Monday afternoon felt like Christmas morning at my house. Why, you ask? Because after 90+ hours of work — planning, cutting and adhering — my B&W pink ceramic wall tiles are all finally installed. When the very last tile was put into place, the happy dancing commenced. The pink tile makes it the space “glowy,” as Pam would say. And after having the floor covered up to protect it from mortar spills during the install, it finally came out of hiding to meet the wall tiles. Let me tell you — I am in love.
To commemorate the moment, I set up a tripod and snapped a few photos of myself acting like a weirdo. As soon as the photo shoot was over, those pants went in the trash. I have this bad habit from art school of wiping my hands on my pants, which has produced a lot of “designer jeans” over the years. These bad boys were encased in mortar and nearly stood up on their own. Yuck. I had also tossed the drywall jeans. So, better figure a clothing budget into all the 84 costs to consider for a bathroom remodel, if you’re doing it DIY.
Anyway, back to the bathroom. Prior to this marathon wall tile session, the only vertical tile installations in my repertoire were two, small, one-inch tile back splash jobs in my previous and current kitchen. So, given the size of this job, before beginning I researched tile installation as much as possible — trying to anticipate the unique challenges that may be encountered on my job. In reality, I’ve found that while it is great to do a lot of research to prepare for a job like this, you really do learn the most from actually doing the work. That being said and knowing what I know now, I was an absolute nut bag for attempting this tile job as my first foray into full bathroom tiling.
While installing wall tile was not as physical a strain lifting heavy pieces of drywall and cement board, figuring out the tile layout took me a day and a half of straight mental work. I’m a very visual person who is not a math expert, so doing the tile layout meant a lot of sketches. I measured and counted tiles, obsessed over the exact size of the grout lines and how their size affects everything, and agonized over how to make the transitions around all the corners in the bathroom. After finally deciding on a pleasing layout and getting the guide lines drawn on the walls, my brain was reduced to mush.
Once the layout was finalized, it was time to start putting up the full tiles. The seven-feet-high walls of of pink tile in the shower felt like an endless job. At one point, I thought I might die in there before all of the tile was installed. Tiling a shower plays games with your head.
See that niche? It took me a solid six hours to do just this small section of the shower. The inside of the niche was especially difficult. The slightly sloped angle (which allows water to drain out) made for difficult tile cutting. Proudly though, I managed to keep all the grout lines in line. Impressed?
Over Labor Day weekend, when I originally hoped to finish installing the wall tiles, I realized that the wood trim around the windows, door and closet needed to be installed before I could put in the tile near those spots. This necessitated my deciding just how I was going to frame the closet. I then had to take measurements and head off to the store to find acceptable trim for the job. During the trim shenanigans, I also accidentally hit my finger with a hammer, causing another slight delay until the throbbing slowed enough to continue.
So far, the closet opening is looking pretty good. Making the door for this closet terrifies me, but there is still plenty of time to figure that part out as it is not essential to finish before we can start using the bathroom.
The wall end-caps, the top of the partial wall, and the shower curb were difficult and slow going. It took me another whole day to do these areas. Making sure the everything was straight and that the curb sloped correctly were nerve wracking and very time consuming.
Now the only “hole” in the tile wall is where the vanity will be built. It was helpful both in planning the vanity and for tile layout purposes, to draw the outline of the vanity directly onto the wall. Doing this made it easy for me to see where the tile backsplash should go.
Here are a few tips that I learned by tackling this project — for anyone thinking about attempting something similar:
- Do spend the time agonizing over the layout. It is a lot easier to redraw lines on the wall than to remove tiles once they are adhered. The layout is, in my opinion, the hardest part of tiling.
- Set a low row or two of tiles for the length of the wall, making sure they are level and then let them dry overnight. This will create a good base for all of the tiles above to sit on.
- As you go, make sure to check that each new row of tile is level and plumb — maybe not every tile, but every row. This helps prevent your suddenly realizing that your whole wall went crooked somewhere.
