Remodeling lessons: Italian porcelain

I looked at a lot of tile before selecting a 16” porcelain called Montagna Cortina by Marazzi from Home Depot. I checked a number of local tile retailers as well as ProSource to find the right tile to cover more than 800 square feet.

I purchased the tile on sale at HD, rewarded with a 10% discount for using a new HD account. I paid off the HD card balance after 6 months with no interest. I got the tile I wanted at a great net price ($1.80 per square foot plus tax) and the result was beautiful. However, this highly durable and beautiful tile was made in Italy, causing me to wonder once again about the long-term sustainability of shipping construction materials that are bulky and heavy over long distances. I'll post once I do this analysis.

Prior to installing the tile, I invested 90 minutes on a Saturday morning at a tiling class at Home Depot. I highly recommend it if you are a relative neophyte. Notwithstanding my previous tiling experience, I learned a lot about techniques and product choices. Then, with experienced help, I installed the new tile.

Wire mesh or cement backerboard?

After looking at the options, I installed most of the tile over a base of wire mesh. Wire mesh is a cost-effective solution for large areas for do-it-yourselfers, but be prepared to put a lot of staples into the mesh to secure it properly to the plywood sub-flooring. You will save about 40% on the base layer using mesh rather than cement backerboard. I did use Hardibacker brand backerboard in the master bath on the floor and shower walls. I found the grid on the product to be quite helpful when laying out the tile. Recently, I've discovered a couple of new underlayer products and will post on the topic once I've had hands-on experience with them.

After installing the tile and grout, I sealed the grout. Choice of grout sealant posed another eco dilemma. The water-based sealant that I had used on an earlier project did not hold up for more than a couple of months. During the class at HD, the instructor recommended an oil-based product called 511 Impregnator. It worked very well, but was obviously oil-based and required proper ventilation during the process. I have since seen other water-based products at Lowes that claim to be durable and I hope to test some of their claims on my next tiling project.