Bathroom ReModel

[viking]

Haven't been on here very much lately as I've been taking on several projects, honeydews, and enjoying the summer on the boat, RZR, and 5th wheel.
One of the projects was to re-do our bathtub and tile the tub/shower. Ideally I want a full walk-in with separate spa tub but the space constraint of our current master won't allow. When we built the house 8 years ago we didn't have the budget to build the ideal master bath setup so I thought I'd rip the shower enclosure out and replace the 7ft x 3ft space we had to work with with at least a whirlpool tub and some newer fixtures. I found the same floor tile in a 13x13 and integrated it into the design to pull the existing floor into the new. Here's the before and after..........not bad for my first tile job if I do say so myself :)186571865818659

[maxpower220]

I like the fixtures/faucet.

Nice job on the tile. I had a neighbor tile his small bathroom floor for his first tile job. He used small 2x2 tiles and started on all 4 walls and finished in the center. He had some cut tiles in the center.

[bergermaister]

You're hired!

May have to hit you up for some 'real world' tips. Did you use backerboard or tile directly to the sheet rock? The tile run clear to the ceiling?

My first attempt at tiling will most likely be next month, but small by comparison. Just a kitchen back splash.

[rdlangston13]

That looks really good! Not sure I would have had the patience to get it right

[rdlangston13]

You're hired!

May have to hit you up for some 'real world' tips. Did you use backerboard or tile directly to the sheet rock? The tile run clear to the ceiling?

My first attempt at tiling will most likely be next month, but small by comparison. Just a kitchen back splash.

That could be a big job depending on what kind of tile. Our backplash consist of about a million 1" tiles...

[maxpower220]

My first attempt at tiling will most likely be next month, but small by comparison. Just a kitchen back splash.

I did a small kitchen back splash about 7 feet on side and 14 on the other with about 2' of height. I used some peel and stick for wall adhesive instead of mastic. It is expensive, but 1. It's fast 2. It's easy 3. You can grout right away 4. No mess. I would only recommend for a small project due to cost.

[jmvotto]

You're hired!

May have to hit you up for some 'real world' tips. Did you use backerboard or tile directly to the sheet rock? The tile run clear to the ceiling?

My first attempt at tiling will most likely be next month, but small by comparison. Just a kitchen back splash.

Should use the cement backer board in the bathroom.

Viking. Nice job looks great, takes a lot of patience.

What is this Rzr you speak of?

[sandm]

done a TON of tiling over the years and learned a lot...
looks great viking. if I would have known you were shopping for a jetted tub, you could have mine. going to rip it out of the master next spring and do a standup shower. have a tub on the other side of the house and hate standing in one to shower. never use it anyway.. in the same boat with b-room size. not enough room for both shower and tub.

on tiling:
kitchen, just use white mastic straight to the drywall. no prep. cut a small piece of board(1x2) and screw across between the counters where the stove belongs to make it easier to tile that space. as max suggested, the peel/stick stuff is nice, but spensive. I have never minded waiting the day.
bathrooms, concreteboard is messy to use, but never have rot issues. I've used greenboard and a red waterproofing membrane and had good luck. never use mastic on a shower, always mortar mix. mastic will eventually giveway due to the humidity. backsplash is ok to use mastic.

[kaneboats]

I've done enough tiling to say, "Never again." Especially on floors. Looks like you really took your time to get your layout right and also planned the his and hers cutouts for your shampoo, etc. That was well thought out as well. Every guy who's ever shared a bathroom knows how your stuff gets crowded out with all the products, equipment and machinery they feel compelled to keep in the shower.

[bergermaister]

^^ This. Oh God this.... I compare the here and now bathroom "provisions" to my single days. Geesh.

I think I've said the same thing about doing drywall and tape/mudding/texture. Yet for some reason I keep finding myself attempting it and thinking I'll do better.