- Try to make the wall as flat as possible. Lumps and humps where cement board seams meet or drywall bows a bit, happen. Do your best to keep things flush and flat.
- Buy, borrow or rent a tile saw. You will need it.
- Even if your tile has lugs (bumps on the edge that act as spacers), buy and use the plastic “x” spacers anyway. I bought a box of 1,200 spacers for $6. It was money well spent.
- Pre-mixed mortar is more expensive, but saves time — says the girl who spent “only” 90 hours installing wall tile.
- Make sure to buy extra tile. I bought 20% more 4.25″ square wall tiles than I needed, as well as extra specialty pieces like bullnose and cushion edge tiles. Some tiles will be chipped or broken in shipping and mistakes happen. Plus if 20 years down the road you need some replacements, you’ll have spares.
I’m totally jazzed that the tiling portion of this bathroom remodel is over. Since all the tile is on the wall instead of on a palette in the garage, my husband Jim can actually park his car in there again. That makes me months early on my promise to have it cleared out before the snow flies.
Now, on to grouting.
RetoSandie says
Kate ~ it looks beautiful!!! You are doing a fantastic job and it’s going to be one gorgeous pink bathroom when you’re done!!!! 🙂
Kate says
Thanks RetroSandie! I’m so excited…it is starting to look like a real bathroom in there!
Lor says
am I missing something? Why would anyone put pink ceramic tiles in their bathroom? It’s the same color I remember the original builder put in every other home on our block. Everyone had either black and pink or light yellow and black.
My house from 95 has what they called shell which has a very light tinge of sandy pink, but nothing like what you installed.
pam kueber says
We are all about the pink bathrooms here, Lor! See our other little website: http://savethepinkbathrooms.com/ and you will begin to understand!
Kate says
Lor, I’m sure that shell is an appropriate pink for a house built in ’95. My house was built in ’62 and this shade of pink is accurate for the era of the home, plus I love this particular pink. I’m just happy that B&W tile still makes this pink tile so that I could buy it and put it into my bathroom.
Robin, NV says
Here on RR, we’re pro ALL colored bathrooms. Pink bathrooms take center stage because 1) they’re awesome and 2) they’re the most maligned of the colored bathrooms. My Ming green bathroom gets comments like “You have a green bathroom? That’s . . . interesting.” While pink bathrooms get the “OMG, you have a PINK bathroom? Yuck!” treatment. I think for most people the reaction to a pink bathroom is knee-jerk and not at all considered. For those that genuinely don’t like pink bathrooms, that’s fine, just don’t be mean about it.
pam kueber says
Yes, Robin, you are absolutely correct: We respect and love all vintage color bathrooms, here. But yes, we talk a lot about the pink because they are most “emblematic” of the disrespect so often directed at midcentury bathrooms — disrespect that can usually be turned around quite easily with a little history / education.
Mary Elizabeth says
Lor, welcome to our world! It’s good to have you aboard, and I hope you hang around long enough to catch some of our–er–enthusiasms. 🙂 We’d love to see your 1980s-’90s shell pink bath, BTW.
Robin, NV says
Holy mackerel, Kate! I mentioned that I’m capable of OCD’ing out on projects but this takes the cake. I mean that in a good way, of course!! It’s so much fun watching your project unfold.
When we pulled the range/convection oven combo out of my kitchen, we found pencil marks on the wall from an earlier tile job. I often wonder what kind of tile was there. I fantasize that it was the copper tiles you see in some mid century kitchens. I love that look.
brad says
pretty good, for a girl …:)
Brenda says
WOW…What a woman!! Kudos to you…this is not something I would EVER attempt!!
I can’t wait to see the final ‘after’ pics!!
Lauryn says
Oh my, I’m exhausted just looking at all that work. Well done, Kate, well done! It looks FANTASTIC. And although I’m not sure I should admit this here, the biggest take away for me from this story is that when it comes time to repair some of the tile in our bath, I will most likely be hiring someone to do it! My excuse: as a musician I use my hands to make my living … but mostly I just don’t think I have quite the gumption, determination, and skills that Kate apparently possesses. I am extremely impressed.
