After all the new tiles have been applied to the floor
and wall there are still the four salvaged bullnose tiles to be set in
place. Before that can be done, they
need to be cleaned up by removing the existing thinset from their backs. That’s done with an angle grinder loaded with
a 50-grit abrasive disk. Here about
two-thirds of a tile back is cleaned up.
Laying the cleaned-up bullnose tile is next. To make the two bottom tiles fit in with the
existing size progression of the two top tiles where the top one is shorter
than the existing second one, I made the tiles longer as they get closer to the
floor with the bottom tile being a full length one. To do this the bottom tile is set in place
using the same method as the rest of the wall tiles. The remaining gap is measured, a tile cut to
fit and it is added. Note that the
bottom tile does not look like it’s back edge lines up with the floor tile but
it does. That’s because the wall tile
is raised off the floor for a grout joint and the angle the photo was taken
makes it look that way.
Here is the other end of the area done with the same
sized tiles. There is not a corner tile
to match up against but instead the vertical edge of the existing tile is
followed. Also, on the left the outlet
ended up pretty well centered on the tile joint.
Now with all the tile in the tub area set grouting can
begin. After mixing the grout a float is
used to pack the grout into the joints between the tiles. Once half a dozen or so tiles are grouted the
excess is wiped off with a sponge then using the sponge the remaining grout in
the joints is formed. That’s followed by
using fresh water to clean off the tiles to remove all the grout off them. Last pass is with clean water followed by
drying with a towel to completely clean them up. The area being grouted is dependent on how
quick the grout sets. Here in the desert
where it’s so dry it’s pretty quick.
After the walls the floor is done.
Here is the tub area with all the tile work done. In this photo you can see how all the grout
lines are centered and are continuous from the floor up the walls. There is one thing that still needs to be
taken care of though. The grab bar left
over from the tub needs to be removed.
Taking the grab bar off should have been straight
forward, just removing the six screws holding it in. That worked for five of them but one would
not budge and the impact driver rounded the Phillips head out leaving no way to
get a good grip on the screw. To remove
it I ended up drilling out the screw with progressively larger bits until the
head came off. With that done the divots
and holes left from the screws and grab bar mounting plates get filled with
wood filler. When that dried it was
sanded smooth and a layer of drywall compound applied to match the existing
skip trowel or knockdown finish. Here is
what the two places looked like with that done and ready to paint.
Fortunately, I had a small amount of the original paint
to use. To get a good match a couple of
coats are put on with a small foam roller feathered out a foot or so beyond the
patch. A roller is used instead of a
brush to eliminate any brush marks which would identify the area as a
patch. Here are photos of the tub before and after the area is done.
Besides the work in the tub area, we wanted to remove the
wood baseboard shown in the top photo in the whole bath area and replace it
with tile since some had been water damaged. After removing the existing
wood baseboard new tile pieces are cut the desired height and applied to the
wall using the same thinset and grouting method as done on the wall in the tub
area. With that done a spacer is used to
draw a line parallel to the top of the new tile baseboard and painters tape
applied to the wall at that line. The
space between the tape and the top of the tile gets grouted at a 45-degree
angle matching the rest of the tile baseboard in the house.
Here is what the grouting process looks like in
progress. The float is held at about a
45-degree angle packing the grout in place.
Next, the float is held at the same angle with the bottom of the float
on the edge of the tile and the top of the float set at the bottom of the
painter’s tape. The float is then pulled
horizontally the length of the baseboard striking a smooth beveled grout bed.
This is what the grout looks like after being struck
off. It is left this way for a while
until it firms up. While waiting the
face of the tile is cleaned up with a sponge and clean water.
Once the grout has firmed up the tape is removed leaving
a nice straight sharply defined edge.
Next, the grout shape is refined as needed removing any inconsistencies
using a damp sponge. Last is using a
clean sponge any grout on the wall or tile face gets removed with the tile face
getting dried using a clean towel. Early
on I was a little concerned about doing the grout bevel as it was something new
but it turned out very well and after I figured out how to do it not hard at
all. 
This finishes up the actual remodeling but there are two
cabinets I made in 2019 that need to be moved into the space for storage and
that is going to be interesting as they are pretty good size and fairly heavy.
Next Up – Moving the Cabinets
No comments:
Post a Comment