The Tile Mistake Home Town's Ben And Erin Napier Have Vowed Never To Make Again
Ben and Erin Napier, co-hosts of HGTV's "Home Town," are known as renovation experts able to restore historic American homes to their former glory. However, even experts occasionally make mistakes, and as viewers, we get the opportunity to learn from their blunders and implement their tips into our remodeling projects. And the Napiers — who have a new season of "Home Town" premiering on April 23 — offer some valuable advice that can save you time, money, and material.
"In our experience, it is best to measure two or three times before cutting and laying tile," the Napiers explain (via Reader's Digest). "If a tile is cut unevenly or not secured properly to the subflooring, it can cause it to lift out of place, adding additional hazards and obstacles." To avoid such disastrous results, there are a few measuring requirements and other tactics to be aware of for ensuring your flooring looks as though it was professionally installed.
Measuring and purchasing flooring tile 101
To correctly measure the floor before installing tiles, you must consider the shape of the space you're working in. For example, if you're working with a rectangular or square-shaped area, you'll find the square footage by measuring the length and width of the room and multiplying them together. But if the area is round, you'll start by finding the diameter by measuring the length of one side of the circle to the other. Then, divide this measurement by two, square the result, and multiply by Pi. However, regardless of your results, we suggest always ordering extra tiles in case of an emergency.
When it comes time to purchase the tiles, the Napiers say to obtain all the materials needed before starting the installation process. Failing to do so can have disastrous consequences, which they figured out while renovating their primary bathroom. As a result of deciding to purchase tiles as needed, they ended up not having enough, which ultimately delayed the rest of the renovation process. "Before we knew it, what was supposed to be a six-week renovation took six months," they said (per Reader's Digest). Thus, not a single nail should be hammered until you have all the necessary supplies.