It’s coming up on the one-year anniversary of RetroRenovation.com — and what’s especially exciting, is that reader projects are coming together — you are sending in “after” photos! Yes, we all know it takes that long for the decorating gods to deliver us their solutions. Here’s an update from Lawrence Bill and his floor-tiling projects: 

Hi Pam,

After months of agonizing, second-guessing, and hard labor, the retro renovation of our master bathroom floor is now complete. See attached pics for the before-and-after comparison. I must have looked at hundreds of different tile designs, and ordered a dozen or more samples, before my wife and I settled on a vanilla-colored penny round, which is not period accurate but feels of the period, if you know what I mean. We couldn’t be happier with the results. This tiny bathroom, which only a few weeks ago was practically unusable because of a foul-smelling carpet and other plumbing issues, has been transformed into a thing of beauty. The transformation took quite a lot of work. The subfloor had to be removed, and one of the joists that runs like a spine through the middle of the floor essentially had to be rebuilt because The Plumber came in after the builders were done and cut right through the joist in order to get the toilet drain in. (Bad, bad, bad plumber. The floor sagged for more than 50 years because of this. Now it’s much stronger and on the level.) My only caveat about penny rounds are that they are challenging to install, and best left to the professional. (I had a guy here in Lawrence named Brad Howard do it, and he did a fantastic job.) I spent a week painstakingly sealing the grout myself. What a pain. But I think it was worth all the effort. We’ll see how the floor holds up.

Thanks for all your input, advice, patience and inspiration.

“Lawrence Bill“

Where did you get the tile? Modwalls?

YES. This after trying samples from other vendors, Modwalls had the color my wife liked best.

What color is the grout? Fawn beige like the tile?

The grout is a modified latex that exactly matches the wall tile color, which is called “Sahara Tan”. How I do I know the color name? An old-timer at a local tile store recognized the color and remembered what it was called.

Sanded grout?

YES.

And, what about the green bathroom?

I thoroughy scrubbed and re-grouted all the bad tiles, etc. and the bathroom looks much, much better. We decided that the tile wasn’t that bad after all and not worth the time, hassle, and expense to re-do it. We can live with it fine. For now. Who knows, a couple of years from now we might decide to renovate it.

Sounds like a good decision, Bill. If it’s in good shape – always best to live with it a while. Thanks for sharing, Bill! Hmmm. Did I get those kitchen pics yet? What else do you have hidden in that jewel of a house of yours?

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