DIY Bathroom Renovation - Tiling a floor Part 3: Grouting the tile

Your mastic has cured, right? You've waited at least 24 hours? You've pulled the spacers out from between the dried tiles? Great! Let's grout!

For this step, you should have gathered your tools. You'll need some grout - sanded or unsanded depending on the amount of space between the tiles (ask your local home store employee to help you with your choice if you're unsure). I used pre-mixed because that ensured the consistency was right, but you can also use the kind you mix yourself. You'll also need a tool called a rubber float - it's the thing with the handle in the pictures. This will help you make sure you get the grout fully down into the holes between the tiles as you're grouting. You'll also need a bucket, sponge and some rags. All of these to get rid of the extra grout. Finally, I would suggest getting a good pair of knee pads. Bare knees on a tile floor for a long period of time can be quite painful.

Throw on the knee pads, fill up your bucket, open your grout and go to the furthest corner from the door. With your rubber float, pull some grout out of the bucket and slap it onto the floor. Working in an area of about 1 foot by 1 foot, pull the float diagonally across the tile being careful to push as much grout into the spaces between the tiles as you can. I usually try two coats of grout across the same surface area. Scrape off as much excess grout as you can as you go.

Once you're sure you have as much grout as you can get into the spaces between the tiles, wet your sponge in your bucket and draw it across the tile to wipe up the excess grout. Work in a diagonal movement to keep from pulling the grout out of the floor. It might take a couple wipes to get up the excess grout. I then wipe the surface dry to polish the tiles as I go.

Continue to work in small sections until you've reached the door of the room. Make sure you've packed the grout well in the larger areas - such as the areas around pipes where you've had to cut the tile to allow for clearance. I'd also suggest having a buddy to help you keep your water clean as you go. It really helps not to have to continually get up and down to dump the dirty water and get clean water.

Allow the grout to cure for at least 24 hours - or 48 hours if you are able (check the directions in your grout). Once the grout has cured, you should seal it with a sealant. Sealant is also available in your local home improvement store in the tiling section.

Once you've finished sealing, stand back and admire your beautiful work. You've earned it!

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 - Tiling a floor Part 1: Preparation

I think of ceramic floor tiling projects going in four distinct phases.

Part 1: Preparation
Part 2: Laying the Tile
Part 3: Grouting
Part 4: Sealing

Each of these phases is distinct because of the timing involved. For example, you have to wait for the mortar to cure, then you have to wait for the grout to cure. But I guess that’s part of what made grouting easier for me – you have to take breaks! Can you tile a bathroom in a weekend? Probably in a long weekend. It all depends on the preparation.

So let’s get right to tackling the first phase: preparation. In some ways, this is the most important part of the process. Like many things, if you don’t start with a good foundation, your finished product is doomed. In the case of tiling, if you’ve not created a level foundation, you’ll end up with cracked tiles!

The first thing you have to find, however, is the subfloor of your space. Sometimes, like it was for us, it’s an easy process because you’re facing roll out linoleum that’s only been tacked down at the sides. Sometimes, however, you’ll face layers and layers of glued on linoleum that could take days to remove. So let me try to take you through a couple possibilities.

In a bathroom, the best way to do this is to take up everything off the floor (see my prior post on demolition). Sometimes you won’t have the option of being able to take up the vanity and you’ll have to work around that. You should, however, take up the toilet. I’m not going to lie. It’s not a pretty job. I suggest rubber gloves and lots of plastic.

First, cut off the water (there should be a cutoff valve at the back of the toilet) to the toilet and flush it so that all the water in the tank drains out of the tank. If the water is turned off completely, it shouldn’t fill up again. Then you’re going to have to disconnect the water lines from that part of the tank. You should be able to easily find those joints and unscrew them. Next comes the first yuck part: bail out as much water as you can out of the bowl. If you have a wet vac, suck it all out if you can. Trust me.

The next step is to look for the little screws at the base of the toilet near the floor. You should take off any caps that cover them, and unscrew those screws. You should be able to gently wobble the toilet at this point. Here’s the other yucky point: pull the toilet toward you and lift it from the floor. I’d suggest putting it in the bathtub if you have one close by, if not, make sure you have plastic ready to put it on. If there’s any water left in the base, it’ll slosh out now. There’s also a sticky wax ring that helps seal the toilet drain line. I usually put on rubber gloves and pull that off before I put the toilet down since you’re going to have to replace that when you put the toilet back.

If you're facing a ceramic tile floor, grab a hammer and start banging. Flat pry bars and putty knives are also helpful in getting these tiles up. Once you start breaking them up, you might have to scrape them up, but they should start coming loose.

If you have several layers of linoleum, there's a tool that looks like a flat hoe (like a garden hoe) that you can use to pry the linoleum off of the floor. It's hard work and takes time, but you need to get all those layers up. Large lip putty knives are helpful here as well.

If you are pulling up carpet, you can take a carpet blade and cut the carpet into strips and roll it as you pull it up. Sometimes carpet is only tacked down with tack strips at the edges of the floor, but sometimes people staple the heck out of the entire floor. If this is the case, make sure you pull up all the staples and vacuum up as much dirt and padding as you can get up. Ideally, you'd like a clean floor to begin.

If you're lucky, as I mentioned before, you're facing linoleum that's only glued down at the sides or is glued down in the center as well. Just start pulling that up and scrape up the bits that are left with the glue on the floor.

So is your floor as clean and flat as you can get it? Great! It's time to lay the backer board. First, measure your space so you know how much to get. You might have to cut it and lay it out like a puzzle.

Concrete backer board can be found at your local home improvement store. It can be found in several thicknesses and is very heavy. When you're buying it, think about where your sub floor is in relation to the flooring you'll connect to at the threshold of the room. We opted for very thin board. I highly recommend talking to someone in that department about your project and getting their recommendations as well. While you're there, grab some screws - they make special ones for this purpose that are usually located close to the backer board. Ask if you don't see them because the type of screw is important. If they don't lay flat, you've got trouble. We also grabbed a circular saw blade that was tough enough to cut through the board. Remember, it really is like concrete, so you'll need a tough blade.

If you're a do as you go person (my family is bad about this), you can just lay the board as you go. If you like to prepare, however, you can lay out all the boards to make sure they fit, and then begin screwing them into the floor. Make sure that you keep a level handy as you screw the boards into the floor. It's very important that you keep these boards level with each other. You can help keep them level by screwing the high places tighter and the low places looser.

So your old flooring has been taken up, your backer board has been laid and is level. You're ready for the next step. And you probably need a break. Take it. The next step can wear you out!

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!