We decided to get started a little earlier this week, so we had our prep day on Wednesday.
Wednesday
Since both these areas started out with linoleum instead of carpet we had to pull quarter-round off the baseboards. After that fun, we ripped out the linoleum, scraped the floor and swept up.
Of course, there was also the moving of the washer and dryer, laundry stuff, kitchen table and two cabinets. Speaking of which, we cut some pieces of carpet out of our bedroom (the last room in the house with carpet!) and put them under the feet of the washer and dryer to move across the existing tile. Worked nicely, too.
Here’s the result of our cleaning evening; laundry first, then the breakfast nook:
The tiles you can see stacked up are there because the kitchen/breakfast nook is in a unique setup – it’s the only room in the house that has two separate entrances that are already tiled. To make sure things will line up correctly, we decided to lay a dry run of tiles. I think we’re okay, but just to be safe, we went ahead and ripped up the linoleum down the center of the kitchen. Here’s how that looks:
Now we can lay those connecting tiles to make sure everything is lined up well, and when we’re ready to move out all the appliances, we can tile that part of the kitchen. Who knows, we may decide to just finish clearing out the kitchen and tile it all in one batch.
Thursday
We didn’t do any tiling on this day. Barbara wasn’t feeling very well, and I wasn’t exactly at the top of my game either, so we decided a break day was in order.
Friday
Today we laid the field tiles in the laundry.
Of course, that’s not all we did. Barbara decided we had to repaint the kitchen/breakfast nook, and we had to do it before we tiled (so she could be messy with the floor if she wanted). You can see the old (more orange) color up top. The new color is called Gold Buff, it’s still an orange based color just more earth-toned.
Saturday
First thing in the morning, Barbara cleaned up the field tiles in the laundry.
After that, it was time to lay the field tiles in the breakfast nook. We started by laying a row from the hall entrance of the kitchen into the breakfast nook. This was to make sure the tile lined up on both entrances; and it did!
As you can see, we went ahead and laid a few more tiles than just that one row from the hallway. We’ve decided to extend this project into next week and go ahead and tile the kitchen too! After the tiles you see are done, we’ll move appliances and paint and tile those areas so we can have a completed kitchen by the end of the week.
This way, we can take off a few days around Barbara’s birthday and relax a little. Also, it means the only area of the house that still needs tiling is the master suite!
Anyway, after the first row to make sure we were aligned it was on to the main area where we eat most of the time. The field tiles went down pretty quickly and we were done before lunch.
After lunch, we took our time cutting all the perimeter tiles for the laundry. By the time they had all been cut, the kitchen tiles had set for several hours and were stable enough that we could measure and test-fit the perimeter tiles in that room too. By dinner we had all the perimeter tiles cut and ready to be laid.
After dinner, I started laying the perimeter tiles in the laundry. By the time Barbara had put Lillian to sleep, I was done with the laundry and had a good start on the kitchen. After some help from Barbara, we finished laying all the perimeter tiles!
Now, we’re ready for an early grouting so we can move everything back into place in the evening.
Sunday
We didn’t get started until maybe 9am or so, since we had to go buy groceries. After we got back from Publix, we started the grouting. Since we’ve had so much practice with it, we ended up with this before noon:
After a few hours of drying, several moppings and some paint touchup we moved everything back into the laundry and breakfast nook.
We also went ahead and changed out the hardware on the doors of the rooms we’ve already tiled. We made a goof on our order, so the closets don’t have their new knobs yet, but the main entry doors all have new lever handles that are very similar to the front door of the house. I think it looks much nicer now.
We’ll be continuing this project into another week this time, since we want to go ahead and finish up the kitchen too. We started moving appliances tonight so we can finish clearing out linoleum tomorrow and lay the tiles. If we can get them all down on Monday, then Tuesday will be grout, and Wednesday we will have the kitchen complete! That would mean we’ve tiled the entire house, except the master suite, in one month. Not bad for amateurs.
Monday
Tonight we moved the appliances out and cleaned up the last of the linoleum in the kitchen. After that, Barbara painted most of the remaining areas that need paint (I helped a little). The only painting that remains in the kitchen is the space above the cabinets. I’m saving that for after the tile is done.
Anyway, here’s where the appliances used to be. First we have the oven and fridge:
Yes, that’s an extension cord leading out into the hallway so we still have a functional fridge.
Then a photo of the space left by the dishwasher – this area also includes the pantry, which was the easiest space to clear out tonight. ;) Lillian did a little decorating here, and I think it looks nice. Also, notice the lovely workmanship by the homebuilders (not).
We also did one other thing tonight. Barbara ordered a vinyl decal for the hallway wall as you come in from the garage. I think it speaks for itself.
Tuesday
Tonight it was straight to tiling when we got home from work. We made a dry run of all the tiles for the kitchen, whole and cut, and started cutting tiles. By about 9pm we started actually laying the tiles – cutting is a lengthy process.
It was a little after 10 once we were finished tiling, but now we have a tiled kitchen! Also, I don’t have to lay another tile for two weeks or so! We’re taking a break once we’re done with the kitchen, until after President’s Day.
Anyway, here’s what the kitchen floor looks like now, starting with the stove and fridge areas:
And finally the dishwasher and pantry areas:
Yes, I stopped tiling under the dishwasher before I went all the way to the wall. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem though.
In addition to the tiling work, Barbara installed the passage door knobs on the closets – we corrected our order and received the replacement knobs rather quickly. The main room doors have the levers shown previously, and the closet doors all look like this:
Wednesday #2
Tonight was grout! After getting home from work, we were able to get the tiles cleaned up and grouted in time to have dinner around 7pm. Now that everything’s done with the actual tile work, all that’s left is to move the appliances back into place and clean up the kitchen. And, of course, I still have to paint above the cabinets.
Anywho, here’s the recently tiled areas, in the usual order:
Thursday will be the last day for tiling work in the kitchen, when everything finally gets back to normal – but with tile flooring!
Thursday #2
We’re done!
I decided when I woke up that the appliances had to go back where they came from. So, before I even got dressed, I moved everything back into place. Of course, I didn’t take any pictures because by the time I was done moving things I barely had time to get ready for work.
Anywho, now that we’ve been able to clean up a little, I took an overview photo of the kitchen (since the tiled areas are kind of full now) to show how it looks now that it’s done.
