on concrete?
Mike thank you for the video. I have rugs and vinyl in my home that I want to replace with tiles. Had a question: do you usually remove the sideboards before installing tiles when you are replacing flooring with tiles?
wanting to add a foyer to my small living room 17 by 15 approx. so shoes are not tracked all over my carpet area. Do you have a video of how to join the two smoothly once I put them down and try to level them off (from to tile to carpet or vice verse)? Btw I have the very large tiles. Thanks so much
I'm about to tile my basement. One question please .is this orange thing schluter kerdi necessary or optional on concrete?? Or I will appreciate your honest opinion should I use or not! Thank you 🙏
sometimes you got to get a little inventive and cut the tiles in smaller pieces until it slopes correctly. Maybe make a different design around the drain so it looks like it is suppose to be that way, (fake it) but always lay it out dry first so you don't end up with any surprise. I appreciate the comment, thanks mike
+Jose Zermeno I bought a 4-1/2 inch diamond blade you can get at lowes for about 10 dollars or so, for small jobs it is better than dragging all the wet saws out for me. I think the tile was ceramic but the saw will cut almost everything, thanks mike
Hi Mike, concrete it just hard reformed rock some but a membrane underneath to keep moisture from coming up others just put a sealer on top, everything depends on what you are doing, what, where, why, thanks Mike
I want to learn how to lay porcelain tile. I've got the tile I'm turning my guarage in to home salon it's an old concrete floor there is some cracks I think this would be the perfect place to learn. I've watch several videos a while back I'm watching before I start my project can you tell me what the first tink I need to do to start?
@@MikeHaduck thank you for this info ill look to do something different to improve the look of concrect slabs that i have maybe just a portland wash will be best
yeah: cleanliness is important. There is this stuff you can add to water, and it makes whatever dust is left behind, bind tot he floor, so when you apply your mortar, it sticks with the best bond. I would use that in high-traffic zones for sure, just to be safe.
What size trowel did you use to set your tiles. I have a similar job with 12" tiles, a concrete slab, I ground down the high spots, so the variations are less than 1/4" about 3/16" at the most. I am new and not sure what size trowel to use ? 1/4x3/8x1/4 ?. Thanks for your videos.
+Richard U they are cheap so I would buy a few different sizes and then use what works for You , I aslo did some grinding on part 2, I hope it helps, thanks mike
I don't think most people lay the tile out dry first. I see ugly, little pieces along the wall all the time, and sometimes even in doorways. I'll definitely take the time to lay the tile out first.
Hi Johnny, I would say it depends on everything, but I know if you tile around the toilet and do not take it out and have a problem or have to change it you will be probably be sorry you didn't. every situation is different, I hope it helps thanks mike
Hi Deein, I think 1/4 inch, but the trowels are so cheep it is best to buy all different sizes before you do the job, for 10 dollars you can get 3 of them, I hope it helps thanks mike
new to all of this, but came across your video. I'm going to be doing a 12'x9' room with a drain. it slopes a bit. I noticed the tile you cut at the beginning rocked a bit and you said you just added more mortar. Is that what you recommend to do? I've had ever opinion from needing to add self levelling mix or a sub floor. I'd prefer to lay right on concrete like you did, but don't want to mess up the entire floor.
+Jamie Cole check out (part 2) where I ground down a high spot around the pole, towards the end of the video, but if I don't grind it I do add more cement under it, all depends on the situation and how definite you want to be, I hope it helps, thanks mike
Mike, what type of tile and mortar would you think would be best in a garage with a heavy (30,000 lb RV)parking on it. I'm thinking of doing this rather than the polypropylene garage tiles you see all over RU-vid. Thanks.
hi richard, to be honest , If it was my garage I would never tile it at all, If it was for looks I would just use a paint and make it look like tile,, I hope it helps thanks mike
UltraAwesomeSauce12 I wouldn't use epoxy, seen too many that didn't hold up. The contractor that did the concrete job did a horrible job. Lots of delamination that hasn't popped up yet but definitely loose. Wouldn't dare put epoxy on top of that crap. Was thinking of doing SwissTraxx or something like that, that would be on top and hopefully help prevent the delamination from coming up, but they are too expensive.
