Bath Remodel Day 9,10, 11

I am glad to say the shower tile and floor tile is done. Yeah! I've been promising pictures of the tile close up. Below is the shower tile. Gray with beige tones. 

 

This one is the floor tile. I like a darker tile for the floor. Darker tones of gray and brown. Lovely! It was a snap to lay. I used the mortar you have to mix as it was leftover from the walls. Although next time I would use the premixed and not have extra work of cleaning the mixing paddle or making sure it is the correct consistency.

 

I am really happy with how the ceiling tile turned out. It was a big pain to put it up but worth it. My handyman gave me the idea to edge it with cut down pieces of bullnose. Thanks Earl! It looks awesome.

 

 

My hubby surprised me the other day. When I came home from work he had taken off the countertop. I now have it and the toilet on Craigslist. Every little bit helps to fund this project.

 

 

And if you noticed the shower/tub area is grouted. Follow the mixing instructions on the bag however if you want to use a grout bag mix it on the thin side. It will be way too hard to squeeze out of the bag if you use manufacturers instructions. And most of all...wipe, wipe, wipe. Make sure you clean the tiles well. The best process to do is only grout enough tiles to not let it set too long before wiping it off. Then move on to grout more area and clean. (wash, rinse, repeat kind of thing) Hubby was helping and he got a little ahead of me and made cleaning the tiles a little difficult. But where there's a will there's a way!

Next step, I'm having Earl come over to start repairing the walls. In between his visits I hope to get the floor grouted. Once walls and floor are done we are on the down hill. Can't wait! Check back in to see what comes next.

Linda

 



Bath Remodel Day 8

Day 8 was the best day so far. We added what I call the bling! This is what really makes the shower pop. I used 12X12 glass tiles on a mesh backing. They interlock on the ends, so we just had to cut the very bottom one and the top one. You'll need to use a white mortar with this so the tiles don't change color. The browns and the grays blend beautifully! Plus I had my helper back. It goes so much faster when one person is laying the tile and the other is cutting.

I couldn't wait to get the soup dish in. It looks awesome. It is a resin product but has a travertine look. Saved a lot of money here.

And the corner shelf completes the tiling in the bath/shower area. Only grout to add.

This is when it starts to get exciting to see all the hard work come together. I know my son said he would never refer to the glass tiles as bling, LOL, but I think it is quite the addition. Next up...laying the subfloor and tile. I hope you check back to see how that went. And I also hope you are taking the time this holy week to remember what our Lord and Savior did for me and you! Have a great week and hopefully by Easter I'll be able to show you a completed floor!

Linda

 

Bath Remodel Day 7

Wow, I am so excited. I got help from hubby today and we made awesome progress! Finished the back wall with tile and nearly completed the right side. Tomorrow I may get to start with the glass tile. I've never cut glass tile before. We will see how it goes. This is the bling of the shower and I want to make sure it is perfect. But that is for tomorrow. Hubby brought home dinner so it's time to eat! Thanks for checking in on me. Come back for day 8!

I hope your day has some fun projects in it!

Linda

Bath Remodel Day 6

So far so good. Another day of tiling by myself. Adding the tile to the slanted area was tricky but I got to use the beveling function of the wet saw. That was fun.

Staying up till midnight to tile requires a sufficient amount of caffeine but this is my progress so far. Check back in to see what day 7 brings. It's going to be a lot of fun!!

Linda

Bath Remodel Day 5

As promised Day 5 was awesome. Working by myself takes a little longer. I tend to over think. Plus I wanted to study up and watch a few videos on You Tube to tune up my tiling knowledge. (it was 2010 when I last tiled) Plus add to all that I tend to be a little meticulous.

First I measured my tile to be used. Even though you by 12x12 tiles, most of the time they are really 11 3/4 x 11 3/4. This is taking into account that you will use a 1/4 spacer. I marked on the back wall the height of where I wanted the first row to be. Using a long level, I marked a line across the width of the bath tub. Then I found the center point and snapped a plumb line. No easy task doing it myself. Then I screwed a board on the first line I marked, where there second row will start. This ledger board helps keep the larger tile in place plus helps keep things level as a starting place.

