# Routing a big irregular inlay



## jdrum00 (Jan 18, 2016)

Hello, everyone; I'm completely new here, but it looks like y'all are the sort of folks I'd like to run this project by.

Is there a clever way to copy the exact contours of a shallow opening, to create an inlay of plywood to fill the gap? All the inlay advice I see is for small-scale kits where you're cutting both the opening and the inlay from scratch; but I'm looking to fill an irregular opening in a tile floor. See attached photos for scale and examples of the edge. I'm looking to create a piece of plywood to precisely cover the grey concrete, the surface of which is about 3/4" lower than the orange tile.

Background:

My husband and I just had a plumbing nightmare descend on our house that required trenches to be dug in winding pathways throughout our ground floor. The excavators replace the dirt and the concrete, but not the flooring; that's our job to have done once we see whether or not we're getting any insurance money.

For various reasons, we're not ready to do the complete reflooring quite yet, and want to lay some temporary filler in to replace the tile's thickness, which is between 3/4 and 1 inch and constitutes a significant tripping hazard. I'm mainly a theatrical carpenter, so my first instinct is to fill the gaps with 1/2" or 3/4" plywood topped with 1/4" hardboard (Masonite).

And back to the question:

The only thing I can think of would be to lay the sheet of wood over the edge to be matched, and use a flush-trim bit to cut blindly through the sheet along the path of the tile's "cliff". But of course that would give me the exact _opposite_ of what I want. I could keep the "offcut" instead of what would normally be the main piece, but the contour would be wrong on the deeper irregularities. And then the even trickier part would be doing the same thing on the other side of the piece and allowing for the right amount of kerf.

Does anyone have a better idea? I am by no means a router expert; I'm a fairly experienced user of power tools in general, but mostly for large chunky theatrical projects rather than cabinetry. Fortunately, I have more router than I deserve -- a 1 1/2 HP, 1/2" collet Porter-Cable plunge-capable router that was my dad's.

Thanks for any thoughts you would like to share!


----------



## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Have you considered cutting out and temp replacing the busted tiles with tiles?


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Welcome nameless person to what could become your second home...

lay a sheet of craft paper over the depression and tape it securely to the surrounding tile...
make sure the paper is drawn tight...

take a carpenter's pencil and rub trace the irregular perimeter by holding the pencil at about 30° to the floor and rubbing the side od the pencil lead along the rim formed by the tile...
if you go outside the line erase the error...

you can rub the tile with your thumb and crease the paper to get your outline...
carefully highlight the crease w/ a hyper-fine felt tip...

once satisfied w/ your tracing either take up the paper and cut out your pattern w/ scissors or leave it in place and cut it out w/ an exacto knife...
you now have an exact pattern of the depression...

now adhere the pattern to you your piece of plywood and cut it out w/ a jigsaw or coping saw.....


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

plan ''B'' oh nameless person..

have you considered filling and then skreeding the depression to the existing tile elevation w/ floor leveler such a Ardex...
ARDEX Americas | Products

place pieces of the old tile in the depression to take up volume and then using the Ardex for a level finish...


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

If it were mine I would use a skilsaw with a diamond blade and cut the edges of the tile in a straight line. Then fill in the center,like stick says with a floor fill grout like Stick suggested, screeding the floor fill 1/2" below the top of the floor ,thencut and lay some 1/2" plywood down flush with the floor and a little adhesive under to hold it temporarily til you want to remove it and fix it permanently. You can get the bags of floor fill at HD/LOwes.

Herb


----------



## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

I agree with Herb. I think you should first cut the edges of the tiles straight. Too bad the plumbers didn't do that originally.


----------



## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

+1 on Sticks suggestions. You can buy rolls of Builders paper @ Lowes which would work or white drafting paper @ Staples. If you cut the sides of the tile be sure to wear long sleeves and use eye protection, those chips can be sharp & dangerous.


----------



## Roy Drake (Feb 10, 2014)

Would like to see the end results of your repair. Good luck, O Mysterious One.


----------



## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

I would lay some tar paper to protect the floor below and then fill in the space with concrete when you are ready to repair the floor you would break the concrete up with a hammer and pull the tar paper off the finished floor below


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

if she cuts that tile the magnitude of dust will be a bit much...

mixing up the Ardex to the dry side and putting it in like a mud base will make it very easy to take back out come time to to do finial repairs...


