Laundry Room Herringbone Pattern Tile Floor Details

We’ve been working in the laundry room (see more in the home tour). We chose black walnut porcelain tile that looks like wood and oh my, it’s gorgeous!

Herringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOff (38 of 83)

do-it-yourself laundry pedestals

When we got it home from Lowe’s, my sweet husband suggested doing a herringbone pattern (because the herringbone patterned brick walkway and patio wasn’t enough torture, I guess) and I think he realized after his offer, that he may have stuck his foot in his mouth. But he did a beautiful job despite the tricky cuts, despite the fact that most of it is covered by a washer and dryer, a throw rug and someday soon, cabinetry and shelving. 

DIY laundry pedestal

This isn’t a full detailed tutorial per se because I’m not the one who did the work but I did take some pictures of the process for your DIY tiling enjoyment. Be sure to do plenty of research on tiling tips before beginning. Ready?

Level subfloor. Check. Hubby glued and screwed down Hardibacker. 

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He started the tile pattern by creating a border around the space and cutting/laying out/fitting those tiles first.

Herringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOff

Then laid out the placement of the herringbone with solid un-cut tiles in the design. 

Herringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOff

Next up is cutting the tiles needed to create a herringbone pattern in the space between the tile border. 

Herringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOffHerringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOff

We find (he finds) that using FrogTape on the tile cut lines for tricky cuts with angles or small pieces helps prevent breakage. 

Herringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOff

We used 1/32″ spacers. We didn’t want huge gaps between the tiles since they resemble wood. 

Herringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOff

Next up, he set the tiles with mortar (OmniGrip) applied with a trowel. 

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Then removed the spacers and started the grouting process. We let it ‘cure’ for a week before  applying the grout. 

Grouting: We chose a black grout because it gave a similar look to the edges of our distressed antique java bamboo floors in the adjoining room. He used a sanded black epoxy grout (Quartz Lock Urethane Grout – jet black), smushing it into the spaces between the tile with a float then wiping away the excess with a sponge.

Herringbone Tile Floor - DIYShowOff

Let dry a good 24 hours before walking on it and because we were awaiting appliances, it was a couple weeks before every-day traffic. 

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Isn’t it beautiful? I was half tempted to put the washer and dryer somewhere else so I don’t have to cover it up! More laundry room makeover details coming up. Stay tuned!

DIYShowOff Laundry Room Pedestals 

How to install a tiled backsplash

We’re finally shopping for tile for behind our stove area so I wanted to revisit how our kitchen has evolved and the tile we chose for our back splash as well as review the steps we took to install the tile. Our kitchen when we bought the house was outdated…

When we moved we only paint the walls green, inserted new SS appliances and range hood. We lived with it for 3 years then painted the cabinets and finally replaced the countertop with granite (Virginia Jet Mist). Working as time and budget allow sometimes mean waiting for the things we want.
tile-backsplash-tutorial
We had a savings to get started on our dream kitchen (the dream where we have savings but the dream without winning the lottery.
The back splash:

Materials:
Venatino Polished Marble Tiles 12×12 mosaic, 5 Venatino Pencil Borders
OmniGrip Maximum Strength Adhesive
Tile Guard Natural Stone Penetrating Sealer
QuartzLock Grout – silver
FrogTape
Caulk

Tools:
Tile saw
Trowel
Float
Putty knife
Bucket
Sponge
Bucket
Paper towels
Rags
Caulk gun
DAP Pro Caulk Tool Kit

Back Splash Tutorial:

1.  Apply caulk to gap where countertop meets the wall.

2.  We used a DAP Pro Caulk Tools to make an even/straight line, but a using your finger (and water) works just as well.

3.  Prep area.  Cover countertop or clean as you go to protect the counter top.

4.  Upper cabinets sit back further than the edge of the countertop. We wanted out backsplash to cover the entire area. We started at the edge of the counter for our backsplash. Decide how your tile edge will be finished.  We used a matching border from the countertop’s edge vertically and ended at the bottom of the end of the wall cabinet.  We mitered the joint where vertical meets horizontal.
5.  Apply border and tile with OmniGrip Adhesive using a trowel.  Coat the wall (can be done directly on drywall).  OmniGrip is pre-mixed so there’s no guessing on consistency and this product works really well for a back splash.
6.  To lessen breakage and crumbling when cutting (the vibration nearly pulverizes edges of the marble), we used FrogTape on cuts.

