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How to Install marble tiles?

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If you’re looking for some eye-catching accents and unique pigments to spice up your kitchen, marble tiles are a great choice. Although marble tiles installation is definitely a job best done with a friend given the heaviness of the material, the actual installation is a lot easier than you would think!


Attach a diamond masonry blade to your power saw. Start by attaching vice grips to your old blade to prevent it from moving. Now, use a wrench to loosen the bolt and remove it. Remove the flange—the small rim located under the bolt—and lift the blade out. Finally, swap in your new diamond blade, reattach the flange, and retighten the bolt.


Be sure that your blade is designated for marble tiles. Skip this step if you already have a diamond masonry blade on your power saw. Saw along the marked lines to cut the marble tiles to size. Set the blade depth to half the thickness of your marble tiles. Afterward, place your left hand on marble tiles to keep it steady and your right hand on the handle of the saw to move it forward and backward.


With your marble tiles on a flat surface, start sawing along the top penciled line. Apply gentle pressure downward onto the marble tiles with your left hand and down onto the saw using your right hand. Always check that the teeth of the diamond blade are pointing opposite to the marble tiles. Repeat this process with the other side of the marble tiles to cut it in half.


Remove the blade from the marble tiles every 30 seconds to keep the temperature low. Space each bead apart by 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) to make sure that the silicone holds the counter as securely as possible. Always start installing the marble tiles around the sink region.

How to Repair Cracks in Wood Floors?

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Get some sawdust from the floor you want to repair. If you don’t have any leftover pieces of matching wood laying around your house, you’ll have to go to a flooring store and buy a piece of wood to match. (same species and stain if possible).


If you can’t find any wood to match, you’ll have to “cannibalize” a piece of the existing floor. Pull up the baseboard and pry up a strip from the edge of the floor, or alternatively, remove a piece from under a doorway. Sand the side of the wood nearest the wall where it will be hidden under the baseboard once it’s re-laid, or at the edge of the strip under the door where it’s hidden by the door jamb.


Using a belt sander, sand off a cup or two of wood from the piece of wood into a container (or however much you think you’ll need to fill the cracks). Mix the sawdust with some wood glue to make a fairly thick paste. Using a plastic trowel (or a plastic spatula), lay the sawdust/glue mixture into the cracks. Try to finish off as smooth as possible.


Wipe the patch and adjacent flooring with a damp rag to wipe off any excess. Wipe on a diagonal to avoid pulling filler out of the patch. Let the filler dry for a day or two. Hiring a flooring specialist to work on your home involves a certain amount of trust. Go online to read reviews of contractors in your area or ask a friend or loved one for a personal recommendation to find one that meets your standards.


Sand lightly. If there’s a huge color difference between the patch and the rest of the floor, you might need to re-stain the patch.Using a very small artist’s brush, stain the patch. Allow to dry for a minute and wipe off. Let the stain set overnight and using another small artist’s brush, cover the patch with a coat of varnish to match the existing floor.

How Deep-Cleaning Grout with Vinegar and Baking Soda?

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Combine warm water and vinegar in a spray bottle. Use equal quantities of both liquids and shake well to mix. The spray bottle will give you greater control over the application of the vinegar, which will be helpful when cleaning narrow spaces like grout lines. A spray bottle of vinegar is a convenient natural cleaning solution to have around in a pinch.

Sprinkle baking soda along one section of grout lines. You won’t need to use much—a thin dusting will be fine. Work the baking soda into the grout using your fingertips or the bristles of a brush. For maximum efficiency, proceed in small squares, following the grid-like pattern of the grout a few feet at a time. For particularly bad stains, you can also mix up a paste of baking soda and water, apply it to the grout and leave it to take effect overnight.

Spray the baking soda with the vinegar solution. Together, the two ingredients will start a mild chemical reaction, creating a fizzy foam that will bubble over the grout. Allow the baking soda and vinegar to sit for 5-10 minutes to ensure that it’s had time to eat away at the worst of the buildup.

This foaming action will make it much easier for the vinegar and baking soda combination to penetrate down into the tiny pores of the grout. To get the most out of the mixture’s stain-lifting power, wait until the foaming has died down before you begin scrubbing.

Scrub the grout clean. Using a stiff-bristled brush, scour the grout and space between the edges of the poly crystal tiles forcefully. After the vinegar and baking soda treatment, you should be able to lift out even the heaviest stains. Once you’re finished, give the floor a thorough rinse using a wet rag or sponge, then leave it to air dry.

Special brushes designed for cleaning grout can be bought cheap at all home improvement stores. Alternatively, you might also use a long-handled kitchen dish scrubber. Repurpose an old toothbrush and use it to clean grout. The narrow head of the brush coupled with the long handle make it the perfect tool for getting down into the spaces between wood tiles. Scrubbing grout by hand can be time-consuming, but it’s without a doubt the most effective means of restoring it to its original color.