Working with Tile (Taunton's Build Like a Pro) [Paperback]

Tom Meehan (Author), Lane Meehan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Taunton's Build Like a Pro | Publication Date: October 18, 2005

Few building materials can match tile for durability, beauty, design -- and increasingly, popularity. This book combines an inspiring diversity of design ideas with well-illustrated, pro-level installation and repair techniques. Tiling begins with a full range of design inspiration and options, with chapters on the characteristics, pros, and cons of different types of tile. Included here is a varied selection of completed installations, both indoor and outdoor. Next come the details on tools and materials required for different projects. This part of the book contains trade secrets, tool-buying tips, common techniques, and safety procedures-all designed to help readers get the most professional results possible. The remainder is taken up with specific projects based on the authors' extensive installation and repair experience. Using a highly visual approach, this section enables them to follow a project from start to finish through concisely captioned step-by-step photos.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

TOM MEEHAN got his start laying tile with his father on weekends and has been installing tile for more than 40 years. Together with his wife, LANE, they own Cape Cod Tileworks in Harwich, Massachusetts. They are both long time contributors to Fine Homebuilding magazine.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (October 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561586773
• ISBN-13: 978-1561586776
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #291,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Masonry

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Step by Step using Tile, November 23, 2005

By 

Sonya "readaholic" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working with Tile (Taunton's Build Like a Pro) (Paperback)

This book covers all kinds of tile work, including tiling a floor, wainscotting, fireplaces, backsplashes, showers, countertops...just about everything. It even has a chapter on installing glass tile and tile repairs.

This book was fantastic! It has photos of all the steps, great explanations and a section with Q&A's and oftentimes a section called "What Can Go Wrong". I reviewed a different tile book which I purchased prior to this one, (see all my reviews), but this one made up for my disappointment with the previous book.

If you are looking for a book on tile, I highly recommend it. Very colorful, easy to read and understand. I have not bought another tile book after finding this one. It covers everything.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not awesome. Retitle it "spend like pro" not build like a pro, March 22, 2007

By 

D. Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Working with Tile (Taunton's Build Like a Pro) (Paperback)

Depending on your skill level, potentially a good book. For my first tile project (a bathroom floor + tub surround) I relied John Bridge's "Tile Your World," this book, and Michael Byrne's "Setting Tile"--roughly in that order of preference. I recommend all 3 as each has different valuable info. Books are cheap compared to your time & materials cost.

This book has the advantage of great photos and it's modern, unlike Byrne's book or Bridge's first (older) book. However, it definitely lacks key pieces of information and is quite sparse. You need to read, and reread, each section several times because the text is not written in a linear, step-by-step format. (Where was the editor?) I think it's more of an overview with ideas about design, tools, etc. than a clear "how-to" which the Bridge and Byrne books are. Numerous high quality color photos which are helpful for design and for learning some layout tricks.

Things I dislike: (1) minimal discussion of key things like how to mix thinset, the tub-to-tile junction in a tile surround, etc. I'm sure there would be more if I had advanced beyond floors and tub surrounds. (2) They should retitle it "Spend Like a Pro." Rather than tell a DIY-er what's essential vs. what can be done with basic tools, Meehan assumes that as needed you will drop $2000 on a Gemini Revolution saw, buy a DeWalt mitering wet saw ($1000), buy only Stabila levels ($$$), buy top-of-the-line laser leveling tools, buy a $60 A-square, use only Ditra, etc. These are great (and I do use Ditra too) but there are certainly cheaper ways to avoid. If this is your only resource, you'd never know about alternatives.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book but get the newer Bridge book and the Byrne book too. Also discover the tile forums on the web.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacking in key areas, March 1, 2007

By 

E. Kaplan (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Working with Tile (Taunton's Build Like a Pro) (Paperback)

This book could easily have garnered a 5 star review if it didn't skimp in some key areas:

1) I would have liked to see more details, tips, tricks and illustrations on layout. Such an important subject probably deserves a dedicated chapter.

2) I would have liked to see more details on common substrates. I understand the author likes to use ditra and its companion products but 90% of us doing projects at home are going to be limited to stuff that you get at the local tile store or hardware store (like backer board). Any complete reference should cover all of the options and methods in detail, not just the authors current favorites.