DIY Bathroom Renovation - Tiling a floor Part 2: Laying the tile

You've pulled everything out of the room. You've cleaned the floor. You've laid the backer board. And you've collapsed in exhaustion. But now, you've rested your weary back and you're ready to proceed to the next step, right??

Well, get ready for the fun part. Laying tile.

Before you get your mortar out and actually start putting down your tile, I'd suggest laying it out first. This will give you an idea of the cuts you're going to have to make. It will also help you see how the design will lay out. Some people recommend starting from the center of the room and working out.

I usually work from the far wall and work toward the door of the room, but this is where laying out the tile before hand is important. Visualize how the finished tile will look by laying it out. You might not like the layout and want to change it. For this particular project, I started on one wall and worked over toward the other wall. Because the tile is small, this worked out for me and saved me having to make cuts on both sides of the room. Because I started on one edge, I only had to cut when I got to the other side of the room. Keep in mind too, if you have large tiles, how much of those tiles will be left at the threshold of your doors. Aesthetically, that could make the difference in where you start. You might also want to lay a chalk line to make sure you keep the tile straight.

Once you've laid out your flooring, it's time to gather your tools. I highly suggest getting a wet saw for tile cutting before you start laying it. It's a messy proposition, but it makes the job so much easier. And, of course, remember to always wear your safety goggles when cutting. The saw spits like crazy! Additionally, I use tile snips for the smaller pieces of tile.

You should also have your mortar for this step - you can find this in the tiling section of any home improvement store. To lay that mortar, you'll need a notched trowel (also in the tiling section). This trowel helps ensure an even layer of mortar, which is important in keeping the floor level so the tiles won't crack. Grab your level to check your work. You'll need spacers to make sure the laid tiles are even (see photos below). With the small tile I used for this project, I got spacers the same size as the spaces in the pre-laid tile sections. Finally, grab some rags and keep them wet to help clean up slops.

You've laid out the tile. You're happy with the layout. It's time to lay some mortar.

Work in small sections - I recommend no more than two tile sections at a time - and be aware of the instructions on the mortar you're using. Some need time to set up a bit before you lay the tile. Grab some mortar out of your bucket with your trowel and lay it out so that the notches touch your backer board and you're left with lines of mortar. I like to criss cross them a bit. Then lay your tile section out making sure it's evenly laid on the floor. Add spacers to the edge where you're going to lay your next section of tile and then lay the next piece. Make sure your spacers are tight against both pieces of tile - sometimes you'll have to shift your laid tile a bit to make sure everything's tight and even. Do this while the mortar is still tacky and before it's completely set up.

Keep your level handy to check every couple tiles you lay that you're continuing to lay an even floor. Again, that's important in the end because you don't want cracked tiles!

If you look in the photo above and below, you'll see that the tile against the wall and the side of the bathtub was missing part of the black center tile. Because it wasn't going to be covered by a trim piece and because we didn't want a pile of grout in that place, we went back with half diamonds
we'd cut from extra pieces of tile and filled in those spaces making sure they were evenly laid as well. It made the finished project look so much more complete!

Keep moving from one side of the room to the other (I work left to right) until you get to the door. Continue to check that you've laid the tile evenly. Once you've gotten to the door, you're done for the day. You've got to wait at least 24 hours for the mortar to dry - check the directions on the container for exact timing.

Next up? The wonderful world of grouting! I'd suggest finding a buddy for this one....

DIY Bathroom Renovation

About a year ago, my husband and I started a pretty ambitious project - renovating both our bathrooms and our kitchen. We took a week off thinking surely with our prior experience (my parents started me renovating houses when I was a kid and his parents are pretty DIY handy) we could get it all done in that week. We were wrong.

Just like any other construction project, you can set a schedule of work that needs to be finished each day, but that's not a guarantee it'll get done. Invariably we had to make a trip to Lowe's to get something we'd forgotten on our initial list. Is that universal? Please say yes. Please?

Anyway, as we went along, I took pictures of the process with the idea in mind that one day I'd start a blog and share with friends how exactly we did what we did (because we got a lot of "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?? reactions). And so here we are.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert in these things. I started young and I've done many things, but I'm by no means a professional tile installer, for example. I tend to rely on trial and error and creative problem solving, so there could be a better way to do this that I don't know. Feel free to comment!! I'm still learning!

