What's the difference between porcelain tile and ceramic tile?

Porcelain goes through an added step, grinding the clay into a highly powdered state. When compressed, the clay is highly dense with little moisture absorption making it ideal for outdoor applications.

Can I butt my tiles together on the floor?

In a word, no. Mud set stones can be butted. Tiles, being fired, will see some variation in size depending upon the water content of the clay at firing. 3/16" grout joint is as close as we would recommend. Tiles which are actually rectified can be installed closer, but some of the bigger ones will always have a small warp. Rectified tiles are tiles which are cut after firing to provide uniform size.

Sanded and un-sanded grout differ in what they are mixed with.

What determines whether you need to use sanded or non-sanded depends on the grout space width. 1/8" or more necessitates the use of sanded grout. Less than a 1/8", usually 1/16 or smaller, you have to use non-sanded so that the grout will properly pack into the joint. Non-sanded grout can also be utilized for gluing in glass, metal, or other scratch-prone material.

Do I mind if I install with gray or white mortar?

Only when installing stone. Stones are porous and the color of the mortar will be transferred to the tile. Black or green stones must be installed with gray mortar. All other ones use white. When installing tile, some installers prefer using white mortar when they are using a light-colored grout.

Can I install my floor tile with mastic?

Mastic is mostly for wall tile. The rule is to mortar the floors and mastic the wall. Mortar may be used for wall tile installation; however, it is not adhesive and holding the tiles until they dry can prove to be a challenge unless you are using a light weight flexible thinset.

can an stone be installed the same as ceramic on the floor?

Stones set in the floor require "mud-setting". There are a number of ways to perform a "mud-set". The simplest is to install with a ¾" square notch to trowel the floor, trowel the reverse side of the stone or butter the reverse side with mortar.

Can I put tile over vinyl flooring?

Tile can be set over vinyl flooring with a multi-purpose mortar.  Two things to be aware of:

1. Is the vinyl loosening?

2. Is the vinyl floor soft?

If the answer to either of these is positive, then it is not a good idea to go over the vinyl. It is always best to bond the tile directly to the substrate. The multipurpose mortar will bond the tile to the vinyl, but it won't bond the vinyl itself. In effect you are putting good money on bad. Bonding directly to the substrate is better.

When do I need to use crack suppression?

Crack suppression is used to minimize exposure of the tile to stress from the slab. You need to walk on the slab and check for cracks prior to laying the tile. If you have some cracks you can manage with the use of a crack suppression kit. If the slab is new or less than three years old, then crack suppression has to be applied to the entire area to be tiled.