Ohhh that sucks about the delamination, yeah I definitely wouldn't epoxy that. Otherwise, with proper prep work and using a quality 2 part epoxy, I think it would work out pretty well. It's just about the only thing i would think about putting in my garage. Really makes you respect people that pour and finish concrete properly, it is not an easy job in the slightest. In regards to flooring, technically you could put in any type you want, although tile wont hold up to the weight I wouldn't think. You could go commercial grade carpet, but that will show stains and dirt. Honestly at that point I would think about going with a vinyl floor, you can even have it slope up the walls to make a water tight container if you will. Not sure if they make sheet vinyl big enough for garages. Otherwise lick-and-sticks could work, I've never really thought about it to be honest though.
All I can say is every tile guy has their favorite tile cement, like folks have their favorite recipe for chicken soup and there is so many types I can't really comment on it. when you talk to the real tile guys and when you go to the tile stores always ask what the pros are using. I know I use different ones for different jobs. I hope it helps. thanks mike
Hi moscato, When I got a leveling problem, I just used thin set cement, and level with that the day before, that does the trick with me, other guys might say different, I hope it helps thanks Mike
it is a smaill 4 inch diamond tile blade, you can get them in almost any hardware store between 10-15 dollars, and they cut through porcelain and ceramic, I was using ceramic here, thanks mike
Hi Thuan, I would go to a hardware store or someone like Lowe’s and Home Depot and get a four-inch grinder with the tile blade on it which is a diamond blade and ask the store clerk and he’ll probably recommend what do use, thanks Mike
unless you are a professional and do it every day i would lay it out dry and take a good look at it. see where your cuts will end up, I usually start a full tile from where you walk in the door, but it don't always work out, I hope it helps
Mike .... after years of tiling..... I broke down and bought Gel Knee Pads..... Great Tools help also!! Try more mortar.... easier to float.... you know what I know??? Keep up the hard work.... you will be the master one day... then you die... get out of the business while there is still time!! lol P.S. another trick....chaulk every row.... and stay on the line with every tile.... trust your lines.... you can go like hell!!! Peace....
I see that you always like to dampen the surface any time you put cement or mortar to it. I'll throw in an explanation if you don't mind, that might not be obvious to some viewers. A porous surface will pull water out of the cement and it will fail. A non-porous surface need not be dampened. Plywood needs to be dampened or sealed to prevent water loss. I hope that helps some people that are not experienced with all this.
the Carpenter layed out your tile ....not a true tile setter ....a true tile setter layes his own pattern and doesn't need another person to get them started
MikeSorry to say it, but what I have just seen means you will never tile my floors.Do you know what the current standards for mortar application are? You are definitely not following them..
If mike haduck lost his trowel and only had a wooden spoon available to apply the thinset- I'd still be more comfortable with him doing the job than most of the contractors I met. Is it a rule in the tiling business that all tiling contractors must be shady? Seriously- i can't find anyone who gives off an air of trustworthiness where I am here in NJ. And by the way- Just because you preface a wiseass comment with "sorry to say" doesn't give you free reign to be a wiseass. why not provide something constructive rather than just "youre doing it wrong"? whats the matter? are you in the tiling business and you think providing such information will make you lose work?
Hi m, I did a video series called masonry tips for beginners, I show what I use and what for and what works for me and does not, and if I ask the inspectors to sign paper guaranteeing the current standards they will not do it. I have never had a call back on my tile work, so I do not know what to tell you, God bless, mike
It is so unbelievable that people are so critical. I have seen tile installed many different ways. Mike is a stone mason, not an everyday tile setter which explains the thinset being mixed in a tub rather than spun in a bucket. The installation is perfectly satisfactory. Cheap trowels and expensive trowels apply the material at the same consistancy. People quoting spec books are what is wrong with the construction industry. Old timers didnt even use notches trowels. They spread a smooth mud bed and set the tiles in it. Rather than reading a code book, try to rip out one of those old tile jobs and you will instantly realize that the strength and bond far exceeds new work. The guy who taught me to lay tile wouldn't dream to use spacers of any kind. Floors were laid by eye and walls were done with cardboard. His work was the best I've ever seen. Alot of the new cheats are just a crutch for tile setters that lack skill. Mike is of a breed of craftsmen that is sadly fading away. These guys do quality honest work and stand behind it. Mike visits his jobs sometimes multiple times once complete to make sure they withstand the test of time. Thank you Mike for sharing your knowledge with all of us! - Joe
