Has A Place

Well hello there, been a while. Summer really takes a toll on my life. I never realized how much time I actually spend outside and out at different festivals and parties.
We live in an area where we get about 3 good months of "good" weather. So ALL of the weddings, showers, barbecues, happen during this short time. It seems every weekend we are at another "thing". I don't mind at all, I love socializing and being with friends. But it doesn't leave much time for anything else. As you can see this bathroom project took forever and a day to finish. I couldn't be happier with the end result. It has transformed and is truly a masterpiece. blah blah blah... just kidding it came out great!

In this room we changed out the floor (my beautiful tile job if i do say so myself!), light, toilet, mirror and vanity.  Its hard to believe where it was before I got my hands on it. It was a LONG time coming.

What a week!  A lot can happen in a week, and I think I have had everything go wrong all at once. It could always be worse but it seems like someone/something is testing my patience. Everything happens for a reason right? I haven't had the courage to show anyone yet, let’s just say my basement; my beautiful refinished basement needs to be completely replaced. A rock in my outside sewer line. YES a ROCK in my sewer line caused a backup and flooded my basement. Crying :( :(

Here's the evidence:



These stupid rocks aren't even that big! I hate them, I despise them right now!



At least one thing went my way, the tile floor is DOOOOONNNNNNEEEEEE!!! I have been waiting for this day for a long time. This means that I can now the bathroom. I started this project a week or two ago and reference it here. It seems like a huge process but really all it takes is some meticulous measuring, planning and organization. I have all three traits built in :) So, in essence it came naturally.

Remember when I posted the pic of the vanity we are going to use in that bathroom, it's been sitting in a box for WELL over a month. It's almost sinful to have something so beautiful in a box in the garage. :(

I was going to actually name this post, "how to" tile a floor. I can only imagine the criticism I would get. NO Thanks! So I decided, this is how I tile a floor. I have read and watched countless videos about this and I have also successfully tiled my half-bath tile floor. Yes, my half-bath was the guinea pig for that project also.

I did most of the work myself here, so ladies get at it!

Anyhoo... here is how I do it:

1. Clear the room of all objects. All meaning frames on the walls, mirrors, towel bars, rugs. Etc.

2. Now clear the more "semi-permanent" things: The toilet, shut the water off, flush it, remove the top, unscrew the bolts and pull it straight up, try to keep it level or water will spill out everywhere. Think of it as a p trap, if you tip it too much one way it will spill out. Also removed the nasty wax ring. Remove the sink and vanity, shut off the water (hot and cold) disconnect the water lines. Disconnect it and pull it out, try not the damage any walls in the meantime.

3. Once everything is out, start removing the old floor, take a crowbar and hammer and remove all the old tiles, or whatever else you have. My tiles had a 1/4 inch plywood base over the subfloor, I removed this also. It will be replaced with 1/4 inch hardi-board (cement board)

4. Prep the floor: make sure all the nails are pounded down, sweep up all the debris and vacuum the floor.

5. Lay out the cement board, try and make sure your joints/seems are not where you walk. I.E. Not along the door or center of the room.



6. Measure out your cuts for the toilet and for my room, the heater vent on the floor. Dry fit every piece

7. Apply thin set to the sub-floor and lay the cement board, so you glue it down basically. Cement board also has these handy little holes for the special screws to go in, drill a screw into every hole. :) Let it dry for about 24hours. Do other things in the meantime, paint, add molding. Things like that.


8. I lay out all the tiles and cut them before I apply the thin-set to the floor. I know this takes a while but it really makes a difference when applying them. They go down in a snap and they are all laid out without any mistakes :)


9. Let them dry overnight, preferably 24 hours and grout. I did purchase a bag of sanded grout that you mix with water this time. You can avoid that all together if you buy the premixed grout for a few dollars more.

Just Kidding, our house has 2 and a half baths, which I believe is the perfect amount to have. Not to many, not to little and not overwhelmingly hard to keep clean. The half bath is for guests (mostly). This is the bathroom that gets all the fancy soaps and sprays. Our bathroom, (the Master) is my haven. It's where I get ready for everything. Going to work or going to sleep, this is usually the last place I visit. I wanted it to be luxurious yet usable. They only downside to this bath is there is no tub :(.  Last, we come to our second bath, the "stepchild" The receiver of all things decor that have no other place to go (except the basement). Pink toilet, pink tub and tile. I swear the people in the late 80's early 90's were color blind. PINK TOILET!!! I cant believe they were actually produced. WHO does that. Anyway, it HAS to go and quick!
The other night, the hubby and I went over to Home Depot to get the wheels moving and get me inspired for some manual labor. By manual I mean ripping out the old and installing the new.
Here is the main inspiration:

Cherry wood, black granite, classic lines and an inspirational shape. I love different shapes. Because I do "mini" makeovers the pink tub is staying. Well mauve (ugly).  I'm sure it will look fine whens its all said and done. This renovation is going to be the floor tile, toilet, vanity, light, and mirror.  Because the vanity is cherry it already has some of the red/oink tones naturally in the wood. SO I am hoping the vanity offsets the tub.  This whole "mini" should cost around $1000 when completely finished.