Tiling & Flooring Tool Reviews & Buying Guides

We run into a lot of tile and flooring jobs. Consequently, our tiling and flooring tool reviews come with some experience. That means we help flooring Pros find things like the best cordless oscillating multi-tools. We also review key power tools like the Bosch TC10  tile saw and Ridgid 10-inch wet tile saw. More than that, however, we cover lots of hand tools. These help make quick work of flooring and tiling jobs. That may include Redbacks knee pads or materials like Pergo Outlast laminate flooring. Doing Tiling & Flooring Tool Reviews If you want to do tiling & flooring tool reviews, you have to involve the Pros who do it for a living. We have, on staff, guys who have run their own tiling companies. We also use other Pros out in the field who make their living doing residential and commercial tiling and flooring jobs. Put a new tool into the hands of a seasoned professional, and you find out quickly if it can hold up.

Bosch GSL 2 Surface Laser Review

Bosch GSL 2 Surface Laser Review

Bosch released a new tool this summer – one that wasn’t merely an improvement on an old idea or a tweak to some existing designs. It was revolutionary and it grabbed our attention. The GSL 2 Surface Laser is a new type of laser leveling device that uses dual angled self-leveling lasers to mark both peaks and valleys on floors, be they concrete or any other material. No, for concrete guys this is going to be a no-brainer purchase. We’ve used it and the tool is clearly going to appeal to anyone who has to deal with this common issue on a regular basis. In a sense I’m giving away our conclusion up front, but let’s explore the tool and see how it works and what exactly it does. By the end, whether you lay wood flooring, vinyl, tile or are a concrete guy, this a product you’ll want to pick up in order to save time and money.

Porta-Nails Portamatic 470A 16ga Pneumatic Flooring Nailer Review

Porta-Nails 470A Pneumatic Flooring Nailer Review

Having both refinished and laid my share of flooring, going from a manual nailer to a pneumatic is a bit of a jump – but a welcome one. As anyone who has done flooring knows, the two tools work in basically the same way, but with one exception. With a manual flooring nailer, the very act of beating on the rubber ram cap drives the ratcheting mechanism which sends the cleat into the wood until it’s all the way in. With most decent floor nailers, the ratchet will then reset when the nail is at the correct depth. Porta-Nails’ 470A Flooring Nailer is a pneumatic model which uses 89-90 PSI of air pressure to drive the nail into the flooring with a single, less-aggressive strike.

DeWalt DWE4011 4-1/2" Small Angle Grinder Preview

DeWalt DWE4011 4-1/2″ Small Angle Grinder Preview

DeWalt has launched a bunch of new tools this year, but I don’t recall their angle grinders getting any attention in some time. Now, a new 4-1/2″ Small Angle Grinder has been deployed whose claim to fame (newest feature) is a One-Touch Guard that allows the user to simply turn the guard by hand to adjust its position into any of eight durable detents. There is no button to push and the process is completely tool-less. DeWalt observed a need for users to continually move the guard depending on the application, while in manufacturing shops and on jobsites. We’d have to agree, and this feature seems to address a pretty common problem, while at the same time encouraging the use of the guard in more applications. In addition to easy adjustability, the guard also pops on and off with a quick press of the release button.

Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System

Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System Review

Squeaking subfloors can be a homeowner’s nightmare and one of the hardest things for a contractor to fix once the final floors are installed. Potential problems can be eliminated from the onset in new construction and even renovation work with the new Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System. This system uses the proprietary TetraGrip Subfloor Fastener and the dedicated Paslode PF237C Pneumatic TetraGrip Coil Nailer. These fasteners drive like a nail, yet hold like a screw thanks to their revolutionary “barb-threaded” design which deliver the holding power of a floor screw. Productivity over using screws is greatly increased because you can drive these fasteners as fast as you can pull the trigger on the nailer. This nailing system may be a game changer for the residential market and we will try it out to see what we think.

Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level Review

Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level Review

The Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level makes doing right angle flooring layouts simpler and is a good tool to use along the way to check to make sure things stay in line. For a reasonable price, the DIY’er has a tool that can make their tile projects have that professional appearance. Everyone knows that in tile work, it is all about straight lines, perfect corners and a layout that matches the room. Johnson’s new Flooring Laser Level has a simple design, good accuracy, and a reasonable price that will bring a level of quality to your project, even if you are going to do a single floor. With laser guidance within reach, you can ensure that your flooring project will come out the way you dreamed it would.

Duo-Fast Jet-Tac Tack Strip Epoxy Preview

Duo-Fast Floor Fastening Systems is introducing Jet-Tac Tack Strip Epoxy. This new product is a quick-set epoxy that is ideal for tack strip installation on many materials including concrete or wood. With a specially designed nozzle, the two part epoxy is mixed automatically as it comes out of the caulk gun so it is ready to use.

Milwaukee 2426-22 M12 Multi-tool Kit Review

Milwaukee 2426-22 M12 Multi-tool Kit Review

Last year we did an oscillating multi-tool shootout, where we compared all of the various brands and measured them to see which performed in a way that set them apart from the pack. We were able to really determine the good values on the market and make recommendations based on intended use and user goals. That part of my life was done, or so I thought, until a couple companies, including Milwaukee Electric Tool, released new multi-tool products. But, like the famous line from the Godfather, “just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in.” And just like that, I’m back in the world of multi-tools. This time around, it’s the Milwaukee M12 Cordless Multi-tool Kit (2426-22). The kit comes with 2 RedLithium batteries, a charger, a few accessories, and – most importantly – an adapter that lets almost anyone’s accessories fit onto the tool.

Bostitch MFN-201 Manual Flooring Cleat Nailer Kit Review

Bostitch MFN-201 Manual Flooring Cleat Nailer Kit Review

While it is not everyday that we need to install tongue and groove flooring, we recently had an opportunity to put down about 2000 square feet of 6” wide cypress. The cypress is a lot softer then say oak or bamboo but the process is the same for all kinds of both pre-finished and post-finished nail-down flooring. To do this project we probably should have used a pneumatic floor nailer, but since we fell into a really good deal on a pair of Bostitch MFN-201 Manual Flooring Cleat Nailer Kits, we went this route.

Duo-Fast FloorMaster 250BN 16-Gauge Angled Flooring Nailer Review

Duo-Fast FloorMaster 250BN 16-Gauge Angled Flooring Nailer Review

The new Duo-Fast FloorMaster 250BN Flooring Nailer is a lightweight 16-gauge angled finish nailer designed for blind nailing tongue and groove flooring. This nailer has a 45-degree angled no-mar tip that makes for precise and quick toe nailing. The kit includes some other goodies like swappable bump and sequential triggers and a standard flat tip so that you can be use this nailer as a regular 16-gauge finish nailer.