Bathroom floor tile

As usual, this project ended up taking about 2 months longer than expected. A good month and a half of that was due to the fact I had to order the tile twice. My first mistake was going with a company I found on the internet. They seemed to have a good website, and the important part was they were a little cheaper than the other places that I could find that sold Green Onyx tile. The problems started immediately, the website claimed they ship within 48 hours, so after 5 days of not even getting an acknowledgement of my paid order, I decided to email them and ask for a shipping date. Another couple days went by before they responded "shipping today". After another week I emailed again asking for a tracking number and a day later actually got one, but the tile hadn't even shipped yet. So, another week goes by and I finally get the tile, I excitedly open the boxes and was discouraged to see the very poor packaging they used. I knew the tile was extremely fragile, and as I wiped the packing peanuts away, my fears were confirmed. The first tile was chipped, I lifted it up, the next tile was chipped, lifted that one up, next one was cracked. All the way to the bottom of the box, chipped and broken tiles. I immediately called the company, however, like the previous times I tried calling, no answer. I then emailed them, and several days later they said they would file a claim with UPS and ship me new tiles. Another week later I decided to email and ask when they were shipping them, I got the same response as the first time "shipping today". I waited 3-4 days and asked for a tracking number. No response. another day, I emailed again with the same question. Again no response. At this point I couldn't wait any longer, I decided to order from another company, and within 3 days I recieved 20 new tiles ("only" 2 of them were broken). So anyway, now I could finally get to work. I chose 13 of the best tiles, as each Green Onyx tile is very unique as you can see in the pics below. The other cool thing about them is if you hold them up to light, you can see though them like stained glass. Not that this matters when mortaring them down on a floor though!

The first thing I did was dry fit the entire bathroom floor. I had to make a lot of cuts to make the design, I wanted to make sure every tile fit perfectly before I started putting them down permanently. (In the end this worked against me because I was off a little bit on my alignment, so when I got to the last few tiles I had to recut new ones.) After I dry fit every tile, I had to move them back out of the bathroom so I could clean the floor and start the installation.

I started the installation in the center of the room with 9 square feet of Onxy. After the onyx was down, I put a 1-1/4" border of Emperador Dark marble. The rest of the room would be Crema Ivy marble.


I didn't take many pics during the installation because I was worried my mud would set up before I got all the tile down. This next pic was where I ended up before I had to start recutting the tiles. When I got to the door opening I was about 3/8" off of where I should have been.

After recutting the tiles, I got them installed (you can see the green plastic spacers I used to make sure my grout lines were all the same witdth) and now the last step will be to grout the tiles and install the baseboards and trim.

The Doors

About 2 weeks ago I had ordered new doors, handles and hinges for the bedrooms, bathroom and closet upstairs. I received the handles and hinges within a few days, but I was just waiting for the doors to come in at Lowes. Box full of handles, its nice to be able to get reproduction hardware that mimics the look of the old victorian styling. I still needed to cut out the wall for the bedroom closet. I used a diamond wheel on my grinder to get a nice cut line without messing up the surrounding wall. About 4 hours later I had the door casing built and the door all installed. I still need to frame out the closet on the other side of the door though. I had to build the door casings from scratch. The walls in the old house are so thick that I couldn't order prehung doors. This is the casing for the closet door. I started by ripping down a 10" wide board. Then I routered out the corner to key them in together. After that I had to router in the hinge slots. The bathroom doors took a little longer, I wanted double doors here so that there wasn't 1 big door swinging out in front of the fireplace. Here is a close up on the handles. The one on the right is the live handle, the one on the left is a dummy handle, that door is held in place by a ball catch on the top. On the inside of the doors I put glass handles to match the chandelier. The next step is to get the new doors trimmed out and then get everything painted. Also I need to do the tile around the fireplace.

Iced Out

March 23rd... its Spring... A week ago it was 70 degrees... everyone is thinking warm weather is here soon, the birds are singing.... I put the snow shovels and salt away for the year. Time to start grilling out on the deck, maybe I'll throw a nice steak on the grill... oh wait, I guess there was a little surprise waiting to be dropped on us.

EVERYTHING is covered in ice....

Not even the little tiny pine needles were safe from a frozen entombment.

There was about 1" of ice that came down last night and this morning.

I can't wait for the warm weather to get here and STAY!

In-floor heating cable install

This past weekend I worked on installing the electric heating cable in the bathroom floor. I started off by putting down CBU (Cementous Backer Unit) in all areas of the floor that will not be heated. There is no reason to put heating cable underneath the tub, toilet or right up next to the walls. The CBU is attached to the floor with thinset and roofing nails.

The next step was to prime the floor so the SLC (Self Leveling Cement) will adhere to it well (more on this later). After priming (it dries clear), it was time to install the metal strapping that holds the heating cables in place, also the thermostat pick up (white wire) and the actual heating cable. It is the the copper colored cable, but it is insulated black where it goes into the wall.


