Our house in Tucson is in a state of flux. As time permits (and it is always easy to fit in grout sealing or adding a touch of trim into a busy schedule), we continue along the road to progress. Case in point is the tilework Melinda wanted to line the house entrance. The project was small enough that putting down the tile took a few hours, grouting went quickly, as did sealing (with the proper day-or-two wait between steps... Then, as we thought harder about the Mexican talavera tile for the bathroom, she decided to put some accent trim under the security door. Again, a job that was done in an hour or so - yet to be sealed though... We both thought it came out great! Shown at left is Melinda doing the first cleaning after grouting, and at right is the talavera tile under the entrance.
After Dean's post regarding the tiled entry, I though we should include a finished picture. I used Liquid Nails to 'glue' the skinny tile strips (custom cut for me by Sierra Tile) in place. Using Liquid Nails saved me the trouble of mixing a small amount of mortar - but in hindsight, I wish I had used the mortar. The tiles are well adhered, but mortar is easier to work with in this application. The grout that I used was a siliconized sanded grout, recommended by Sierra Tile. It also is applied with a caulk gun, and I just don't have much expertise with those appliances! I chose the grout color based on samples that I had, but it still dried lighter than what was expected. I, also, would not use that product again - unless I was doing the entire area to match it all. The advantage of that grout, of course, is that you don't have to seal it since it contains silicone. It's a coin toss in my opinion. All in all, however, I think we're both pleased with the final result! Now, what to do with those walls of the entry????
Just over a week ago
,when last posting about it, we had realized we were a little over our heads in removing concrete backer board and drywall behind the bathroom tile we were sick of and had removed. So we scheduled a carpenter recommended by a friend to come in yesterday to do the heavy lifting. We had gotten off the tile, but the rest of the wall was pretty impervious to our pounding - we really didn't have the right tools to get it out. But with his daughter as assistant and with a saw and shop vac, they had the walls down to the studs in 2 hours flat, and got to work installing a new vapor barrier, drywall and backer board. That work went on considerably longer, but included cutting to accurate size, installing around the shower outlets and mudding the joints. With cleaning, installing some unexpected stud
reinforcements from
some termite damage (from long ago), and materials, it is now ready for painting and tiling and for what we thought was a pretty reasonable price. We likely won't make a lot of progress on finishing it out until we return from our coming trip to Illinois, other than reinstalling the toilet, but the fact that it is waiting for us will make us think about it!
Our house in Tucson is in a state of flux. As time permits (and it is always easy to fit in grout sealing or adding a touch of trim into a busy schedule), we continue along the road to progress. Case in point is the tilework Melinda wanted to line the house entrance. The project was small enough that putting down the tile took a few hours, grouting went quickly, as did sealing (with the proper day-or-two wait between steps... Then, as we thought harder about the Mexican talavera tile for the bathroom, she decided to put some accent trim under the security door. Again, a job that was done in an hour or so - yet to be sealed though... We both thought it came out great! Shown at left is Melinda doing the first cleaning after grouting, and at right is the talavera tile under the entrance. 
After Dean's post regarding the tiled entry, I though we should include a finished picture. I used Liquid Nails to 'glue' the skinny tile strips (custom cut for me by Sierra Tile) in place. Using Liquid Nails saved me the trouble of mixing a small amount of mortar - but in hindsight, I wish I had used the mortar. The tiles are well adhered, but mortar is easier to work with in this application. The grout that I used was a siliconized sanded grout, recommended by Sierra Tile. It also is applied with a caulk gun, and I just don't have much expertise with those appliances! I chose the grout color based on samples that I had, but it still dried lighter than what was expected. I, also, would not use that product again - unless I was doing the entire area to match it all. The advantage of that grout, of course, is that you don't have to seal it since it contains silicone. It's a coin toss in my opinion. All in all, however, I think we're both pleased with the final result! Now, what to do with those walls of the entry????
Just over a week ago ,when last posting about it, we had realized we were a little over our heads in removing concrete backer board and drywall behind the bathroom tile we were sick of and had removed. So we scheduled a carpenter recommended by a friend to come in yesterday to do the heavy lifting. We had gotten off the tile, but the rest of the wall was pretty impervious to our pounding - we really didn't have the right tools to get it out. But with his daughter as assistant and with a saw and shop vac, they had the walls down to the studs in 2 hours flat, and got to work installing a new vapor barrier, drywall and backer board. That work went on considerably longer, but included cutting to accurate size, installing around the shower outlets and mudding the joints. With cleaning, installing some unexpected stud 
reinforcements from 
some termite damage (from long ago), and materials, it is now ready for painting and tiling and for what we thought was a pretty reasonable price. We likely won't make a lot of progress on finishing it out until we return from our coming trip to Illinois, other than reinstalling the toilet, but the fact that it is waiting for us will make us think about it!
nice entrance Melinda.
ReplyDeleteyou're giving me encouragement with the drywall and tub. maybe i can tackle my son's br. :P thanks