Waterproofing your basement wall, your deck or balcony, or your floor before tiling just got easier with MAPEI’s waterproofing solutions. To protect your basement wall from the hydrostatic pressure coming from the other side of the wall, Planiseal…

By Denise Troiano and Joseph Smith “Can I turn on the heat before installing my flooring?” We receive many questions regarding the installation of flooring over our Mapeheat floor-heating systems, but the above question is the most common. The…

A 12" x 24" (30 x 61 cm) tile is now considered an average size! Over the years, tile sizes have been getting larger and larger. Along with that, the problem of lippage is also becoming an issue. Thus, the invention of tile leveling and lippage…

By Denise Troiano and Joseph Smith Now that you have successfully created your shower pan pre-slope, it is now time to install the walls. Shower walls are installed typically one of two ways: Sinking them into the mortar bed or terminating them just…

What are resin-backed mosaics? They are a sheet of smaller tiles that are arranged in a pattern that are back-mounted to a fiberglass mesh that is coated with an adhesive (typically epoxy-based). Resins form a non-absorbent coating on the back of…

Flooring adhesives to meet green-building certification standards Throughout the construction industry, the pressure is on to build sustainably. With the advent of governmental regulatory frameworks like the State of California’s South Coast Air…

By Denise Troiano and Joseph Smith So, you have figured out the shower pan and walls, but what about the curb? Most people step over their curb daily and do not give it a thought; however, the curb is the location for many shower failures. There are…

Choosing the right grout does not have to be a long and excruciating process. However, there are several factors to consider, besides the color, when deciding on grout before your next project. These factors include: Where the installation is…

We typically see two types of grout stains that are classified as either “organic” or “inorganic.” Organic stains include food stains, such as fats, grease, proteins and carbohydrates. Organic stains also can be caused by living matter, such as…