Bathroom Makeover, Day 11

It's Day 11 and we are almost done.... I think.  Do you remember the tiles on the floor?  Well, here's a picture to remind you.

We used the same glass tiles we used on the floor for the back splash as well.  I was very fortunate to have my dear husband, Robert, work on the back splash, while I was out garage sale shopping.

He used his drummel tool to cut the edges of the tiles that would be on the two edges.  The tiles were not attached to each other, but had a paper on them that kept them together in rows.  The process was basically the same as putting the tiles on the floor.  He used the premixed thin set and applied it to the wall with a trowel.  He started on the ends and put the tiles on.  After he was done, he removed the paper on them, so he could put the spacers on.  He used a piece of wood on the bottom, to separate the tiles from the counter.

He did a great job!  I can't wait to see how it looks, once it is grouted!

So, I didn't completely escape from chores today.  When I got home, I did all the caulking.  We have a caulking gun, but I prefer to use the ones in the tube.  It's really not hard to do.  I simply ran the caulk down the area I was working on.  Then, I wet my finger in the water and went across the area to even it out.   I keep a rag nearby, in case I need to make any clean ups.

 

 

Last thing to do today was to fix the linen closet.  Since we removed the medicine cabinet, we needed a place to put the items that had been in it.  I didn't want to put them in the closet, where they would just get buried. So, we hung up a shower caddy and 2 little boxes to put things in.  We just screwed them into the door.  I spent $4.00 at thrift stores on these items.

Well, I'm pretty pleased with Day 11.  We have come a long way and it is starting to feel like a new bathroom.  I'm excited to have come this far and can't wait to have it all completed!

Our First Backsplash

I was wanting to add a backsplash in my kitchen for years, but since we had never done it before, we thought it would be really difficult.  Surprisingly, it wasn't.  I got the tile as a Christmas gift and my husband and I stayed up all night after everyone left and installed it.  I think we did a pretty good job of it too.  Here's a picture of how it looked on Christmas Eve, before we tiled.

First, was getting the area ready.  We laid cardboard down over the counters (we are messy people).   We got all the tools we needed for the job.  We bought a premixed thin set.  Since then, I have been told you should not use a premix on glass tiles, since it could scratch them; however, I didn't notice any of them scratched.  We spread the thin set in a small area.  You need to put it on in one direction and then go over it in the other direction with a notched trowel.  You don't want it too thick, with glass tiles especially.  In some areas, we had it too thick and you could see it through the tiles.  Once you have it on, you can start putting the tiles on.  You are suppose to move them around a little, to even out the thin set.  You need to use spacers between the sheets, the same size as the space on the sheets.  We started at the bottom, putting in full sheets.  When you get to the top, you will need to cut them to fit.  We bought a tile cutter and it was very easy to use.  You need to also cut around the outlets.

        

 

 

  After all the tiles were on, we used a grout float to firmly press the tiles in place.   

 

We waited till the next day to grout.  You need to wait at least 12 hours before applying the grout.  It needs to be put on in several directions, with a grout float, to make sure you are filling in the spaces evenly.  Wait about 10 minutes, and then use a large damp sponge to wipe off excess grout.  Once the grout has dried (read the directions for drying time) wipe the tiles with a dry cloth.

And that's that!  It really isn't hard.  If you are wondering if you can do it or not, I say, go for it!