old country house blog

MASTER BATHROOM MAKEOVER – PART 2 – THE FLOOR

Spring arrived and then…it snowed…again…

Yesterday the kids had another March snow day and I took a day off from the Master Bathroom Makeover…Now I will get back to the floor…

crystalsnow
….the view from the front door..hard to believe it is March 25!

I have broken the Master Bathroom Flooring Project into 3 parts –

1. PREP  DONE!

2.  TILE INSTALLATION starts today…

3. TILE FINISHING

IMG_9759
Cement board is applied with a thin coat of “Thin Set” and then Hardbacker screws…I bought GREY thin set because I knew I would use it for the tile as well…and as I discovered before…it HELPS to have the thin set and the grout be similar colors with small scale Hexagon tile….

I completed step 1. on Sunday when I installed the 1/4 inch cement board. I spoke a bit on this HERE  when I did the Powder Room. I have since learned a few tips from the tile guys that did the Kids Bathroom. and a few things I have learned MY way…which is often referred to as -THE HARD WAY.

CUTTING -I struggled the first time with cutting the board and eventually resorted to using my Jig Saw, which was…WAY overkill….and a bit messy. While messing around during the kids bathroom work, I figured out how to SCORE the board with my Matt knife and then with a quick kind of karate kick move, SNAP IT…and this is my technique now for cutting it. I still use the saw for very small cuts and when I had to cut the holes for the toilet and then shower.

It is also super important that when you install your cement board that there be NO BOUNCE. There are little indentations on the board itsself…and your Backer-On screws 41Ft0ioOX-Lgo in each of those spots…lots of screws. My 9V drill could not do the job, had to bump up to an 18 volter…perfect except I swear I have a pulled arm muscle from all the drilling!!!

install screws here..and here...and here.......
install screws here..and here…and here…….

Step 2. The FLOOR tile is going to be a cinch. Imagine wallpaper with no match…or fabric that has a very simple pattern like polka dots…THAT is what this tile is like…EASY PEASY…NO PATTERN AND I HOPE I AM NOT JINXING MYSELF…by saying it will be a breeze!!! I also expect it to go smoothly because the nature of the HEXAGON tile is that there really are no cuts needed.

THE Shower tile HOPEFULLY will also cooperate.

I had to do math. Stay with me here. the shower is 47″ x 47″. So each wall of tile, like a book cover will need to be a minimum of 47″.

Vigo-VG6063CHCL47W
Vigo neo Angle Shower -Glass with Chrome accents

I learned with my Tile Guys that with subway tile everything is done in 3’s and 6’s inch measurements, to accommodate the tile size. Simple. So my plan is to have the tile be 48″ on each side + a nose piece. The height is 73″, including the floor, (I think) so I will have the tile go a few inches above the top of the glass…in multiples of 3″ plus the nose piece!!!

3. FINISHING: I am going to use a gray grout for the floor…and white for the shower. I used off white in the kids bathroom and then spent a long day “painting” the grout, WHITE, with grout colorant and sealer…. I bought Gray colorant to do the kids floor which I also did in an off white, but I honestly do not think it is a good use of my time.  OUR bathroom will have the white and gray from the start!!! I Loved the Gray in the Powder room…

Powder Room With Hexagon tile with Gray Grout

so that is my report for the day. I am back at the coffee shop writing this, internet still down. What would we do without our internet…or rather what did we do before it? Wait? Do you wonder if maybe the skill of patienec is being bred out of us??? Perhaps our childrens childrens children wil simply ahve to think something for it to appear!

Oh speaking of the kids…I am having them do a time capsule to stick in the wall behind the shower. We are going to fill a pasta jar with little mementos, things to leave for the next owner….or for them one day, if they own this house and want to renovate…In case I forget where we put it…It will go right behind the shower here!

arrowtshower
old shower space where NEW IMPROVED shower will go!

TOMORROW: Floor and Shower tile installation!!!

1 thought on “MASTER BATHROOM MAKEOVER – PART 2 – THE FLOOR

  1. Holy smokes, are you laying the tile yourself? Good for you. Way back when I worked for a small mom & pop tile shop and after having to fill in on some jobs for a crew that never arrived, I can say I’ve laid tile and I will pay someone else to do it for me.

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