Laying New Tile:

Before you begin, decide how you want to layout the field pattern (on the diagonal or square with the walls). The focal point is typically the most visible tile, which in my case the doorway. I was careful to continue the existing field pattern from the master bedroom so it “walked” evenly into the bathroom. Mark a centerline on the floor as a reference to keep the tiles aligned with the room.

Walls: I tile the walls first to avoid dropping thinset mortar on the floor. Work from the bottom row upwards. The Laticrete thinset holds fast. In 10 minutes, you can’t pull the tile off the wall.

Floors: Lay the center-most tiles first for faster progress. I wait and make all my cuts last for the edge tiles against the walls.

Laying Tile:

I do these steps when laying tile:

• Level the old grout lines with a an even coat of thinset using the smooth side of the trowel in an area about 3 feet by 3 feet.
• Spread a layer of mortar on the floor or wall with the notched side of the towel.
• Butter the back of the tile with a shallow coat of thinset so I wouldn’t have a dry surface.
• Place the tile with a slight twisting motion while pressing down with my weight. A rubber mallet is helpful for making small adjustments in position.
• Use the carpenter’s square to mark lines for cuts. In addition to straight cuts, the tile saw can also for ‘nibbling’ out small curves and notches if applied carefully without light pressure on the blade.
• Use the 5 foot straight edge to check the tiles are even with one another in several directions and the rows are straight.

It helps to keep a pump spray bottle of water and moisten the thinset every 10 minutes or so. The thinset wicks water away very quickly and the surface layer turns light gray as it dries.

After each 3×3 foot section is laid, tap each tile with the back of the screw driver, listening for hollow-sounding areas. A hollow-sounding area indicates the tile is not properly set. If hollow, pull up the tile, reapply thinset and place again.

Tiling the walls. Notice the plastic shims on the floor beneath the bottom row of tile to maintain a level row.

Laying Wall Tiles

Liberal use of tile spacers (plastic white crosses) is essential to maintain proper spacing between tiles. Use the carpenter’s level to ensure each tile is level and plumb in both directions.

Wall Tile Spacers

The listello (decorative accent tiles) row is set and holes cut for plumbing fixtures.

Listello Decorative Tiles

Detail of the shower floor. The drain is masked off with tape to keep out dirt. The original sloping mortar bed was kept to direct water to the drain.

Shower Floor Tile Detail

Tile has been placed around the Jacuzzi and marble cap on the shower knee wall. I used the flat pry bar to gently lift the edge of the fiberglass bathtub to set the tile underneath the rim.

Jacuzzi Tile Detail

Floor and walls are ready for grouting.

Floor and Walls Ready for Grouting

Shower stall walls and floor tile completed. Remember to mark and cut the notch for the soap dish before setting the adjacent wall tiles in thinset, as it is very difficult (and dusty) to notche the tiles after they have been cemented to the wall.

Shower Stall ready for Grouting

Countertops:

I kept the original vanity cabinet base, as there was nothing wrong with the layout, drawers or storage capacity. My solution was to:

• Remove the original white porcelain sinks, faucets and formica laminate-over-particle board vanity countertop.
• Rebuild the countertop using Hardibacker cement board. This provide a stiff and strong foundation for the tile.
• Finish the countertop with matching porcelain tile.
• Install copper sinks and faucets.
• Paint the white cabinet face a nice dark shade of brown with oil-based enamel.

The tearout of the old sinks, faucets and countertop was quick and easy. Do remember to shut off the hot & cold water supply valves under the sink before disconnecting the faucets.

In this photo, the countertop field tiles and v-cap edge pieces have been set. Holes have been cut for the sinks and faucets for trial fitting. The backsplash tiles have been stood loosely against the wall to layout the pattern. Tip: The hollow pocket on the backside of v-cap must be packed with mortar before setting to prevent breakage from routine bumps and knocks in everyday use. I found the cured v-cap to be very durable.

Vanity Tile and Copper Sinks

A closeup of HP Austin hand-hammered pure copper sink. The cost of this sink in in the $600 range. An acid aging kit was applied to achieve an “old penny” darker finish.

HP Austin Hand Hammered Copper Sink

Almost done! The final step is paint the white cabinets an attractive dark brown with oil-based enamel paint. Oil based enamel was chosen for it’s durability.

Vanity with Aged Copper Sinks

The remodeled bathroom vanity in Italian porcelain tile and copper sinks turned out beautifully! The mirrored medicine cabinet is by Robern.

Completed Vanity with Copper Sinks and Robern Medicine Cabinet

Final Thoughts:

I was very pleased with the remodeling results. I saved about 50% to 75% compared to what a contractor would have charged by doing it myself. On the minus side, the work was strenuous and hard on the knees and lower back. Overall I enjoyed the experience and would do it again.

Take care,

Bob Jackson

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Labor:

I did all the work myself over 3 calendar weeks start-to-finish, with some fetch & carry help from my son. The ‘aquarium’ style shower glass was contracted out to glass & mirror shop.

The demolition phase to remove the old tile and lay the new tile required about 60 hours, which I did during a week off from my day job. Grouting, painting, lights and plumbing fixtures were finished over the next two weekends.

Total labor was about 100 hours over the 3 calendar weeks.

Cost:

About $6,000 for materials. A builder-friend looked at the remodeled bath, saying he would’ve quoted $12K to $15K for the job.

