Apartment DIY progress: tiling the bathroom floor (before & after)

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Roeshel

Apartment Bathroom Floor – before and after

We’re renovating a tiny apartment on a small budget. We decided that the bathroom floor was a ‘must do’. The Atmospheres Tile Collection by Daltile offers a variety of style, color and size options, so you can create your own unique designs with tile. The possibilities are endless! Read more about

our tile shopping experience at The Home Depot

helpful tips and tricks from The Home Depot Tile Specialist

The old bathroom floor (updated by previous owners) wasn’t an ideal choice…

And a leaky valve created a HUGE mess (more about that in another post). The joys of DIY…a major freak out moment with a full out tantrum but no choice but to fix the damage and move forward. Unfortunately it happens and DIY doesn’t always go as planned. Sometimes there are setbacks!

We shut off the water, capped the supply lines, removed the toilet and vanity, removed the flexible rubber/plastic(?) baseboards

{I know…so gross!}

and got to work on removing that old floor…

We prepared the floor for tiling by screwing down Hardibacker. Russ made the cuts. We used newspaper to create a template around the shape of the bathtub. and for the hold for the toilet, using a circular saw for straight cuts and a double sided knife blade (I don’t remember the brand of the one he uses) for rounded cuts.

Using Locktite and screws, we secured the Hardibacker to the old floor to create a smooth, level surface for tiling. Make sure that screws are flush (or even countersink them a little).

We made the decision of where the tile would end in the door way. I believe the center is the perfect spot. But, we extended it a small bit after shutting the door to see the ideal spot (where wood floors from hallway would not be seen in the bathroom and tile floors would not be seen from the closed bathroom door in the hallway.

Mr. DIY used a saw called a “Fat Max” to under cut the door jamb so that tile would fit neatly underneath…

We used a masonry/tile saw (also called a wet saw) to cut tiles. For this project, we cut and laid out all of the tiles in advance, using spacers during the process to get the best fit.

We laid out our tile, deciding on the best design for the space. We do love creative patterns but given our time frame, the shape of the tub, un-square walls and the fact that not much floor space actually shows when the toilet and vanity are in place, we decided on a basic grid design. We used the same newspaper templates we created for the Hardibacker for cutting tiles to fit the shape of the bathtub and the hole for the toilet plumbing.

The Home Depot Tile Specialist suggested we center the pattern in the door way and work from there but for us, when working with odd cuts near the tub and not wanting cut tile framing one whole tile in the door way, we worked from right to left, starting in front of the tub so that smaller cut tile pieces would be behind the vanity and toilet. I liked the look of one cut tile on the left corner of the room hidden by the vanity/hinged door area better. There is no wrong way…just do what feels right for your space.

We chose a ceramic tile called “Carrara” from the Daltile Atmosphere Collection at the Home Depot. Affordable, stylish and easy to install, Daltile was the perfect choice when selecting tile. I loved the colors, white with a gray veining, the flow and movement it’d bring to the super tiny space and the durability of ceramic tile for a rental bathroom.

I labeled cut tiles using FrogTape so it didn’t feel like we were putting together a jig saw puzzle when moving on to the next step.

Now we won’t be confused when putting it back together…

For this tiling project, we used Omni-Grip as our mortar to secure tiles to the Hardiebacker and 3/16 spacers.

We used a trowel to spread the Omni-Grip and placed the tiles, working our way out of the room. We did our best to get straight lines.

We let this dry for 48 hours while we worked on other things.

We chose a sanded pre-mixed urethane grout called Quartz Lock for it’s features:

Superior stain resistance
Color consistency
Crack resistant flexibility
Mold/mildew protection

Color is “silver gray”.

Materials for grouting:

Apply grout to the float with a putty knife and smooth into the spaces between the tile. “Smoosh” it into the spaces.

Be sure to clean the tiles to remove excess grout with a clean wet sponge along the way.

We did not grout along the tub – we used caulking there. In the event something needs changed in the future, we didn’t want the mess of trying to remove grout from the cast iron tub.

I would have preferred that we created a more uniform grid. But we did our best. If I don’t look right at it, it doesn’t bother me. lol And in the big scheme of this apartment rental, an old building full of imperfections, this looks pretty darn good!