[sandm]

I gave up on drywall after one attempt. I consider myself very handy when it comes to housing, remodels and building, but drywall and plumbing are the 2 things I don't do... ever...

came home one sunny day in a prior house and found it raining in the garage from the drywall seams. I was about an hour away from having a garage ceiling on the floor..

I, for one am grateful for all the equipment and machinery and gladly give up any and all needed space for it.. my tight pocketbook says it's cheaper than a brazillian ;)

[bergermaister]

I watched some of the remodeling you did at your last house quite intently as I like to think of myself as handy too but.... I'm always learning. The next potential sheet rock job may get outsourced since it's a lot bigger job and hopefully I'm getting older and wiser.

[zabooda]

I'm meeting on Friday with a company that is remodeling the master bedroom and bath. I'll be doing the tear out and that is about all I can do. I'm doing granite countertops, leaving the cabinets and trashing the fiberglas shower and doing all tile including the bathroom floor. I'm adding a bench to the shower in preparation of my geriatric days. I won't get started after the first of the year.

Gotta do something to pass the winter time away.

[viking]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I keep saying I'll pay for the experts to come in and do it but then when I put the pencil to it I end up tackling it myself and basically pay for the tools that I get to keep in the end. Plus some of it is therapy for me....I need projects to keep me busy!

But I would have to say I HATE drywall too!

I used cement backerboard for the tile. Ripped out the tub/shower enclosure and the builders just used sheet-rock above the enclosure. That is part of the reason I ripped that crap out. It was starting to bubble and peal and always irritated me when I looked at it. How hard would it have been to use greenboard or cementboard there. Shortcuts like that piss me off. So out it came and cementboard when in.
It took a ton of time to measure it all out and make sure I got a tub that fit perfectly so I could build a front panel and the tile would line up perfectly on the existing wall. Had to notch out the studs on the plumbing side to get the tub to slide in and it was a tight fit. Yanked out all the plumbing and re-did all of that for the hand-shower and anchored the plumbing the right way using studs instead of the cheap plumbers tape that most subs use nowadays.
The shelve cutouts were a must so I built those into the existing wall, lined them with cementboard, and then when it came to tiling, it just took alot of patience and planning to ensure that the pattern would flow through. It's alot like putting a puzzle together.
I used the new Epoxy Grout and got it through Daltile. The stuff is the chit!!! It's a bit more expensive and it is very labor intensive and you only have about 90min of time that it is workable before it sets up. And then you have another 90min of cleanup with a pre-clean and final clean. If you mix up too much you are in a pickle. And if you don't mix up enough then you are locked into another 3 hr session for the next go round. Definitely need to plan ahead. It took me 2 full units in 2 separate sessions with a buddy helping spread it both times. But it sets up extremely hard, no need to seal, and maintenance free!
All in all - I'd probably do it again :)

[sandm]

heard a lot of good things about that grout. never did use it as it's pretty new on the scene still and most of my tiling was 5-10years ago. supposed to be the way to go in kitchens but did hear expensive and hard to work with.

not sure if I'll mess with it next year in the bathroom. we'll see. going to do travertine again. I love working with natural stone vs porcelain/ceramic. so much cleaner and easier to cut and it really looks nice but hard to level. debating about doing heated floor. runs around $400 for a warmtiles setup but having a toasty warm floor in the middle of winter is the cats pajamas :)

[zabooda]

Wow, I learned more from this thread. I didn't realize the different products being used. I have my meeting with the planner tomorrow for doing the bathroom and I will asking about what products they use and the different boards. Thanks for the info and send more if you got it.

I apologize if I hijacked this thread but I wanted to give kudos to those providing me information that will be helpful.

[maxpower220]

If you are going to tile the floors, look at a floor warming product. I used and electric low voltage heater under a bathroom floor. It was nice to walk onto warm floors in the winter time. Easy to put in while doing tile or wood.

[newty]

The epoxy grout is awesome but can be a B1TCharley to mix without bubbles.
Nice job bro, looks great!