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Installing a Marble Tile Floor

Bob Vila meets with Nick Tagios from New York-based Tagios Tile and Marble as Tagios prepares to put down a traditionally installed marble floor. Prior to Bob joining him for the flooring installation, Tagios laid felt paper and and a diamond mesh lath over the subfloor. The small rigid mesh provides perfect keying of the Portland cement and sand dry mix base for the tiles. Tagios expertly levels and sets each piece of marble tile in a running bond pattern. Tagios packs the underlayment by tamping the top of the tile with a makeshift tool created from a sawed off striking hammer. He a leaves one-sixteenth-inch gap between each tile (about the width of his trowel), and will finish the job with a white grout. The marble tile in this installation has been highly polished and requires no sealant.

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Restoration of the Brooklyn Academy of Music Building

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Cherry Cabinet and Kitchen Island Installation

Installing a Marble Tile Floor Now Playing

Installing a Marble Tile Floor

Clip Transcript For:

Installing a Marble Tile Floor

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" We're starting out with neat ideas from tiny us tile and marble here in New York and he's a busy guy right now because what he's prepping to do is. Marble tile installation that's a traditional old style kind of mud job. And not going to interrupt you just yet -- so you're wetting down the area you've got diamond mesh on top of felt paper right over the plywood. And now you made a mess -- is this is what's called prime threat front and Jessica. And -- is sand and Portland right that. So what we're doing then is using the marble tiles that have been cut try and so we're using the Minnesota -- Rectangular format. And they'll be laid in what's known as running bond when you've seen a minute but. These guys are used to working fast how thick will that layer being. This one here who's going to start off with three quarters of an inch which I prefer don't -- this point it's okay. President not this way he's going to do depict yes floor is off level oh I see okay. What crackling and you can get through. You thought that in the military shift. I couldn't. Clean as you go. Yes always a good -- Make sure you pack it underneath. It. Since Sunday this and running bond pattern. Has really become popular in the last couple years motive for youth the antique look it's the antique -- but everybody's specifying a running -- you can do it obviously with any size. Tile or marble. These were what squares that you -- sixteen by sixteen we put it down to eight by sixteen him. When you're making this dry mix is and always 5050 or is it more sand than cement no it's more sand and -- it's like. Three and one. Connection. Now -- the joints are so tight on this installation do you still need to grout oh yeah. It's actually the thickness of the probably just like us sixteenth. Joints thank political white grout. -- before. They were getting very close to finish you don't -- Does come with any kind of sealer already it's always so full blown for a a little girl comes polished. So those polish itself. That's -- actually the it's doing. -- Well I meant to ask you that's just a little striking hammer that you've cut the handle off of right right. Never seen anybody using that kind of what. It's ago when it's happened for real hope. I don't know. And then the last thing will be the threshold when you put that in after the door jamb itself has been put in. -- floats a beautiful job for your true craftsman thanks nick thank you."

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