SnapStone Tile Review

[JohnyMac]

Well this Labor Day weekend my brother and I laid porcelain tile at the BOL. We tiled the kitchen and the two pads at the doors ? All total about 85 square feet.

We used ?Snap Stone? tile: http://snapstone.com/ which is a floating tile floor that you do not glue down to the sub floor. The tiles have a non-slip rubber attached to the bottom and you snap the edges together like Legos. From the time we put down the cement board to the time we finished with the grout it took about 10 hours.

Saturday:
The tile (Snap Stone) was about 3/8? thick and our wood floors are ?? thick. We used 3/8? thick cement board to bring the tile up to floor height. The cement board was put over glue and then nailed down.

Sunday:
My brother put the tile down and snapped them together while I cut to his measurements. A word of caution: When needing exact measurements use the same tape measure as an inch on one tape measure may not be the same inch on another.  We didn?t have to cut too many tiles as when we laid the wood floor we did a pretty good job of mapping out the spaces that would become tile.

Whoops! I just cut a tile incorrectly. The rule at the cabin is when you make a mistake on cutting anything whether it is a 2x4, 2x6, plywood or tile it?s Gods way to say STOP! So we did as it was 4:00PM or so anyhow.

Monday:
We finished laying the last of the tile and then started on the grout work. We started out with my brother putting the grout down with me following up with a bucket of water and a sponge. Well we got into each other?s way so my brother took over doing both while I cleaned up.

Once grouted, we laid down some 2 x 6?s so we could exit / enter one of the doors. We told the gals to stay off the kitchen floor and did all of our cooking on the old Weber grill.

Tuesday:
I spent most of the day cleaning off the coating left by the grout. This was the most labor intensive thing of the whole project.

In conclusion: We followed the directions and it all went well. I have read many reviews on this type of tile - Good and bad. Most of the reviews have been very positive so only time will tell.

Here are some pictures:

[thatGuy]

Great looking work JMac!

That haze can be a bummer, can't it?

[EJR914]

Damn fine looking job, there JM.   [URL=http://www.smileyvault.co

[JohnyMac]

Thanks Gents!

[mountainredneck2051]

huh

[mhoeff1]

Hello, I found this site by searching for snap stone ratings . I want to put this in my kitchen but didnt know if I should hmmmm. Any ways you stated you used cement board underneath correct? I thought you didnt need anything like that under this snap stone  is it a must to put it underneath this is going in my kitchen and do you still like it ? I appreciate your reply thank you and have a great weekend

[JohnyMac]

Hey mh, welcome to the site.

The only reason we used cement board was to raise the level of the 2 pads and the kitchen to the height of the wood floor that surrounds it.

It took us two days to cover 90 sf in three area's. About 2-3 hours to grout on the second day. We were impressed with the product and has held up well for the past 7 months or so.

Remember, you have to use snapstone grout as it has a flexing grout. Also, you will need a tile saw. Harbor Freight has ones for $70- and a blade is $35- or so. To rent one it will set you back $50- a day.

I have two negative comments:

1) You can not wash the floor with any vinegar based cleaners as it will soften the grout. No big I just use a
    squirt of dish washing liquid in a bucket of warm water.
2) The color selection offered is poor. It worked well where we used it; however I will not use it in the
    head as I would like a lighter color there...Like white.

PM me if you have any questions.

[mountainredneck2051]

i was gonna stay quiet on this one, but if we got people getting on here to ask for help i just got to say it

don't use this shit, any good reviews are from people who don't know what the fuck they are talking about
if you want a good tile floor you need to set it to the sub floor (with thinset) and use real grout

this just won't hold up at all

[JohnyMac]

Thank you Mntn for your input.

I have done both types of tile floor and so far I am happy with the results of the snapstone. Time will tell.

[mandm0925]

Hello,
I know it's been awhile since you posted, but we are getting ready to install this in our bathroom. I was just wondering how it has held up after one year? Still like it? Recommend it? Thank you!

[JohnyMac]

Mandm0925,

It has held up great! I would highly recommend it for it's ease of installation and durability.

My brother and I installed it in a hunting cabin and it has held up to my brother & me plus many guests. To be quite frank we ain't gentle with it.

At our front door it gets A LOT of use with boots and stuff during the winter months. I would use it over again in a NY Minute.

Now a few comments:

1) We will not use it in our head (bathroom) as snapstone does not offer a white or light color. Our
    walls are logs and the gals want to lighten up the head. 
2) The only issue we have had and it is minor; the grout that abuts one side of our kitchen against
    our hardwood floor cracks in the winter and comes together in the spring/summer. It has to do
    with the lack of humidity in the winter due to the wood stove and humidity of the summer. It
    bothers us none.
3) If you have to do any tile cutting - Wear safety glasses not a $400- pair of prescription Ray Bans.

Live and learn.