An amazing difference!

gross bathroom floor before…

bathroom floor (and a little sneak peek of the renovated apartment bathroom) now…

The Home Depot is the one-stop-shop for all tiling needs, whether you are an experienced DIYer or a first-time tiler. I’m so happy with our selection. Love the Daltile Carrara and meeting with the Home Depot tile specialist and getting some tips saved us some time and headaches! See the entire Daltile Atmospheres Collection at the Home Depot.

Almost time for the full apartment reveal! Just finishing up the hardwood floors this week then time to decorate and get her moved! I’m trying to hold off on other tutorials and info until after the big reveal…it’s so hard! I want to show you every step as I complete it!

Sharing here:

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers (like me!) to participate in its Daltile program. As a part of the program, I received compensation in the form of a Home Depot gift card to participate in promoting the new Atmospheres Tile Collection by Daltile. Opinion and experiences are my own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social medial engagement recommendations. I am a DIY blogger and I approved this message.

This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my own experience.

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Tips for tiling a floor from the Home Depot Tile Specialist

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Roeshel

Remember when I shared we shopped for tile for the rental bathroom makeover at looking at the Daltile Atmospheres Collection at the Home Depot?

The Atmospheres tile collection by Daltile offers a variety of style, colors and size options to create your own unique designs with tile. So many possibilities! {shopping for tile}

We finally chose a tile, placed and order online and it was delivered to my door. Hurray! But wait…I learned something that changed our order.

Uh oh! {read on}

After receiving samples of the Daltile Cararra 12x12s {I loved the pattern, flow, marble look and finish!}, we ordered Daltile Cararra in the 10×14 size for our bathroom floor. Beautiful tile.

What I learned from the Home Depot tile specialist…

With tiling experts at every store, the Home Depot is empowering customers to take on both large and small scale tiling projects. Even when you think you might know everything, it’s a good idea to sketch out a plan so I met with Mike, the tile specialist at the Home Depot. Mike is a tiling expert and was super friendly and well, an expert at tiling. He answered my questions patiently and had so much information. We’ve tiled before but I did learn a some helpful tips. Everyone say “hi Mike!”

{Mike, the Home Depot tile specialist with me}

Mike went through each step in the tiling process and shared some super helpful tiling tips:

Demo of existing floor (for us it’s tongue and groove engineered planks). Our subfloor is solid and level so we’re good to go. If this isn’t the case, that would need to be addressed.
Installing cement board or hardi-backer. Either choice works. We’re choosing hardi-backer because cutting causes less dust and Mr. DIY prefers to work with hardi-backer. This gets screwed down over top of subfloors. Sized (depths) vary and depend on meeting up with the adjoining floor outside of the bathroom (so no one’s stubbing toes). We’re going with 1/4 inch.
Tile cutting and layout. Mike suggested working from the center of the floor in front of the doorway and working the pattern out towards the border of the room. That’s the area that will be seen most often. In our case, as you can see, a vanity partially blocks the door. So we’re going to work from the center of the “open” floor space or start in front of the tub and work our way back to where the new vanity and toilet will be replaced since that tile will not be seen. We do have a wet saw, which is the tool needed for cutting tile. And the glazed porcelain tiles we chose won’t be an issue with cutting (as the marble backsplash tiles were – see our tip on cutting/installing marble subway backsplash tile). It’s helpful to mark the back of tiles or stack them back up in order of layout so that you can work quickly with setting them in place permanently. We will cut, layout and space the entire space before moving onto the next step.
Types of mortar. Learning something new everyday! Mortar comes in light and dark colors. Mike recommends Versabond for our project. Mortar can be absorbed into natural stone tile and grout. We are using a glazed porcelain so there isn’t an issue with absorption, however will will be using a lighter grout and will go with the lighter mortar as well. Mortar gets spread using a notched trowel. Mortar must not dry before setting tiles in place.
Tile placement and spacing. Spread the mortar in sections, working as you go (not working yourself into a corner, but work starting from the further part from your exit – you’ll want to end at the door so that you can leave). Allow to dry 24 hours. We’ll be using the 3/16 spacers since we like a thin grout joint (place and remove as we continue working).
Grouting. Mike suggests using a sanded grout on floors for wear and tear. Materials needed: grout (mix if not using a pre-mixed), bucket of water, float and sponge.
Sealing. Natural stone needs to be sealed as well as grout. However, since we’re going with glazed porcelain, our tile doesn’t need to be sealed. Mike pointed out that ‘Grout Shield’ can be mixed with grout to eliminate an extra step of sealing.

