Tile Types & Materials

I remember staring at the cracked, avocado-green tile in my old kitchen, wondering if I could salvage any of it. My contractor just laughed. “Waste of time, kid. Just chuck it.” But throwing perfectly good material away always feels wrong, doesn’t it? So, the question lingers for many DIYers and homeowners: can ceramic tile be … Read more

I remember staring at a catalog, a wave of expensive-looking tile options mocking me. It was for a small cafe I was helping a buddy set up. He wanted that fancy, high-end look, and I, bless my naive heart, thought ceramic tile was the answer for everything. Turns out, not all ceramic is built for … Read more

I once bought a pallet of gorgeous, expensive porcelain tile for a patio project, only to have half of it get rained on before I could even get it under cover. Talk about a sinking feeling. I learned the hard way that just because tile looks tough doesn’t mean it’s indestructible. So, to answer the … Read more

I remember staring at the tile samples, my head spinning. Granite counters, check. But the backsplash? That’s where things got hairy. Everyone online was pushing this idea that certain tiles just magically went with granite. It felt like a conspiracy. The question of whether or not can ceramic marble tile go with granite counter is … Read more

I once found myself staring at a pallet of porcelain tile, shivering in a garage that felt more like a meat locker. It was January, and I had a big project starting in March. My gut screamed, ‘This is a bad idea.’ But logic, or what I thought was logic at the time, told me … Read more

I remember the first time a friend told me they were putting real ceramic tile in their mobile home. My gut reaction was, ‘Are you nuts?’ I pictured cracked tiles after the first frost, or the whole floor buckling when the house settled. Mobile homes just have this reputation, right? Flimsy, temporary, not built for … Read more

I remember the first time I saw it online, a picture of this supposed miracle tile. They said it was the bee’s knees for kitchens, a big deal for bathrooms. I thought, ‘Okay, let’s see what all the fuss is about.’ So, I ordered a sample of ‘a 5kg smooth marble tile’, full of hope … Read more

I remember staring at my dingy, avocado-green bathroom tile, feeling like I was trapped in a 1970s time warp. “There’s no way this looks good,” I grumbled to my reflection, which, to be fair, was also looking a bit questionable. I’d spent a small fortune on actual ceramic tile replacement in the kitchen a few … Read more

I remember staring at a pallet of plain ceramic tile, the kind you find in every builder-grade bathroom in America. My buddy swore he could stamp designs into it, make it look all fancy. Sounded like a load of BS to me, honestly. Most ‘DIY hacks’ are just glorified ways to ruin perfectly good materials. … Read more

I remember standing in my buddy Mark’s kitchen, staring at the backsplash. He’d just spent a fortune on this gorgeous, intricate mosaic, and he was absolutely beaming. Then he told me, “Yeah, we just put it right over the old drywall. Saved a ton of time and mess.” My BS alarm went off like a … Read more

I remember the first time I pulled a bubbling, piping hot Dutch oven off the stove. My kitchen counter was a pristine white quartz, and my brain just went blank. Instinctively, I reached for the nearest thing that looked remotely heat-resistant – a single, unglazed ceramic tile I’d bought for a DIY project ages ago. … Read more

I remember staring at that bare patch of subfloor in my kitchen, a fresh box of gorgeous ceramic tiles mocking me. The advice online was everywhere: ‘Use spacers! Always use spacers!’ But I had this nagging thought, this feeling that maybe, just maybe, you could lay ceramic tile without a space between them. I’d seen … Read more

I remember the first time I tried to make pizza at home. I’d seen all these fancy setups, but all I had was my standard oven and a baking sheet. The crust was… fine. Edible. But it lacked that blistered char, that satisfying crunch you get from a proper pizzeria. Then I heard about pizza … Read more

I remember staring at a pallet of gorgeous, handmade ceramic tiles for my kitchen backsplash, stacked precariously in my buddy’s garage. It was late October, and he’d offered to store them for me until I was ready to install. My gut clenched. Unheated? In this climate? It felt like a gamble I wasn’t willing to … Read more

So, you’ve got that glossy, industrial-looking epoxy floor in your garage or workshop, and now you’re eyeing it, wondering if you can slap some proper tile down on top of it. I’ve been there. Staring at a perfectly good, albeit a bit bland, epoxy coating and thinking, “Could this be the foundation for something more?” … Read more

I remember staring at my beige, builder-grade ceramic tile floor in the bathroom, thinking, ‘There HAS to be a way to make this look less… beige.’ I’d seen those gorgeous, mottled concrete floors online and wondered if the same magic could happen to my boring tile. So, I dove headfirst into the rabbit hole of … Read more

I remember staring at my old kitchen floor, a patchwork of cracked and dingy ceramic tiles that looked like they’d survived a small war. The thought of ripping it all out and starting fresh? Utter exhaustion. Then I heard about laying new tile right over the old. Sounded too good to be true, and honestly, … Read more

I remember the first time I saw a dark, greasy stain bloom on my brand-new, light-colored ceramic tile floor. It was right after a pizza party, and I thought, ‘Oh no, this is it. This is the beginning of the end for my pristine kitchen.’ I’d heard whispers, seen the ads for miracle cleaners, and … Read more

I remember staring at my gas grill one sweltering afternoon, the metal grates looking sad and grimy. I’d seen a bunch of folks online raving about using ceramic tiles as a sort of DIY heat diffuser or even a cooking surface. My first thought was, ‘Are you serious?’ My kitchen floors are ceramic tile, and … Read more

I remember staring at my grandma’s avocado green bathroom tiles for what felt like an eternity. They were… a choice. When I finally inherited her house, painting those tiles was the very first thing on my list. I’d seen all the glossy magazine spreads and Pinterest boards promising a DIY miracle. Let me tell you, … Read more