Information on Mud and Lathe

[LMck]

This is my first post and i`m fairly new to tile. My father and I own a local residential construction company. We are a two man team and we do 90% of the work. Recently i have had a chance to delve into the world of tile and it interests me more that wood working. I have done a few kitchen and bathroom tile projects with hardi-backer and mapei. My question is....where can someone learn to do lathe and mud work? I have seen several jobs that were done the "right" way and they are years ahead of mine. I want to learn but i dont know where to start?

Best Regards,
LMck

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[Bri]

That's a really good question...that I don't know how to answer..except to say what I did..which was to go to work for a tile contractor and apprentice for 5 years....Jeez..there has to be an easier way! What do you think Mr Bridge?

Brian

[Bud Cline]

LMck,

You've come to the right place!

A good place to begin for formal teaching would be with our good friend and Tile Guru Dave Gobis. Dave can be found at the CTEF (Ceramic Tile Education Foundation). URL: http://www.tileschool.org

Dave's email address is: dave@tileschool.org.

[Edited by Bud Cline on 06-06-2001 at 10:38 PM]

[Rob Z]

That's what I did... I took several classes at CTEF. Well worth the investment!!

Rob

[John Bridge]

That's pretty much it. Either school or apprenticeship. I did it the hard way. Worked for my brother and helped him do mud work a few months. Then moved out to California and told a guy I was a mud man. A week later the guy says, "I thought you were a mud man. You're pretty slow." I says hey, I never told you I was a FAST mud man." Six months later I was top dog. Turns out the other guys he had working for him WERE dogs.


I'll be moving this over to the Hangout, probably this afternoon.

[chip]

How about hiring a mud man and work for and with him.

Compare his work to that reccomended by this forum and that described in the Tile council of america hand book.

Michael Byrne's book is very good for mud work, and John I haven't had the pleasure to see yours, is it related?

Hire and learn from the best, how can you go wrong?

Art Phenis

[John Bridge]

Related? To Michael Byrne? Ah, no.

Just kidding, MB and I agree fully on some very basic tenets of the trade (mud is best, etc.). Beyond that we sort of head in different directions. We do share a mutual respect for one another, at least the last time I talked to him he seemed to agree that we are both Ass * * * * * And he has offered a couple of times to "rehabilitate" me.

Actually, my book is mud-heavy, and Mike's goes into backer boards and modern materials/methods. He does, of course, do a wonderful job of presenting mud shower floors. I often refer people to his online article. (And I plug his book on my Tile and Marble Page.)

http://www.jlconline.com/jlc/archive/kitchen/mortarbed_showers/index.html

[LMck]

Wow thanks for the advice. I`ve checked around and seems like the gentleman that did the mud work i saw was from out of town. Turns out my brother-in-law`s Uncle is a "top" tile man in France and he apprenticed under his uncle so i`m hiring my brother-in-law. I`ll keep everyone posted as to how this turns out. Thanks again for the quick responses.
Also, I`ve ordered The Tile Council Standards Book and John`s Book, guess i`ll get Michael`s too.

Best Regards,
LMck

[John Bridge]

Get the TCA publication -- it doesn't cost much. Then buy my book. And then, if you have any money left over, buy Michael's book.