After all the strapping was down, it was a matter of weaving the heating cable back and forth across the room and hooking it into the tabs on the strapping. I will mention that before installing the cable you need to check the electrical resistance of it, to make sure it has not been damaged. The cable is comprised of a resistive electrical wire, with a copper shielded casing. It can be damaged, punctured or cut if you aren't careful, and any damage would cause it to short out and not work. Now is the time to return a damaged cable!


Because I was installing the heating cable and SLC directly over plywood, I had to install a reinforcing membrane over everything. It is basically a plastic mesh that I had to staple down literally every 2", I used about 2000 staples to get all the bumps out of the mesh. Luckily I was using an air stapler. I also had to be extremely careful to not hit the cable with a staple, that would have been very bad! Once all the mesh was installed, I needed to prime the mesh, cables and strapping. I used a garden weed sprayer and basically just sprayed everything down.


After everything was dry again, it was now time for the final step. I was really nervous about this step because of some of the horror stories I've read. I had never worked with SLC before, and there was a hundred dollars worth of material on the line if it didn't turn out right. Thats not including the heating cables and mesh which probably couldn't be saved if they were coverd in chunks of hardened cement. The SLC is pretty touchy, you have to mix a pretty exact amount of water with each bag, mix it for a designated amount of time, and be careful not to get air bubbles in the mix. The other catch is it lists it as a 10 minute working time. After checking the resistance on the cable one last time, before the point of no return, it was time to get started. I had 10 minutes to get all three bags mixed, poured and spread out onto the floor. My dad ran the mixing paddle while I poured and spread the SLC. We got it all down really fast and the only problem we had was a couple lumps where it didn't get mixed up good. Fortunately I was able to pick those little chunks out with ease. As far as the spreading process, I just had to push the SLC around the room and into the corners, after that it just had to live up to its name, and self level. After this all dries, the final step will be to tile the floor.

This pic was taken before we mixed up the last batch.


On a side note. Earlier during the day when I was stapling down the plastic mesh, I heard a super loud crashing noise from downstairs. The first thing I could think of was the kids had knocked the TV off the wall or something. I ran downstairs to a cloud of dust and giant chunks of plaster all over the floor. Luckily nobody was hurt. The dogs had actually been sleeping in the room when it happened.


Turns out the air compressor, running upstairs for a couple hours, had vibrated the plaster off the ceiling below it. When we got it all cleaned up, it filled a large trash barrel and weighed at least 100 pounds. Looks like I have to add another project to the list on a schedule sooner than I anticipated!

Bedroom mantle continued

The next step after framing was to drywall the mantle and install the corner bead. I had enough leftover scraps of drywall to do the whole thing. This step was relatively simple, although it was my first time working with bullnose cornerbead. The bullnose is just around the opening where the TV goes. The trickiest part was getting the arched bullnose to fit the curve properly, it just took some extra time to trim it all to fit good.


A few coats of mud and a little sanding later, things are starting to look alot better. Here is a closeup of the bullnosed arch. The plywood area behind the TV will eventually be tiled to match the actual mantle and hearth.


Here's how it looks currently, fully built in and part of the room now. I still need to put crown molding along the top edge. The two "rectangular bump outs" are strictly cosmetic to add some more detail when I install the crown. The tile leaning against the wall is what will go along the very bottom and also behind the TV. The bad news is the gas firebox I had framed this out to fit is out of stock now at Lowes, and it was a seasonal item. I searched online, and also contacted Lowe's corporate headquarters to try and locate one. I might not be able to get the firebox until September!

Bedroom Fireplace Mantle with TV Niche

Over the weekend I began framing the mantle area for the fireplace in the master bedroom. I started out by making a simple rectangular hearth out of 2x6's and screwed that to the floor. Next I ran the gas line, electric, coax cable and ethernet cable up through the hearth, as the TV will be mounted above the fireplace.

The niche area for the TV will have a curved/arched top. I took two pieces of OSB to cut my template out of. I clamped them together so both pieces would be identical after I made the cut.


Once the two pieces were cut, I had to build them out to the proper thickness by nailing in spacer blocks. I needed to use several of them so that when I drywall this curve there will be plenty of spots to screw into.


The next step was to mount the arched piece I just built, into the framework for the mantle. In the pic below, the TV will mount in the upper area and the firebox will be in the bottom. You can also see the gas line and wires coming up through the hearth in the lower right corner.


I put the marble mantle in place to make sure everything was fitting together properly. The next step is to drywall everything.

to be continued...

Bathroom Update

Progress on the bathroom: As per Christine's request the walls are now painted a light green.
This is the corner where the sink will be, as well as a medicine cabinet and mirror. The vanity light is mounted, but the glass shades are at my moms house getting a custom mosaic job done.

The chandelier and crown molding is also installed. The color combo wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it doesn't look too bad. When everything is done, the colors in the floor tiles will help tie everything together.

