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This is so different than even the back of the thinset bags, it begged an explanation.So the bood gives some good information on design and is worthwhile for that, but the stuff John probably forgot is harder for amateurs (if you can do a mortar bed, actually placing tiles must be like getting dressed) doesn't get covered in enough detail. I've done tiling before and the jobs have come out fine and get compliments and have never cracked or popped a tile. And I know now John loves his mortar bed, but they invented backer booard to make tiling more accessible and that's why I'm reading the book. Whew. That's an art and I'll never do that". I'm doing an outside deck with expensive porcelein tiles, so I thought I'd read a manual. If you do this, do you pull the trowel. Is that why he doesn't use a big notch on big tiles.
I'm not doing a bathroom, so I'm not grading that portion of the book. even though everything I've seen or read (or done) says you hold the trowel at a 45 deg angle when making the ridges, John says 90 deg. The discussion of isolation was also good, how you can make your tile job more resistant to changes to the substrate. I was also looking for some guidance on how to work out of multiple boxes. Not the history of tile or the trade. I ordered this book on the strength of the positive reviews.
I look at the pictures of people somehow doing a mortar bed in a big room, and only think, "yeah, right. I did carefully read every word up to that point in the book. He gets twice the thickness at 90 deg. I've only done near identical tiles, and now I have tiles that are mixed and I don't know how to work out of multiple boxes or whether I should literally lay out 100% of the tiles and move them around by sight and then carefully stack them to the side.And a real back breaker for me. I'm a little slow, but I don't pay myself by the hour.So I wanted to know more about the actual process of tiling. I thought the description of how to layout tile and snap chalk lines was very good.
Basically the problems you're dealing with when you out on your knees with boxes of tile piled about. What I didn't find was much on how to actually put the thin set down, when to back butter tiles, why you pick a trowel notch size (although John says he doesn't see the need for much beyond 1/4-3/8, he doesn't ever explain how to figure out what you should use from first principles), what are some tricks for swiping the thinset (I've always used straight trowel movement but the pictures show arcs), how you see your chalk lines after you've smeared over them with thinset, do you then scrape up all thinset right up to edge of placed tile(s).
"Tile Your World" was recommended to me for my project, so this is why I purchased it. If you are a new DIYer, please keep this in mind if you order this item. I can read all the content I want, but if I can't match it to the photos, it becomes useless to me (and quite a stressful project). I finally recieved this item. I don't know if I will keep this book-- especially if I can't see exactly what I need to do.
It was damaged in transit (cover bent), but I overlooked this complaint for a while until I opened the book. But when I saw the bulk of black-and-white photos that you can hardly see (which were also small), I then wondered "is this for real.". It is awful-- only the finished jobs are in color. NO how-to book should have small instructional photos in black-and-white, and only invest in putting the finished product in color.
This book is not just about how to schlep mud on a wall and make the tile look pretty, but more importantly it goes into considerable detail about the crucial part - what's underneath and how to properly construct it. This book is for those of us who enjoy working with our hands and are up to a good challenge. And yes, it also includes "pretty pictures" for inspiration. If you're getting ready to do a bathroom renovation that includes putting in a new shower, you NEED this book. The step-by-step instructions include lots of pictures and details even which order to tile the curb, niche, bench, etc.
We are not new to major home renovation projects and I have done lots of tiling projects in the past, but this is our first shower build from the floor up. I've learned with each successive project that you have to think in terms of "3 steps down the road" - step A has to be done a certain way, otherwise later on when tackling step C or D, you run into problems. This book does just that. It's not your typical bathroom book (which are usually nothing more than a photo gallery of nice bathrooms telling you to hire a contractor to do the project).
I guess that says a bit about the job but also about the info in the book. I purchased this book to try and advoid the pitfalls that would be encountered from doing a complete walk in tile shower and floor for a bathroom. I am happy to say that with the help of the book and the on line forums I easily accomplished the task with outstanding results. BTW - I had never done a tile job in my life up to this point so that is saying something. The guy installing the glass shower doors even said the job was better than most professionals he had to follow up.
No mention of using epoxy to set tiles with resin on the back or use of epoxy for anything. They don't care about the lack of detail in the book because they can get it from the online forum. As an example he has a section on making u-cuts in floor tiles. In particular there is absolutely no mention of how cutting and setting stone tiles is different than ceramic. This book was pretty disappointing.
He never actually tells you how to make a u-cut, just how great you'll feel when you master this skill.I'm guessing the reason this book has so many great reviews here is that the people that hang out in his online forum buy the book and enjoy his cute little stories and write a glowing review. After spending $24 for what I thought was going to be an authoritative book from a well respected expert on the art of tile setting, I find myself browsing other books while I'm at Home Depot to get the information I need. No mention of design issues like what size tile or what layout is best for small or large rooms, what size grout joints look best with what types and sizes of tile. But for $24 I shouldn't have to then go to an online forum or sneak peeks at other books while at the store for the information I need, it should all be in the BOOK.From looking at other tile books at Home Depot, either the Stanley (that's pretty sad) or Taunton book would be better choices for people who actually want to learn how to set tile. He has these cute sections about how cool it is to be a tile setter all over the book which bugs me since that space in the book could have been used to give real information.
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