Step 1: Make a plan
What don't you like about your bathroom? The flooring? The sinks? The wall color? For us, it was all three of these things. So I began thinking about what I liked and what I'd like to put into the house that would help the ultimate resale value.

I figured tile floor would sell better than linoleum and vessel sinks are hot, hot, hot. The problem is that the faucets are about as expensive as the sinks and we were working on a budget. I was lucky enough to find vessel sinks that accepted a regular faucet. Just try to think through all the pieces and parts of this as you're in your planning and budgeting stage so that you're not broadsided with an unexpected expense when your toilet is sitting in the bathtub.

I began looking around for design ideas and putting them into a wish list. It may help to print things out on a color printer and arrange them like a picture to help visualize the final product. Be sure to measure (twice to be sure!) the area, for example, where your sink will be placed. You don't want to come home from your local home improvement store with a sink base that's 2 inches larger than your space. Plot, plan and measure... and then comes the fun part.

Step 2: Gather your materials
Ladies, grab your debit cards, it's time to shop. This step actually took several months of shopping and budgeting once I'd found what I wanted design wise. We designated a place in our home to store the materials while we were gathering them.

One way we were able to save money on a bathroom vanity and kitchen cabinets was to transfer the base cabinets from the bathroom to the kitchen (they were builder's spec) and then used a dresser as a bathroom vanity. I scoured Craigslist in our area for the perfect dresser to paint and use - I'll post more later on this particular project - and after about a month of looking was successful in finding the right "look" for our space.

As you think through every aspect of what you're doing, make a list of things you'll need. For example, if you're painting you'll need rollers, paint brushes, drop cloths, paint trays, painter's tape, stirring sticks and paint. For tile, you'd need backer board, tile, a wet saw or tile clippers (depending on the project), mortar, grout, a rubber float, a sponge, a bucket, etc. Go through the project and try to list all the tools and materials you'll need. As I said, I often got knee deep into the project to realize I needed just a little more grout or a different width of tape. Patience is a virtue....

Step 3: DEMOLITION

For some, this is the heart of the project. It's an opportunity to let out all your aggression. Rip up that floor. Pull out that vanity. Tear off that vanity. Whatever floats your boat.

We started with the huge mirror that dominated one wall. Luckily, it was held to the wall with a series of clips and a track at the bottom instead of being glued to the wall. We loosened the clips at the top first and then slid the mirror out of the track. If you're doing this at home sports fans, you'll figure out when you start trying to pull the mirror off the wall whether it's glued on or not. Keep in mind these wall mirrors are heavy, so be sure to have an extra set of hands to help manipulate it off the wall and out of the room.

When left with a mirrorless wall, we then turned our attention to taking the top off of the vanity. First thing, empty the cabinets so that you can get to the plumbing. Then, most importantly, TURN OFF THE WATER TO THE HOUSE. Trust me on this one. Otherwise, you'll have water everywhere.

Once the water is turned off, be sure to turn on the faucets to drain as much water as you can out of the lines. Then, from under the vanity, unhook the faucets from the water pipes. You'll probably have a bit of residual water that comes out when you do this, so keep a towel handy to mop up. Do the same for the drains from the drain pipe.

Next, we had to deal with the side splash panel (very technical term here) - the piece that was attached to the wall to the side of the sink to prevent the drywall from getting wet. Sometimes these are tacked on with caulk, but ours was glued on. We cut the caulk around the sides of the panel with a carpet blade and pried it off with a small pry bar. You can see the green of the drywall that was behind the panel in the picture to the right.

Once that's done, check to see if the back splash is glued to the wall as well. If it is, cut the caulk like you did with the side splash and pull the vanity top away from the wall. If it's glued to the wall, you can pry this from the wall as well. Once the back splash is free, lift the top off of the vanity. If it still won't come off, check underneath to see if the vanity top is screwed into the base. If so, remove those screws and try again. The picture to the left is after the top's been taken off the vanity.

Then, we took the doors off the vanity, checked to see if the vanity was screwed into the wall, removed those screws and - being careful of the pipes in the floor - lifted the vanity out of the bathroom.

You might be left with some unfinished wall board that you should prime and paint before replacing the vanity. But otherwise, you're through the first part of DIY bathroom renovation!

Next up? Tiling!