Another very important thing that I learned from Mike, the Home Depot tile specialist? Floor tiles and wall tiles are different. Wall tiles are not recommended for floors (it’s okay the other way around – you can use floor tiles on a wall).

Tip: Look at the back of the tile!

Light backside = wall tile

Darker backside = floor tile

Floor tiles have been fired longer and are stronger for floors. Using a wall tile on a floor can mean cracking or breaking since it’s not as strong. And know what? Those 10×14 Daltile Cararra tiles we ordered were light on the back, meaning they were wall tiles. Not going to work for our floor. {exception: accent tiles can be used on a floor}

I’m so thankful that I met with Mike {thank you, Mike!}. He saved us some potential headaches down the road. So even when you’ve tiled before and are pretty sure you know what you’re doing, it’s always good to review the plan with an expert! I returned my wall tiles and chose Daltile Cararra 12x12s and our tutorial, befores and afters are coming soon!

The Home Depot is the one stop shop for all tiling needs, whether you are an experienced DIYer or first time tiler. See the entire Daltile Atmospheres Collection at the Home Depot.

Thanks to Bri for tagging along and taking the photos.

Choosing tile for the apartment bathroom

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Roeshel

We were recently asked if we’d like to participate in the Daltile Atmospheres Tile Collection campaign by The Home Depot. With an apartment renovation in progress, timing was perfect. We quickly replied with our acceptance and couldn’t wait to get started. Literally. We do have a tiling project in our plans at this very moment. The super tiny bathroom in the super tiny apartment we’re renovating is in desperate need of a new floor.

Actually it’s in desperate need of a lot more! There’s a need to gut the entire bathroom and start from scratch but due to a very small budget and time constraints, we’ve narrowed the projects down to

tiling the floor and installing baseboard trim
painting
re-caulking
new lighting
new medicine cabinet or mirror
new vanity, sink and faucets
and of course, budget friendly decorating

The current flooring is a Pergo-type flooring which is not ideal for a bathroom. {duh} There are a few warped planks. Time to remove it and install something much more bathroom-friendly.

{previous owner forgot their shampoo!}

We headed to The Home Depot: a one stop shop for all tiling needs, whether you’re an experienced DIYer (like Mr. DIY) or first time tiler (like me) to see what would work for this space. Here are a few options that we looked at…

Daltile Atmospheres Tile Collection

We headed to aisle 13 and “ooh’d and ahhh’d like kids in a toy store” at the awesome displays. We jumped right in and laid out designs right out on the floor. I promise we personally didn’t open any boxes – other people must need to touch and see tile in real life too. The Atmospheres Tile Collection by Daltile offers a variety of styles, colors and sizes to create unique designs…perfect! Endless possibilities!

Sandy Beach – porcelain tile that has a slate look

Pacific Sand and Briton Bone – glazed ceramic tiles with a natural stone look. I really enjoyed using both of these to create designs. I love the pattern on the left!

Daltile Designer White – a glazed ceramic tile inspired by the look of marble

A large pretty collection of accent tiles…

Stay tuned to see which tile in the Daltile Atmospheres Collection we choose, my meeting with a Home Depot tile specialist, how to tile a floor tutorial and {keeping my fingers crossed} an awesome bathroom transformation. Which one was your favorite? {I’ve chosen 2. One for the apartment bathroom and possibly one for my future laundry room makeover!} Affordable, stylish and easy to install, Daltile is my kind of product!

Tips for Tiling: https://diyshowoff.com/2012/08/21/tips-for-tiling-a-floor/

How to Tile: https://diyshowoff.com/2012/09/17/how-to-tile-a-bathroom-floor/

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers {like me!} to participate in its Daltile program. As part of the program, I received compensation from The Home Depot in the form of a gift card to participate in this campaign promoting the new Atmospheres Tile Collection by Daltile. They did not twist my arm to participate nor did they tell me what to say about the products used for the Daltile Program. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

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Category Archives: Floors and Rugs

Apartment DIY progress: tiling the bathroom floor (before & after)

Tips for tiling a floor from the Home Depot Tile Specialist

Choosing tile for the apartment bathroom