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!

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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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Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations {apartment progress}

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Roeshel

I am no stranger to painting cabinets (painted kitchen cabinets). I get a lot of questions about Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations and I love that I had the opportunity to test the product for myself. My honest opinion? I seriously LOVED the kit. Reason #1 – no sanding! That step is my least favorite (and most time consuming and messy) part of re-doing kitchen cabinets.

The apartment kitchen before was looking outdated and sad…(and super dirty!)

and after some clean up and the Rustoleum Countertop Transformations {review} definitely made even the cabinets look better…

but with such a small space, I really wanted to lighten things up.

I chose “pure white”. This kitchen is super tiny but I used Rustoleum’s how to measure guide to confirm that one kit would cover our space. It turned out to be more than enough.

I removed the doors and hardware. I used FrogTape to label my doors

and to prepare my space for painting (where cabinets met the wall and floor in certain areas).

Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations

The first step in the kit is ‘deglossing’. Simply generously apply the declosser to the wood (or laminate or even metal!) with the provided green scrubby. Rinse with a wet rag and let dry. This removed a lot of the dirt, grease and the “shine”.

The next step is applying the bonding coat (or … white paint provided by the kit). I started with the front side of the doors and while they were drying, moved to the cabinet frames.

Elevating doors made them easier to paint.

When painting doors, I find that after painting the edges, that running my finger along the underside helps prevent ‘drips’. This means painted fingers and old paint pants come in handy but if you skip this, you will definitely have drips/extra paint on the other side!

I gave everything 2 coats. I decided not to use the glaze which was provided in the kit since I wanted a clean white look. I think that if you’re not doing the glaze, that two coats is enough (because it will help achieve an awesome glazed look) but if going for the pure white, I recommend using a primer first (not provided) or giving everything 3 coats of paint if you have enough (which I did). I gave the outside of the doors (the most viewed area) 3 coats. The sides of cabinets, which are not seen, got two coats.

I removed my FrogTape as soon as I applied the last round of the bonding coat. I felt confident applying the clear protective coat without the FrogTape using an angled brush and didn’t want to pull off any of the bonding coat which can easily happen once paint dries.

Once the last bonding coat was dry, it was time to apply the protective coat. Only ONE coat is recommended. I brushed it on in the direction of the wood grain (do the same with the paint). It goes on shiny (wet) but has a beautiful, durable matte finish.

Once the protective coat is dry, re-attach doors and hardware.

I was going to just re-use the old hardware but I found an awesome deal at a yard sale with a bit of a prettier look. So new knobs for $2.00!

I think the result is beautiful. Painting cabinets is always time consuming but I found that the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit is a great easy way to give old cabinets a new durable look!

This is not recommended by Rustoleum but using the same steps, I even gave the dingy scratched fridge the same treatment. Time will tell if it will hold up but since it works on laminate and metal…I felt it was a safe option. I gave it a ‘light’ brushing of the bonding coat and a layer of protective coat. The fridge looked extra yellow and dirty next to the new cabinets. Who wants that? Now it looks brand new!

Once again, before: {I know – I keep sharing this before but with each new project, I want you to see the progress and what we started with.}

After:

a close up…

Yes! Time to move onto some decorative details in the kitchen! Wahooooooo! More to come!

I can’t wait for this clutter to be gone and for the decorating to begin!

It’s getting there!

How to make a distressed chevron sign

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Roeshel

I wanted something bold to add to our summer mantel and decided a large distressed wooden chevron garden sign was the perfect focal point.

Materials:

scrap wood planks (I used two 1x4s and two 1x5s)
furring strip (cut into 2 pieces a little smaller than the width of my four 1x4s)
Gorilla wood glue
3 colors of paint (I used acrylic craft paint in white, green and brown)
glaze (or watered down brown paint)
Frog Tape Delicate (I used the 1.41 in. wide)
vinyl stencil (I created mine using my Silhouette Cameo)
(2) saw tooth picture hangers

Tools:

Sander (or sanding block)
Paint brushes
Clamps
Saw

Distressed Chevron Sign Tutorial: 1. I cut my scrap wood planks to measure 32 inches each. 2. Using Gorilla wood glue, I glued my planks together, clamped and let dry. 3. I glued two furring strips to the back for extra protection and added weights while they dried. You could also screw the furring strips into each plank.

4. Once all of the glue was dried, I sanded the edges of my boards.

5. Next I gave my sign a coat of white paint all over using a dry brush technique. 6. Once the paint was dry, I chose FrogTape Delicate (for freshly painted surfaces) and created a chevron pattern. I used a small piece of the tape to create spaces. 7. Once my FrogTape design was set, I rubbed down the edges and gave the untaped areas a coat of green paint. 8. Then a coat of glaze, brushed on, wiped off. I love that it gives it a summer grass/garden dirt feel. 9. As soon as I finished applying the glaze, I removed my tape and let the sign dry.

10. I love having a Silhouette Cameo (affiliate link below for a great deal) because I can create my own custom vinyl stencils, decals or lettering as needed. I created an cut out a garden quote with my Cameo and using transfer paper, applied the stencil to my sign (I also saved the letters as stickers to make another sign). 11. Using my brown craft paint, I gave each letter a couple of coats of paint. 12. As soon as I applied the last coat of paint to each letter, I removed my vinyl stencil and let the sign dry. 13. Attach saw tooth picture hangers to the back and it’s all done! I love how it turned out. Just the right amount of bold for my summer mantel!

{pallet shelving in faux mantel} A little inspiration for canning tomatoes this weekend… Summer is just about over (but you’ll be seeing this sign show up somewhere else very soon) and I’ll be working on putting together my fall mantel. And guess where I’ll be sharing? At the Countdown to Fall party coming up soon! Time to get your autumn projects ready and join in the fun!

The DIY Fall Festival will also be starting soon! Get a head start on inspiration for your fall DIY projects from previous years’ DIY Fall Festival parties.

I received vinyl to share this tutorial and will receive a percentage of sales from this SILHOUETTE end of summer PROMOTION: This promotion runs from August 23 through the 31^st.Using the discount code “SHOWOFF” will get you a nearly $75 discount when you visit this affiliate link:http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/blog-vinyl-5.aspx. Plus, all vinyl will be 40% off when you use the “SHOWOFF” promo code.

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

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Category Archives: FrogTape

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

Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations {apartment progress}

How to make a distressed chevron sign