tic, tac, tile

BEFORE

Classic 1950s bathroom.  Pink & black shower tiles that also cover 1/2 the rest of the walls and tiny pink & black floor tiles.  But don't worry, just when you thought it would all make sense, they put a blue tub in this bathroom.  I don't know why.  AND THE WALLPAPER!  Sheesh.  It's like a carousel.  And it was peeling, (shocking, I know... steamy bathroom + wallpaper?  Sounds like a fabulous idea to me!  Except for the fact that they use STEAMERS to remove wallpaper...) 

Though this is the bathroom outside my bedroom, I haven't been using the shower because of a house-crippling leak.   When the shower/bath was turned on, not only was there a substantial leak coming from the pipes behind the tile, but also water SHOOTING at your face when you turn on the hot or cold!  So, first, the pipes were replaced and leak eliminated and the wall tiles removed.


DURING

Ain't it pretty?

So, then came up the floor tile....

 

Or, so we thought.  You see, under that innocent-looking pink & black tile was solid concrete.  And a thick layer, at that!  So, instead of dealing with all the concrete underneath, in addition to the tiny, obnoxious tile, we decided to lay the new tile on top of the old, (a common practice & completely O.K.)  However, there was only one small problem....

.... this realization did not come until a good 2'x4" section was demo-ed.  

 

 

 So, we filled the hole with concrete and let set/dry before starting with the new tile.  And none would be the wiser!

 

... well, I guess except for the two people who read this blog.  They will technically be "the wiser."  Oops.

LOOK HOW AWESOME!!  This is pre-grout, btw.  And, just a friendly tidbit of information, it's a good idea to clog up your toilet hole, (here, we put a towel inside a plastic bag and stuffed away.)  The purpose behind this is not only to stop any trash, dust or debris from falling in, but also to stop any toxic fumes from escaping.

Add a little drywall to the situation, and...

Yup, who doesn't keep their toilet in the tub?  I can't think of anything more natural...

 Now, the only thing left is to grout & re-install the tub and vanity!

 

Pretty grout!  I went with a lighter option that blended in more, as I didn't want the lines as noticable as they would have been if a darker grout was used.  This was just a personal preference, largely based on the fact that I wanted the grout on the floor and wall to match, and I didn't want the grout in the tile to stand out.  And, since the floor tiles were so big, there weren't many visible grout lines anyways.  I felt that making them noticeable would have been odd.  

We used the pre-mixed & pre-colored grout from Home Depot.  Worked like a charm.

  

See?  Barely noticeable.  Also?  Pretty!

AFTER

 

Here's the interim bathroom I am using.  Clearly, the walls need to be finished (more spackling, sanding, and then painting,) and the shower walls need to be tiled.  In addition to this, also need to replace the old, wood window and the vanity.  Oh yeah, that ugly vanity is getting kicked to the curb!

SO EXCITED!!!