You can see blue painters tape on the tub. I decided I would tape off the tope of the tub. That way if mortar dropped and fell in between the ply wood cover and wall it could be easily cleaned up. After mixing the mortar with a paddle on the cordless screwdriver I went to work laying (or is it hanging if it's vertical?) the tile. I decided that I would back butter the tiles instead of applying it to the walls. Unless you are a pro applying the mortar directly to the walls is a messy job. I started by marking my first whole tile at the center point so I could line it up with that plumb line I snapped. I worked out to the side walls from there. I needed to cut about an inch off the tiles that were on either end. This was a breeze using my newest favorite tool, the wet saw! Thus, the progress below. I really love this tile. It has some great shades of gray in it. I'll take a close up picture later for you to see.

 



 

After making dinner, I was tired and thought I may be done for the day. But with hubby coming home from the business trip in the morning I really wanted to WOW him with my progress so I forged ahead. My day ended at 11:30 PM (that was with cleaning up all the tools and taking a McFlurry run to McD's). On a side note. The orange waterproofing membrane, I wouldn't spend the money on it if I had to do it again. Expensive, if you don't get it level it makes your tiles harder to get level and once you get a tile up and decided you need to take it back down for adjustments, too bad. I found this out the hard way. The suction of the mortar coming up brings the membrane with it. At that point you have to decide what your options are. That will be taken care of on Day 6.

 

 

Back to tiling. After that 5th row the ceiling is on a slant. We didn't have tile there before but I thought it would be cool to take it up to the ceiling on both sides and include this slanted area. (Imagine you hear elevator music playing while you think this over) Measure, measure, measure. The top skinny row has to be short enough to properly meet the tile on the slanted area. I used a cool feature on the wet saw and beveled the edge of the upper tile to meet the flat surface of the tile below it. So awesome. The little niche you see on the right side is where the corner shelf will go. I dry fitted it and it should go up no problem. I want to install it when I get the tile on that right side up. Now I know Day 6 will be awesomer. :) Come back to see how it goes!      Linda





Spring, refreshing in every way!

It was such a nice sunny afternoon, I took extra time to play with the dogs in the backyard. They play fetch really well. Harper is a chocolate lab. I love it when I throw the ball and he catches it on the first bounce. Job well done! Ellie is the pup. A black lab mix. She races back with the ball and so gently drops it on the ground before me. What joy these two bring to our household. I could tell they could feel Spring in the air. As I took a few extra minutes walking the grounds with them I noticed signs of Spring.  Daylilies sprouting from old leaves not yet pulled away, peony buds just beneath the mulch peaking out and tulips and daffodils emerging. I wondered all winter if the squirrels would once again dig my bulbs and carry them away. I see they have survived for the bunnies to start munching on them happily. While I have tried blood meal, cayenne pepper, human hair and even urine (at that time I was the Mom of young boys). Nothing scared the bunnies away. So this afternoon I took the time to cut up some chicken wire and place it over the emerging bulbs. I don't know if the bunnies will still be able to get to and munch those tasty treats but I do know the time I spend in the garden is so refreshing and mind clearing, it could cure illness. Time spent out in nature gives us time to listen. Listen to what God is telling you. As we come to another Easter we remember what He did for us. As the new growth sprouts from the ground I remember that He rose from the ground to save me. How can I serve and thank Him for this? By listening. Listening to Him. Spring is almost here. What does it have in store for you?

Linda

Bath Remodel Day 4

One of these days I'll see tile on the walls but not today. We found out the mortar we bought to put up the water-proofing membrane was not the correct type. So we returned it. Now our 3 hours to get something done has turned into 2.

We used a product by Schluter-Kerdi. I truely hope it is worth it as the extra steps of putting up another vertical layer takes time. I'm going to wait at this point before I start to lay tile. I need to be rested, have a plan in mind and a clear head to execute the plan. Thanks Tim for coming over to help make sure my wet saw was assembled well for my safety. While hubby is working this week I need to work at getting my house clean for weekend guests. The thought of doing that is clogging my brain from thinking clearly on the tile project. Check back in, Day 5 promises to be an awesome day of progress. I can't wait!