The most recent addition (today) is the subfloor. It took about 250 screws, but it is now firmly installed and ready for the next several steps:

1. Primer.

2. Heating cables.

3. Plastic diamond mesh.

4. Primer. (again)

5. Self Leveling Cement.

6. Thinset.

7. Tile.

Its going to be a lot of work, but in the end it will be a really nice floor that should last a long time.

Attic Floor

Now that the holidays are behind us once again, its a good time to start rolling on some of the projects around the house. It seems like the "stuff" that we store mysteriously multiplies overnight. I think if I had a hidden camera I could catch our Christmas decorations, Halloween decorations, you name it, cloning itself and doubling in volume. I decided I better try and combat the problem to free up some room so I can actually get some work done. I started installing flooring up in the attic so the "stuff" has a nice new place to live.

I have been getting some work done in the bathroom as well. The walls are all primed and waiting for paint. While I'm waiting for some money to fall out of the sky so I can wrap this project up. As close as it is, I still have to dump a decent chunk of money into paint, flooring, doors, trim, vanity light and a medicine cabinet. Here is how the wall niche/shelf is looking:

And in this corner is where the pedestal sink will be mounted. Above it will be a corner medicine cabinet and the vanity light.

And the bedroom ceiling is patiently awaiting the stained glass dome. You can see the light box is complete, just needs a coat of paint.

The Great Wall

Decorative retaining wall installation: The area that I had previously fenced off in the back yard for the dogs sloped down about 2' and I wanted to level that area off so the fence I had put in wouldn't look so crooked. I also wanted to add a cool landscaping feature to the yard. I had been putting this project off until there was cooler weather outside. Now that fall is basically here, there has been alot of nice 60 degree days, perfect for working outside.

I started by digging down about 8-10 inches and compacting a level course of gravel for the blocks to sit on. The bottom row of blocks sit about 3 inches down into the ground, just the tops of them are visible. In the picture you can see the base course of block installed at the corner of the wall.

From there I built up the corner column. Each block is glued together with a special "landscape block adhesive". I only had to cut a couple blocks in half so things matched up, other than that it was just stacking full blocks together.

Here is the corner column completed and with the cap installed.

Side view showing the slope. I need to fill in behind the wal with dirt, then reinstall the fence.

Here's a view from the other direction, you can also see the second column. In total the wall has just over 300 blocks, and it weighs over 7500 pounds! It took me 6 or 7 trips to the store to get all the blocks home!

1800's Pump Organ

The story goes that originally our house had a "built-in" organ underneath the front staircase, but a previous owner was tired of hearing it so he tore it out and threw it out back. Now, once again there is organ music filling the front entryway and spilling through the hall upstairs and also into the living room. After spotting this 1800's pump organ on Craigslist, we couldn't pass it up. It was refurbished a few years back by a previous owner and is still in great playable condition. The kids enjoy playing on it and have even learned a few simple songs. If you aren't familiar with a pump organ (like I wasn't up until going to look at this one), basically to play this organ, there are 2 foot pedals that you pump up and down filling the bellows with air. That's it, just pump the bellows and hit the keys... playing an actual song... now thats the hard part!

Patio Table and English Garden

The patio table is basically wrapped up. Tonight I just finished grouting it, it still hasn't dried by the time I took the pics. Lastly I have to put a sealer on the table to help protect it from the elements. The grout will dry a little lighter than it is in the pics, but then again the sealer might darken it back up. I am very happy with how it turned out for my first tile job of that complexity! Now I know I will be able to do some really fancy tile floors inside the house! I must have got my mosaic ambition from my mom, you can see some of her stuff in her shop: www.etsy.com/shop/theshabbyrosecottage


Top view from the upstairs window.


Some of you may remember I had mentioned that I started planting an English Garden last fall. Here is the layout I had sketched up. The main entrance is at the lower right corner of the paper. Around the outside of the garden will be an 8' tall Arborvitae wall, putting the inside of the garden into seclusion from the rest of the yard. As you walk in, the path will split to either side and there will be planting beds along the edges and in the middle. The beds will be designated by rows of boxwood shrubs. In the very middle will be a rectangular reflecting pool, maybe I'll put some goldfish or koi in it. Off to either side of the garden will be various other plantings and some garden statues and benches. Out of the back of the garden will be a trellised exit covered with climbing roses. This exit will lead to the trail that goes through the wooded part of the yard. A second exit to the upper right will lead to an informal garden with more traditional plantings and flowers.


Keep in mind that this is just a very basic start to the garden, it is a work that will take many years to finish and grow. In this pic you are standing at the entrance. Those are a couple of the Arborvitae to the left and right, they are about 3' tall currently. Looking inward you can see the rows of boxwoods, eventually they will grow and be trimmed to be solid continuous "walls".

Here's a sideview, the purplish colored tree is a Japanese Maple. I've been having quite the battle with rabbits and deer this year. Somehow they have even been able to chew plants and trees that are fenced off!