Floor Tile Project this Weekend-My Back Already Hurts

[Pliablemoose]

I have ~1200 lbs worth of floor tile, mortar & grout in my van, project is to tile living room/dining room. My back already hurts.

Any home improvement peeps on the forums today?

 

[beer]

Let us know how your back feels monday.

 

[NutBucket]

Get a back support. Believe me it makes a difference.

<-- Only 20 and knows what its like to have an aching back.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Get a back support. Believe me it makes a difference.

<-- Only 20 and knows what its like to have an aching back.

Yep, that and those "cup-like" black rubber knee pads with the elastic straps that the carpet guys use. Your knees AND back will thank you.

ps
With a name like Pliablemoose, I wouldn't think that this would be stressful for you.

 

[Fritoz]

I feel for ya. I did our two dinky little bathrooms, with ordinary sticky-backed vinyl tiles... And I was hurting for days!!!1

 

[Pliablemoose]

You know you're in trouble when you have your home improvement project loaded into your vehicle with a forklift

 

[rahvin]

How are you cutting, powersaw or are you going to try to score and break?

 

[Kenazo]

Make absolutely sure you get knee cups, and don't buy crappy cheap ones, get some nice ones. If they have two straps on them, don't use the upper strap. This prevents the straps from digging into the back of your knees which they tend to do when there is two.

I did just over 800 square feet of tile this Christmas, as well as a couple hundred a few years ago. I loved doing it, although your back may start hurting If you can get someone to cut and carry so you don't have to continually get up and down, it will be much easier.

If you have any tile questions lmk...

 

[OrByte]

Your knees are gonna hurt just as much as your back.

I did this same project about a year ago and knee pads saved my life! Also make sure you get a nice tile cutter. Also, where you start lying the tile down is an important step, make sure the most visable portion of your room is started first and when you work your way to the back of a room you can lay down those pieces that had to be cut to size...which may or may not come out the way you want and therefore, are not as visable.

Oh and when your done, you are going to focus on every little mistake you made while everyone around you admires the fantastic job you did...I don't know why our brains make us do that!! I wanna enjoy the fantastic job I did too! but all I see are all the little mistakes I made.

good luck!

 

[morkinva]

Originally posted by: OrByte
Oh and when your done, you are going to focus on every little mistake you made while everyone around you admires the fantastic job you did...I don't know why our brains make us do that!! I wanna enjoy the fantastic job I did too! but all I see are all the little mistakes I made. good luck!

Haha, so true!

Hey I have a question about removing some 9" vinyl tiles from concrete. I'm told these are asbestos. So long as I keep it wet when removing it, is it okay for an asbestos newbie to safely remove about 400 sq' ?

 

[Pliablemoose]

I scrounged up a used power tub masonry/tile saw for $200 about a year ago, rented one for the last project, should have just bought one then for what it cost to rent.

My first project was about 350 sq feet & it turned out pretty well, this'' be my first attempt @ a pattern, mixing 6 inch & 12 inch tile. going to leave a 10X14 or so area in the middle of the living room & have a high quality carpet put in-such a small area, I can use high dollar carpet.

I'd looked @ having it done, but the $3 per square foot for labor + extras was a little steep.

 

[CPA]

Put two floating wood floors in myself. My whole body hurt after that project.

 

[Pliablemoose]

morkinva, you should do fine, just keep it wet to keep the dust down, wear a mask & shower up after you're done.

 

[Smaulz]

My wife and I regrouted our kitchen tile a few years back. Took us a week and the pain was like nothing I'd felt before. We both figured it'd be a quickie "Bob Villa" sorta thing. HA! Took another two weeks to be able to open and close my hands again.... :|

 

[amdskip]

morkinva, I don't believe removing those tiles yourself is safe. I'm pretty sure the tiles aren't asbestos, rather the glue substance is the infected part. It wouldn't be cheap to call someone in to remove them so most people just build a plywood floor right over top of them.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: morkinva

Originally posted by: OrByte
Oh and when your done, you are going to focus on every little mistake you made while everyone around you admires the fantastic job you did...I don't know why our brains make us do that!! I wanna enjoy the fantastic job I did too! but all I see are all the little mistakes I made. good luck!

Haha, so true!

Hey I have a question about removing some 9" vinyl tiles from concrete. I'm told these are asbestos. So long as I keep it wet when removing it, is it okay for an asbestos newbie to safely remove about 400 sq' ?

Abestos causes blacklung and cancer. But you need a lot of exposure to it (the people that died were the guys that mined it and installed it, not the people that were around it). The governmental overreaction to it has everyone believe that if you look at the stuff funny it will kill you. The fibers are bad if you get them in your lungs. Keep it wet and wear a resperator and clean up really well (no dust) and you aren't risking anything.