We are halfway through the one room challenge and I can confidently report that we are 90% finished with the tile work. If you missed the beginning of our hall bathroom renovation, you can catch up here:
- Our Hall Bath Renovation Before + Inspiration: Week 1
- Hall Bath Demo + Prep: Week 2
- Hall Bathroom Tile Picks: Week 3
First, I want to start off by saying we are novice tile installers, at best. In our last home, we hired out the bathroom tile and kitchen backsplash tile, but gained some confidence to give it a shot by the time we renovated our laundry room. In that space, we laid 12″x24″ tiles in a herringbone pattern and classic 3″x6″ subway tile as a backsplash.
Fast-forward 8 years – we walk into our new house with even greater confidence and a can-do attitude. The tile work has turned out great so far but I won’t sugar coat it and say it was easy. And as always, the tradeoff with DIY projects is time. It has taken us 5 weekends to complete the tiling. Just to put that in perspective, this would have been a 2-3 day job for a professional. We’ve accomplished other projects within that same timeline, so tiling was not the only thing happening, but a finished tile job is the precursor to many other things that have to happen in the bathroom renovation.
Tile Progress
We started with the back wall of the shower/tub surround. This is the wall along the long side of the bathtub. We figured this would be the easiest wall as it has no cutouts or plumbing fixtures, so the only cuts we would have to make are on the end of the rows. As we set up the laser level and started to dry fit the first row of tile along the bathtub’s edge, we realized the bathtub was not level. Remember, the bathtub is the one thing we kept during demo and its original to the house. The tub actually sits lower on the left side than it does on the right. So much for an easy start…
We ended up starting with a full height tile on the left, then trimmed the bottom of each tile as we worked our way to the right side of the tub. This ensured the top of the tiles followed a level line. Once the first row is established and level, the tiling is pretty straightforward. These subway tiles are self-spacing, so there is a small lip on each side that butts up to the tile next to it, eliminating the need for tile spacers. We recently bought this Kobalt wet saw and it has worked great for our tiling needs thus far.
Once the back wall was complete, we moved on to the left side wall. This is the wall at the back of the bathtub, that includes the shower niche. By now, we had found our rhythm with the subway tile, but had the added challenge of the shower niche. After consulting the world wide web, we decided it was best to install the base shelf first, then the penny round tile, then the sides and upper shelves.
We tiled the bottom portion of the wall, then started on the niche. After attempting to extend the shower niche shelf past the opening (similar to how a window sill extends past the window), it was evident we lacked the proper tools for this detail. The cuts we made with the wet saw left the ‘wings’ too fragile and we feared they would just break off eventually.
The same thinset used for the tile was used for the niche pieces too. As we build the niche, we also added a bead of caulk where each horizontal and vertical marble piece comes together. Painters tape helped to hold the vertical pieces in place while the thinset cured.
We used this marble penny tile for the back of the niche and this marble window sill for the shelves and sides of the niche. With our wet saw, we cut the marble window sill to length, then cut it to depth. This went surprisingly smoother than I anticipated, I would totally use this material again.
When the niche was done, we continued the subway tile up the wall. By constructing the shower niche first, we were able to butt the subway tile to the outside of the marble niche walls, for a clean transition.
Onto the third wall. We started with the same method of ensuring a level starting row, then working our way upwards.
If you remember from my previous posts, we are taking the subway tile all the way across the wet wall. It will continue behind the toilet and butt to the vanity. The top couple of rows will continue above the vanity countertop and become the backsplash around the sink. We figured it would just be easier to do this all at the same time, but left room to install the vanity. Once the vanity and countertop are installed, we will finish the remaining 10% of tile work.
In the photo above, you can see the cove base tile we are using. Since the floor tile had not been installed yet, we used it to hold up the subway tile while the thinset cured. I did mention we are novices, right? The cove base tile will also be installed when we come back through to finish the remaining tile.
With the shower walls done, it was time to move onto the floor tile.
Floor Tile
To prepare for installing the floor tile, I researched some best practices and products that other DIYers use when laying floor tile. The LASH leveling system was highly recommended, so we decided this would be a good application to try them out. I also made sure to check the tile manufacture’s specifications for any instructions they had. On Tilebar’s website, they recommend a trowel with an 1/8″ notch size. So we started on our journey.
First, I laid out a few rows of tile just to make sure there wouldn’t be a tiny sliver on the end or some sort of weird cut where the tile met the wall or doorway opening. Since the floor is roughly 5’x6′ and the tiles are 6″ hexagons, the layout was very straightforward.
We were able to complete about 2/3 of the tile that afternoon, then planned to finish the rest the next day. When Andrew went to the bathroom the next day to see if the thinset had cured. He noticed some of the tiles were loose and had not adhered to the concrete. By the time he removed all the tiles that needed a redo, we decided it was easier just to start over.
So, instead of spending that Sunday finishing the tile, we spent the day removing the tile and scraping up all the dried thinset to prep for another try. We joke that while renovating our first home, we did everything twice. We would start a project, then realize we did something incorrect, then have to redo it. This project was no exception.
After digging into the instructions of the LASH system a little more, we realized that an 1/8″ of thinset was not enough when using these tile spacers. Their recommendation was 3/8″ trowel notch size for our application. Whoops.
I immediately went to Home Depot to buy this trowel.
Two days after the ‘initial incident,’ we began again. At least we had figured out a routine with the tile spacers, so it went faster the second attempt. And we had already made most of the tile cuts which also saved time.
This time around, we also back-buttered each tile, just to be sure everything was evenly coated with thinset. You can also see in the photos that we used shims along the tub and walls so the initial row of tile wouldn’t shift as we laid the next row of tile adjacent to it.
At the doorway, we used a piece of Schluter trim to transition from the tile to the hardwood flooring that will go in the hallway. This is secured in the thinset, then the tile overlaps the horizontal part and butts to the vertical part. When all is said and done, you will just see a thin strip of metal between the tile and the hardwoods.
We completed the floor tile in one session and said our prayers for the next day.
Thankfully, the second time was successful and all tiles are securely adhered to the concrete! From here, we used Mapei FlexColor Grout in Warm Gray for both the wall and floor tile.
The warm gray grout really compliments the marble accents while not adding too much contrast to the subway tile.
The grout also looks great with the 6″ Sasha Hex Tile. Next up, we will add caulk where the tile meets the ceiling, where the tile meets the tub, and in the corners of the shower surround. Also in the process is a custom vanity build, so stay tuned!
And remember, you can catch up with the other One Room Challenge participants here and see how their progress is going!