----------



## jdrum00 (Jan 18, 2016)

Stick486 said:


> Welcome nameless person to what could become your second home...


Hee hee. Sorry, guys. Didn't realize names were a thing. Too used to all those anonymous online forums. I'm Jenn; nice to meet you all!



Ghidrah said:


> Have you considered cutting out and temp replacing the busted tiles with tiles?


Yes, and that's what I'm doing for some other parts of the floor...I just don't have enough loose tiles to go around, and don't want to buy more just for a temporary repair. I'm fine with _ugly_ for a while, just not _dangerous_.



Stick486 said:


> lay a sheet of craft paper over the depression and tape it securely to the surrounding tile... (snip) once satisfied w/ your tracing either take up the paper and cut out your pattern w/ scissors or leave it in place and cut it out w/ an exacto knife... you now have an exact pattern of the depression... now adhere the pattern to you your piece of plywood and cut it out w/ a jigsaw or coping saw.....


That's what I came up with as a plan B last night; see attached photo. All I had handy was some sidewalk chalk, but I'll fine-tune after I cut out the pattern.



Herb Stoops said:


> If it were mine I would use a skilsaw with a diamond blade and cut the edges of the tile in a straight line. Then fill in the center,like stick says with a floor fill grout like Stick suggested, screeding the floor fill 1/2" below the top of the floor ,thencut and lay some 1/2" plywood down flush with the floor and a little adhesive under to hold it temporarily til you want to remove it and fix it permanently. You can get the bags of floor fill at HD/LOwes.


This would be wonderful if I were looking for something more semipermanent (can one say "more semipermanent"?). But we just got done cleaning a layer of concrete dust off of everything in the house because the boneheaded excavators stopped putting plastic over anything the moment our backs were turned. So, frankly, I'd rather break my ankles than generate more masonry dust right now.  (Yes, they've been chastised; the plumbing company has fired them, and paid for cleaning help for us.)

I'm sorry the answers don't seem to be router-based, which I guess means my question was a bit off-topic, but thanks for the benefit of all y'all's experience! And now that I have people to show the results to, I'll be less likely to put it off indefinitely.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Welcome not nameless person Jenny...
you'll find this forum has a bit more camaraderie than most and we aren't so impersonal...

do think the Ardex would work for you???
easy to install..
reversible...
won't be reribly expensive if you use you broken pieces of tile for fillers...

FWIW...
if you want to clean up your tiles for reuse, get the grout/thin set off them, soak them in distilled white vinegar...
as the vinegar softens thin set (etc) take the tiles and rub them together to break down the thin set and hurry the process up...

*Note:*
if you evaporate the vinegar down it turns into acidic (sp?) acid which is very caustic and fumes are not such a good plan to breathe...
this acid is what breaks down the thin set...
plain water rinse is all you need for clean up...
so keep this in mind...
an do this operation outdoors..

and I pleased to mention there is no such thing as off-topic here...
well almost anyways...


----------



## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

jdrum00 said:


> I'm sorry the answers don't seem to be router-based, which I guess means my question was a bit off-topic, but thanks for the benefit of all y'all's experience! And now that I have people to show the results to, I'll be less likely to put it off indefinitely.


Off Topic?? 

Poke around a bit and you'll see we're rarely ON topic. But you'll find this forum friendlier than most and we have some regulars who are extremely knowledgeable about most anything related to construction or home improvement. Welcome, and please stick around.


----------



## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Couple of thoughts:
1. Since this is just a temporary fix, you don't have to fill every nook and cranny unless you are into wearing stiletto heels and such. Your foot will bridge across small gaps and holes just fine. I think you can do what you're trying to accomplish with your paper pattern and a jigsaw.

2. You'll probably need several thicknesses of wood that you can stack in the trench to account for different depths of the trench. Use the THINNER pieces on the bottom, and don't bother trying to get a good fit on them. Use the THICKER pieces on top. They'll bridge across the gaps in the thin stuff and won't jump out of the hole when you walk on it.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DonkeyHody said:


> Off Topic??
> 
> Poke around a bit and you'll see we're rarely ON topic. But you'll find this forum friendlier than most and we have some regulars who are extremely knowledgeable about most anything related to construction or home improvement. Welcome, and please stick around.


you left out the IT department...