7.  Apply pressure to ‘set’ tiles in place.

Another shot of how we ended the tile on the countertop/cabinet edge.

8.   Let dry at least 2 days.

9.  Seal tiles using Tile Guard.  Wipe on with a rag.  It dries within seconds.

10.  After drying, prep area by covering countertops or clean as you go – dried grout {We chose Quartz Lock in a darker gray} will be hard to remove.

Have a bucket of water handy.

11.  Apply generous amount of Quartz Lock to the float using a putty knife.

Quartz Lock is pre-mixed. We cover with a plastic grocery bag, then the lid with a tight seal and save leftover for a future project.
12.  Add grout to spaces between the tiles, filling every gap, working in small areas going to next step and starting again with the next area.  Smoosh it in the gaps.
13.  Using a well-wrung wet sponge, wipe in a diagonal motion (except when necessary against countertop and cabinets), wiping away grout from tile.  Grout should stay in the cracks and gaps, but be cleaned away from tiles.

14.  Rinse sponge.

15.  Repeat.

16.  Let dry.  Grout will hide imperfections/crumbled edges of marble tile.  Don’t stress with tiny chips. Grout will disguise them. We have an old farmhouse, so our motto is “imperfection adds character”.
Before Grout:
After Grout:
Kitchen before:
Kitchen after:
We’re thinking of stainless steel tiles for behind the stove but I haven’t decided on the pattern or shape of tiles yet.
stainless-steel-tile
We just calculated that we’ll be in our house 7 years this summer. And we’re ready to put the finishing touches on the kitchen. About time, right?  We’ll be removing the cabinets above the stove to install a proper vent. It means losing those two cupboards but more on a pantry coming soon too. What do you think?
tile-kitchen
I think the chef’s dream stove/range is on that ‘winning the lottery’ dream kitchen and he’ll have to make do with what we have but it’s functional. Sorry, Mr. DIY.
See more about our kitchen makeover at our Home Tour
DIY Show Off farmhouse kitchen makeover
Similar products for this project:
Star Quartz Quartz Lock 2 Ug Tile Grout-Birch 18lb bucket
Carrara Marble Italian White Bianco Carrera 3×6 Marble Subway Tile Honed
Custom Building Products TLOSQT-3 TileLab OneStep Cleaner and Resealer
Frog Tape 82021 Pro Painters Masking Tape, 1-1/2-Inch by 60-Yards, Green
Pro Caulk Complete Caulking Kit (As Seen On TV)
Goldblatt G02391 1/4-Inch By 3/8-Inch By 1/4-Inch Square Notch Trowel With Plastic Handle
TBC Margin Trowel Float 6″x 2-1/2″ Professional Gum Rubber Face Bonder to Foam Rubber Pad. Speciality Grout Float Designed for Hard to Reach Areas. Narrow Width & Offset Handle Allow Work Under Toe-Kick Space Under Cabinets and Small Areas. Float 11″
SKIL 3540-02 4.2-Amp 7-Inch Wet Tile SawThis is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my own experience. FrogTape Blog Squad

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

Apartment Bathroom Floor – before and after 

how to tile a bathroom floor

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

Daltile Sandy Beach porcelain tile

helpful tips and tricks from The Home Depot Tile Specialist

Roeshel from DIY Show Off with Mike, the Home Depot tile specialist

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

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

bathroom makeover

{I know…so gross!}

and got to work on removing that old floor…

bathroom floor before

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.

cutting Hardiebacker

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).

screwing Hardiback to existing floor

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…

tiling at door frame

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.

spacing ceramic tiles

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.

doorway tile

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.

labeling cut tiles

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

labeled ceramic tiles

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

tiling a bathroom floor

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.

process of tiling a bathroom floor

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:

grouting materials

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. 

grouting ceramic tile

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!

Daltile Atmospheres Carrara ceramic tile

An amazing difference!

gross bathroom floor before…

bathroom makeover - before

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

Daltile Carrara ceramic tile

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. 

FrogTape Blog Squad

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