Okay, getting to the big finish! I'm on my own working now (my pal Jason has his own kids, house, and dissertation to worry about), so I'm tiling up the walls around the bathroom.
Look at those nice straight lines! As a tip to anyone doing this in the future - DO scrape off the thin-set (or mastic) from these tiles AS YOU LAY THEM. Use a sponge or something to clean them straightaway; don't wait for a few days. Otherwise you'll be back in there with your wife at like 11:30 PM scrubbing the walls clean. Its kind of a romantic date, actually.
Once you get going though, it goes pretty quick. I had the tile saw outside, and just made enough cuts to go up 5 rows at a time. The last two walls were pretty straightforward, even if I was cutting out holes for the pipe stem pieces. Also, I cut my own bullnose trim pieces on the top of the shower there. One full tile costs $1.79, and I can cut two 3" trim pieces out of it. By contrast, a 3" x 12" piece of bullnose (a specialty item) costs $2.88. Forget. That.
Fast forward through the cleaning, grouting, caulking sealing, and various other tasks to...
Ta-da! Good for kids, too!
So that's done. I'm not sure if we came in under budget; I think we were pretty close, and I got a lot of experience, and a few new tools out of the deal. Total working time: < 2 weeks. In fact, I felt so good about this project, that I decided to make a sequel.
50-year old linoleum-tile floor, anyone?
Stay tuned!
(SPOILER ALERT)
7 comments:
Wow! Looks great! Nice job, Eric :)! Good luck w/ the next project.
How do you make bullnose out of regular tile?? The official bullnose actually "noses" over the edge, so there's a nice finished curve. Is yours just a 1/3 size tile or what??
Yes, just 1/3 tile. I only used above the shower , though, where you can't really tell.
Fantastic job! All that tile certainly helps resale value. Quite impressive, Mr. Buschelman!
can you hear the little woman in the background singing IF YOU WERE A CARPENTER?
So you used real bullnose for the part over the toilet area? NICE!! Now I know what we're doing next time you come to KC!
Looks awesome and thank you oh so much for giving Robert ideas! (Note: sarcasm begins after "awesome")
Nice job!
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