NunkProTunk or Now as Then

… and the dog ate my homework.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another conspiring to keep me from posting regularly. First the ice storm a year ago. Then Daddy’s illness and death seven months ago, and the malaise that followed. Then the lack of a computer attached to the internet in the guest house. Now it’s my camera card. We’re in the middle of tiling, and I’ve been taking pictures to document it … pictures which show up in my camera but which refuse to upload. My brother has diagnosed a faulty card, and I need to buy a new one, but we’re busy tiling. I have discovered that it’s hard for me to write about what’s going on without pictures. So, this entry will feature pictures suitable for the Emperor. (The one who had no clothes.)

We have finished the wall work in the Little One’s bathroom. She complains that it’s boring, and it’s not fair because she’s wild. We respond that she’s a free-loading tenant. Nobody is persuaded. She suggested that we could at least put some yellow ones in the empty spots on the ends (where we have to cut tile to fit). We suggest that she can be creative with paint or accessories. Still, nobody is persuaded.

[Here is where the picture of the subway tile in progress would have gone.]

It’s nice white subway tile, with two black liners, and a black and white pinwheel mosaic (Chloe) on the floor. Don did most of it, but I tried my hand at the subway while thinset was setting and he was meeting with a sub. I decided I could do it, even though the first time I did it, I laid four rows before I realized I’d left out the liner row. So, I ripped it out before the thinset had set.

[Picture of the partial wall that I did correctly.]

We have learned that the American Olean’s Chloe comes in dye lots (or whatever they’re called), and that they don’t always match. (Even though their website asserts that the shade variation is low.) So Don ripped out three square feet before that thin set had set. Two steps forward, one step back.

[Picture of Little One's floor.]

Soon, we’ll be ready for grout and sealer. We have three more bathrooms to do.

We have not installed large swaths of tile before. Don has done a square foot here or there, and patched the odd bit of tile, but never done a whole bath.

We have four to do. So, with our construction loan’s February deadline looming, we did the sensible thing and hired a tile guy.

Who got the flu the day before he was to start.

Whose daughter then was involved in a serious car wreck. In Oregon.

So we’re doing the tile ourselves. My main jobs are to read the instructions and buy more tools and supplies. I went to the big box stores three times on Monday. Plus once on Sunday and once on Tuesday. At least once on Wednesday. Twice on Thursday. No, three times: I went to two stores to get almost enough tile (for next week). This after Don and our neighbor bought everything we’d need the week before. We haven’t started tiling yet.

After working most of the week, we have got the backerboard down, except in the showers. And I’ve laid out reference lines for one bathroom floor, and figured a layout for another one’s walls.

What we’ve learned:

1. My Taunton Press books call backerboard CBU (cementitious board units, I think), but most people don’t.
   1. The two tile books I already owned were not enough, so I had to buy another one, which didn’t go into as much detail. My favorite one was by Tom Meehan (not shown), but it was written 15 years ago. He has a great explanation of how to do the 3-4-5 layout, and then rotate it for a diagonal layout. (Not relevant to the CBU installation, but we just used it yesterday.)
   2. The bathroom idea book showed some tile installations that contradicted the directions from the other books so maybe we don’t have to be perfect.

   

2. No need to make thinset from scratch, unlike cakes. Premixed thinset is much easier.
   1. Especially if your drill is underpowered, and your water is 50°F instead of 70°F. (No hot water heater yet, and it’s winter.)
   2. If you choose to mix it yourself, mix it thoroughly, and borrow a drill that won’t burn up while mixing. (If you insist on mixing, you might want to start with premixed so you know how thick the scratch thinset should be. Undermixed thinset is very, very thick.)
   3. The price difference isn’t too much, and premix doesn’t set up in the bucket overnight.
   4. Read the fine print. Twice. Some premix thinset is specifically not for adhering backerboard to subfloors. (The one shown says it is not for subfloors. It’s fine for the backerboard to drywall. AcrylPro seems to be OK for subfloors.)



3. Sometimes the ends of the backerboard flap around because they’re far from a stud, and you have to be creative. This solution worked. (You should remove the board before setting tile.)



4. You should do the final dry fit before you spread the thinset. That’s why it’s called dry fitting.



5. We like the Hardie cement board. It cuts easily with scoring on just one side, and is lightweight. (You need a 1/8″ space between boards and a 1/4″ expansion joint at walls, floors, tubs, and so forth.)
6. Cool tools you can buy to help with the CBU installation include: a paddle mixer, comfortable handled carbide tipped scoring knife, carbide tipped radius hole cutter bit (cuts holes between 2 inches and 6 inches, MOL), 1 3/8″ carbide hole saw (perfect for water pipe holes, and sold in the tile tools area — not in the bits for your drill area of big box stores), nibblers, and a utility knife (powerful drill not shown). Oh, and the spacers (not shown) which are circles with crosses on one side and a straight line on the other. Much easier to hold onto.