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Repairing a Cracked Tile

It’s quite amazing how even knowing about a cracked tile in the home can have us wondering just what to do about it. One of our London tilers summed it up quite nicely when he mentioned how his colleagues seldom thought to offer the homeowner a couple of extra tiles to hold as spares for future breakages. Easy for him, we hear you say, but how difficult is repairing a tile in any case? The answer – quite simple, if you observe the following advice offered by Mr-Skill:

Taking Stock

Throwing your arms up in frustration is not going to solve the problem, but following these simple steps is likely to have you smiling. Even so, some people are simply not motivated to make repairs like this themselves. If this describes you, rather find a tiler to do the job for you. Mr-Skill has a number of experts lined up. They have all been pre-screened, and the good news is that there are some great discounts on normal prices but you ought to move fast!

What You’ll Need

A special epoxy glue and catalyst set – buy this at any hardware store, but make sure you choose one suitable for ceramic tiles. Also have a putty knife or paint scraper available to mix and apply the resin.

Buy a small sample tin or bottle of oil-based paint to match as closely as possible the tile colour. Oh, and get yourself a small tin of clear polyurethane lacquer too, not forgetting a fine-artist’s brush. If this all sounds complicated, you could also get a tiling repair quote on Mr-Skill.

Step 1

Clean the tile and surrounding area thoroughly, and make sure the wall or floor surface is dry before you start the repair.

Step 2

Mix sufficient epoxy glue and resin together, observing the manufacturer’s instructions carefully. Now fill the crack with the mix, using the paint scraper or putty knife.

Step 3

Wipe off any surplus above the crack line and leave the repair to dry completely.

Step 4

Now you can carefully paint over the repair and leave this to dry as well.

Finally, it is advisable to apply a coat of polyurethane lacquer over the painted area and leave it to dry. Job completed, and it’s time to pop the kettle on and make a nice cuppa to enjoy while you admire your handiwork. Don’t forget to thank Mr-Skill for this wonderful free advice.

Tags: brush, catalyst, clean, cracked tile, epoxy, find a tiling expert, fixing, floor, glue, homeowner, lacquer, london tiler, paint, paint scraper, polyurethane, putty knife, resin, tile, tiling quote, wall
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off

Timber Decking

Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Jun 27

Like most things in life, a satisfactory timber deck begins with a solid foundation. Similarly, a successful career may begin at a good primary school, and a victory in a debating competition often depends on well-founded logic. I myself am sometimes equally guilty of wanting to get started without planning properly – do this when contemplating a wooden outside deck and you really do invite trouble.

An old hand I knew as a lad and who was a Joiner in London loved to say that every journey begins with the first step, and that when it came to woodwork that first step was down to the timber yard in his mind. After all, it is pointless planning a job unless you can get the right timber, and in the lengths your job needs too. Plan your spacing correctly and help save trees as opposed to accumulating off-cuts.

At this stage in the project there is no substitute to mocking things up on the ground with string or whitewash so that you can visualise exactly where things will go. If you Find a Joiner that you hired setting in the support posts without doing this first and discussing the results with you, best you cut your losses and start again.

A Joinery Quote must define the type, treatment, dimensions and quality of the timbering to be used on a wooden deck, and the quality of the fixings too. Insist on timber cut from the heart of a tree, and materials that will not rust. While this may increase the project cost by 50%, it could more than treble the lifespan of the finished product.

With everything agreed and the posts set in concrete, the frame should be built up in a matter of days. Inspect the work as it goes along and do not allow any planks to be attached until you are completely satisfied. Keep an eye on the planks themselves too. They must not be split, warped or twisted. Reject those that are, because you specified the best.

The rest should be plain sailing and you can probably leave it to the decking firm to continue undisturbed for the rest of the job. This will be partly because they can see that you know what you are about, but mainly because you found them on Mr-Skill.

Tags: concrete, deck, decking, find a joiner, fixing, frame, joiner london, joinery quote, length, mark, mock up, plan, plank, post, quality, reject, rust, split, string, support, timber, tree, twist, warp, wood, wooden
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off

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