Andi says
Congratulations, Kate!! The tile looks fabulous!!
I can’t even IMAGINE coping with the amount of planning, perseverance and meticulous attention to tiny measurements required to accomplish this job—I am SO impressed!!
We are in the midst of a tub-to-shower conversion that was not a DIY. Those days are behind us!
This job has dragged on since May 23 due to a number of contractor errors in ordering, etc. There have been several tile (and grout) re-orders, and we are still waiting for one double-bullnose tile that got broken—yes, WHY didn’t he order more than we needed?? (Daltile Aqua Glow takes at least 8 weeks.)
Our tile setter (who is not the person who orders the tile) is brilliant, though….and has an able assistant. And creating my new shower has caused THEM (who do this for a living) seemingly endless hours of decision-making and precision-planning, cutting and installing.
I work from home and have overheard these calculation sessions, so I have a faint idea of what you have gone through. Just can’t imagine a first-timer dealing with all of this—and with such fabulous, incredible results—you are one amazing woman!
Plus, I LOVE the pink, and the floor….can’t wait to see the finished room!
Kate says
Thanks Andi!
WOW — that makes me feel better to know that even the pros take FOREVER to figure out the tile layout. I thought it was just my mediocre math skills…
I credit a lot of my ability to do these projects to two things — going to art school and taking a number of different studio classes (doing everything from painting to welding) to learn how to use my hands to make things, and my handy, self-taught father who has always taken on every home improvement job that needed to be done. When I got to be old enough, he would have me help too. We fixed up a few houses together over the years and he never told me that I couldn’t do something because I was a girl. He told me I could do whatever I put my mind to.
It also could be in the DNA because my grandpa (on dad’s side) was a stone mason, and apparently was one of the best in the state.
Mary Elizabeth says
Fabulous, fabulous, and even more fabulous! It does make you look all glamorous and glowy, despite the ruined jeans.
And your readers are right–the professional tile installer who did our backsplash in the kitchen (about 20 linear feet worth) took my sketches of what I wanted (three courses of coordinated tile–one plain, one diamonds, one little square) and mulled it over for 2 hours, redrafting my sketches, measuring and marking the wall, etc. Then he went over the whole thing again with me: “What you want here is not going to work, because. . .What we can do instead is this.” That two hours were part of the 16 total hours he spent on the project. And I was the one who ran out to get more tile and grout, because I had miscalculated, so it wasn’t because he had to leave to get supplies. To do it right, even the professionals have to combine math skills and a kind of artistic vision of how that math will play out.
So I think you did well in 90 hours, even if your grout isn’t done. So good for you, girl, no matter how slow it seemed!
Kate says
Thanks Mary Elizabeth!
Allen says
Kate this is a BEAUTIFUL bathroom. Great Job! Are the doors shown in the photos original or replacements. The wood-grain is beautiful.
Kate says
The entry door to the bathroom is original. I left it up during construction to keep Leo out of the bathroom. It survived without any new scratches. The tricky part will be trying to get the new stain to match the old door!
I also re-used the old door trim around the window to conserve money and resources.
lynda says
Kate, a moulding manufacturer told me that Sherwin Williams can match stain just like they match paint. Perhaps you can call them. I guess you would have to haul the door in for them to do the color match!
Kate says
Good to know, thanks lynda!
Mid Century/Mid TN Mom says
WOW!!!! As Kate’s VERY PROUD Mom I must say that this project TOTALLY went above all the other projects my very talented daughter has tackled and succeeded at doing! Speaking for the rest of the family … WE ARE SO IMPRESSED … it is a BEAUTIFUL job and we look forward to seeing it in person next time we visit! Yay Kate! We love you!!!!
pam kueber says
Thanks, Kate’s mom!!!
Kate says
Awww thanks Mom! Can’t wait to show it to you! Thanks for all the praise. 🙂
Kelly Wittenauer says
Yay, Kate! It looks fabulous!