Tiling…A Love Hate Relationship

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Last we left off, I put up new cement board after this bathroom was demo’d and then added Redguard to waterproof the area. My friends daughters picked out this gorgeous tile!

I started by setting up my wet saw and mixing the mortar.

I started in the middle of the back wall so that the tile would end evenly on both sides. I used the smooth side of the trowel to spread the mortar on the walls and then went over it with the tooth side. Then I back buttered the tile the same way and placed it on the wall. I used these simple spacers.

Below is as far as I got on day 1 of tiling because I was out of the mortar I mixed. I’m working at a friends house here and there is no light in this space right now because of the renovation so I’m only able to work with daylight through the window and the light from the bathroom right outside of this space, so I’m only able to get so much done in a day. Plus my other obligations and I take my time. Luckily for them I don’t charge an hourly rate! Ha!

Before quitting for the day I rub the rest of the mortar that’s still showing off as flat as I can so it doesn’t dry and create ridges, that way the tile I put up the next time I’m here will lay flat.

The next day I come back I got to the top where I needed to cut down small strips of tile, about an inch thick. I told my audience on Instagram that I just planned on caulking that inch as a joke. Could you imagine?! I’m sure there is someone out there that would actually do that!

But that someone is not me! I cut down the pieces like a real tile professional would do.

The back wall looked great once I was done!

That day I also started on the right wall, leaving the left wall with the shower hardware for last.

This is as far as I got on day 2. It was hard to place the pieces on the right when the mortar for the rest of them was still wet since there was no tub below for them to rest on to keep them from sliding down.

When I came back the next day I continued, I got all the way to the top and to the floor beside the tub. this part was a little challenging because of the slope of the tub, I decided to just cut the pieces flat and fill in with grout later.

The Redguard is still showing a little on the right of the tile but I have a plan for it.

The most annoying part of this turning into a multi day project and having to drive all my tools to and from my friends house is having to set up my wet saw every time and then cleaning it and taking it down.

Day 4.

Then day 5 I was done with the tiling part of it. I can’t tell you how many times I had to run back and forth to the wet saw! (This saw is amazing btw!)

I left all the mortar to dry and came back the next time and removed all the spacers. Pliers helped with this! Very tedious work!

Then it was time for grout. I was using the kind you mix yourself and it was a pain! I went with the color Alabaster. I rubbed it in with the grout float and then wiped it away with a microfiber sponge, the microfiber sponges are a million times better than a regular grout sponge! Grouting took me 3 days because I didn’t have a whole day to work on it. I’m also a Flight Attendant full time so I squeeze DIY in on my days “off”.

It was about at this point I called it quits with the grout you mix yourself. I was frustrated because it gets too runny on the top and the bottom of the bucket is thicker. Maybe it was something I did wrong.

I went back to Floor & Decor to get some premixed grout in the same color and it worked out SO much better! It’s more expensive but it’s worth it in my opinion, you don’t have to waste time mixing grout and then getting the consistency wrong and then wasting it.

The premixed grout was night and day difference! It was so much easier to work with! I finished the last wall of grouting with it.

And this is how it turned out! Gorgeous right?!

Of course I had to film a transition video for my socials, this was a fun one!

And with that you have a sneak peak of the next project! The rest of this little part of the bathroom! Next, I’ll be installing beadboard to cover up my crappy drywall work! haha!