----------



## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum Jenn.


----------



## David Dickson (Oct 30, 2015)

*Making this up as I go along .....*

1.) find the average distance from the top (looking at your picture) of one tile to the top of the next tile, (call this *A*)
2.) find the maximum gap (left to right in your picture), (call this *B*)
3.) find a countour gauge which is just over a multiple of *A* (so if your tiles are 3" from one top edge to the next, get a 7" or a 10" gauge),
Amazon.com: contour gauge: Tools & Home Improvement
(call the multiple *C*, so if *A* = 3" and you chose a 10" guage, *C* would be 9")
4.) cut strips of 3/4" ply which are *B* x *C*,
5.) for each strip, use the contour gauge to copy the outline of each side of the gap onto the strip, then cut,
6.) fix each strip to the floor with double-sided carpet tape or mounting putty (since this is only a temporary fix),
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...mounting+putty&rh=n:16310091,k:mounting+putty

Hope this gives you something to think about.


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I'd consider using a thick chisel made for breaking mortar and a 4 lb hammer to even out the edges a bit first. then use one of the filler techniques. Even if you use the ply to fill, you'll have fewer odd shapes to cut. A chisel will reduce the dust and get you closer to a flat floor with fewer gaps. You might be able to rent an electric breaker, a kind of small jackhammer to make it easier to eliminate the uneven nature of the edges, so they are more straight vertically. This could also be your prep for the later final fill and flooring.


----------



## billyjim (Feb 11, 2012)

Hi Jenn and welcome.
I would rough cut the plywood. It doesn't have to fit precisely. If you feel the need, you could fill around the edges with a filler.

Bill


----------



## Ratbob (Apr 6, 2015)

How about using a Multi-tool with a diamond blade to straighten out the edges? That should cut down on dust dispersal, especially if you use a shop-vac while you are cutting. I'd think that that would be a lot easier than trying to duplicate the contour for the patch.

Welcome to RF Jenn!


----------



## jdrum00 (Jan 18, 2016)

Thanks for the good tips and ideas on handling the irregular edges. I confess that I would rather do almost any amount of nitpicky woodworking rather than the tiniest bit of actual tile or flooring work...that would be too much like actually fixing the problem, and I'm stubbornly going to hold out for someone else to do that.  But I'm definitely listening -- always glad to absorb ideas I may need later.

I had no idea you could get a decent contour gauge that cheap. I might just add that to my shiny new (well, new, at least) Chicago Electric oscillating multitool. I have a rule against buying crummy cheap tools, but I made the exception for this one because I figured otherwise I wouldn't ever find out what you use one of the silly things for. And now, it turns out it's the perfect thing for plunge-cutting into the Masonite when you need to turn a corner with your jigsaw -- much nicer than the usual drill-bit trick, which leaves you with a round shoulder to try to trim past.

Here's the first edge, just for those who are curious whether I was actually going to go through with my fiddly little plan. I've cut the opposite edge now too, but it needs trimming in spots before it'll fit snugly down into the hole. Tomorrow!


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

nicely done Jenn...
we love to see a project come together...

ditto on the tile work....


----------



## old coasty (Aug 15, 2014)

Looking good Jenn.


----------



## jdrum00 (Jan 18, 2016)

Sorry to leave you all hanging in this thread; I'm sure you were just losing sleep wondering how things were going. The patch is in, and it has survived its first set of guests for a family gathering. Did I mention that this particular (part of the) hole is right in front of the fridge, so that you have to cross it to get to the food and drink??

Ugh; the bottom of that door looks awful. Another little present from the contractors. Need to go buy a kickplate or something, I guess.

Thanks to everybody for the tips and opinions and methods, only a few of which I could actually use. But I did go get an inexpensive contour gauge like David Dickson mentioned above. I can tell I'm going to have fun with that, on this project or another one.


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Excellent recovery, Jenn...just one comment though...no scandals while working around jagged tiles... 

Welcome...really nice job...


----------



## David Dickson (Oct 30, 2015)

*Scandal*



Nickp said:


> ...no scandals while working around jagged tiles...


Aw, Nick! I thought we liked a bit of juicy scandal.
:laugh2:


----------



## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Looks like you poured the wood into the hole. You have an eye for detail. Nicely done.


----------

