DIY Network

Entry Hall Rehab: Natural Stone Tile A lackluster ceramic-tile floor gets dressed up with the look of natural stone. From "Rock Solid" episode DROC-211

In this Rock Solid project, stone masons Derek Stearns and Dean Marsico give a boring entryway a limestone tile facelift. They remove the existing ceramic tile floor and replace it with a natural stone tile. Following along the steps in this DIY project shows how you can make the most of limestone tile in your own home.

Before. . .

and after.

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	Before
	After

Tools:

hammer gun with chisel bit
shop vacuum
heavy duty plastic bags
shovel
heavy duty mixing drill with mixing paddle
clean 5-gallon buckets
margin trowel
tile scraper
wet saw
grout float
grout sponge
safety glasses
dust mask

Materials:

limestone tile
white thinset
grout color
penetrating sealer

Demolishing the Old Tiles

Remove the tile and begin with a clean and level substrate. You can make the demolition phase easy by using a hammer gun with a chisel bit (figures A and B). Wear your safety glasses to protect your eyes from flying chips. Apply pressure along the outside edges as you break up the tiles. This should help them break.

Rock Solid Tip: As you demo, place the tip of the hammer gun along the grooves of the tile joints. This helps the tiles crack more easily. Use industrial strength trash bags to clean up the broken tiles.

Figure A

Figure B

Removing the Old Thinset

• Cement board is one of the most common forms of underlayment and normally the next step would be to remove it. Dean and Derek are lucky because the tile they are removing is set on a concrete base and they do not have to do this.

• Because they are working off of a concrete base, however, they need to remove the old thinset to get a smooth and level subfloor. To remove the thinset run your hammer drill along the old thinset line (figure C). You want to get a smooth and level subfloor for setting the new tile.

• Next, use a heavy duty vacuum cleaner to clean up (figure D).

Figure C

Figure D

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