Materials:

• Italian porcelain tile, special ordered from a local flooring supply store
• Marble flat for the top of shower knee wall
• James Hardie Hardibacker 1/2 inch ceramic tile backerboard
• Corrosion resistant countersinking screws for fastening the backerboard
• Laticrete 255 MultiMax Kevlar reinforced thinset mortar with Microban to inhibit mold and mildew.
• Laticrete 1500 sanded grout – available in many colors to match the tile
• HP Austin hand crafted copper sinks, “Old Penny” style.
• Toto Ultramax 1.6gpf toilet with softclose seat
• Wax seal for toilet
• Robern frameless mirrored medicine cabinets
• Ceiling fan.
• Copper shower head, drain cover, faucets, switch plates and outlet covers
• Metal braided flexible faucet hot/cold supply hoses.
• Teflon plumbers tape
• Copper or oiled bronze towel racks to match
• Aquarium-style (i.e. frameless) 3/8 inch thick shower glass, ordered and installed by a local mirror & glass shop

Tools:

• Wet saw for cutting tile.
  Rented at a discount from the supplier where I purchased the tile and thinset. Wet saws can also be rented from Lowes or Home Depot.
• Thinset trowel – buy a professional model, it’s more ergonomic and worth the few dollars more on a big job.
• Grout float
• Grout sponges – you’ll wear out several on this job
• Tile spacers – sets the width of the tile joints. Buy several bags.
• Diamond hole saw – for cutting the round holes for faucets and shower head pipes with a hand drill. Porcelain tile is extremely hard and needs a diamond bit to cut.
• 3 pound sledge hammer for removing the old floor tile
• Guarded brick chisel for removing the old floor tile
• Carpenters flat pry bar
• 3 foot carpenters level
• Pencil and writing pad
• Tape measure
• Carpenters square
• 5 foot metal straight edge
• 5 gallon plastic paint buckets with carrying handle – for mixing thinset, grout and carrying water
• Heavy Duty Drill – for mixing thinset mortar and grout
• Heavy Duty Mixing Paddle – purchased from tile and flooring supply store
• Shop vacuum – you’ll be using it often
• 1 quart pump-spray bottle of water
• Non-marking rubber mallet
• Medium size screw driver with a hard plastic handle
• Plastic or wood shims
• Adjustable wrenches for the plumbing connections

To mix the thinset and grout, I used a Hitachi 1-1/8 inch Heavy Duty Hammer Drill (hammer function off) and heavy steel paddle in a 5 gallon plastic paint bucket. Mixing mortar is a two-handed job that will burn up a smaller drill. That’s a yard stick for size comparison.

Heavy Duty Mixing Drill

Planning and Estimating:

Visualize what you want the new the bath to look like – style, color and patterns. What will be replaced? Tile, plumbing fixtures, mirrors, glass, cabinets, lights, fans, etc.

1. Bring home tile pieces – floor, walls, countertop, and trim pieces – to layout and see if you like how it looks in your home.
2. Subdivide the room into sections.
3. Decide what tile size will be used in each section. I used large tile on the floors, medium size walls and 4 inch small tiles for the counter top and listelos (border accent).
4. Measure and estimate the square footage of tile needed for each section.
5. Measure and estimate the linear feet of special tile pieces needed for borders, edges and corners.
6. Increase your material estimates by 10% to 15% for waste. This arises from making cuts and pieces that are too small to be used elsewhere.

The Tile Doctor has a detailed estimating overview and online calculator.

The Demolition Phase:

I used the brick chisel and 3 pound hammer to remove the old tile. Starting at a grout seam, drive the chisel at an angle to get under the old tile. Once the first tile was removed, I was able to drive the chisel underneath the tile and entire sections broke free without problem. Some of the old thinset remained on the floor. I simply made the new base bed of thinset thicker to compensate.

Bath Teardown 1

While removing the original ceramic wall tile, I discovered the builder cut corners and used plain sheetrock was used as substrate, instead of cement backer board or the “green” sheetrock rated for damp areas. I removed the old sheetrock and replaced it with Hardibacker cement backboard.

Bath Teardown - Shower Stall

The metal frame of the shower knee wall had some surface rust. I treated those areas with Ospho to stop the rust.

Hanging Cement Backerboard:

The first step is to attach the cement backerboard to the walls and around the Jacuzzi bathtub with corrosion resistant screws. Ideally, you should stagger the joints such that the board ends in each row don’t overlap, i.e. not like I did here. This could make a difference in finish on a large flat wall or with finished sheetrock. I didn’t because the rows were short and the cement board would be covered with tile.

Hardibacker Cement Board in Shower Stall

In this photo you can see the wet saw for cutting tile. The blade is fixed and tile rides on the flat carriage for cutting. The white pan underneath the saw holds water which is sprayed onto the saw blade to keep it cool and prevent dust. Cutting tile “dry” (e.g. with a Rotozip) creates an enormous amount of dust.

Tile Saw and Hardibacker Cement Board Installation

This project is continued in Part 3.

Take care,

Bob Jackson

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• removing the old glazed ceramic tile and installing porcelain tile
• rebuilding the shower
• replacing the toilet
• replacing the countertop and medicine cabinets
• installing copper sinks, faucets and switch plates
• replacing the vanity lights and ceiling fan
• painting the walls, doors and cabinet

The following are photos of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of the remodeled bathroom.

Shower stall with aquarium glass:

Remodeled Bath with Aquarium Glass

Tiled countertop, copper sinks, fixtures and mirrored medicine cabinets:

Copper Sinks

Toto Ultramax one-piece toilet with soft-close lid. Toto received a top rating by Consumer Reports.

Toto Ultramax Toilet

Here’s what the bathroom looked life before the remodel. Everything was antiseptic white and uninspiring.

Shower before the Remodel

Vanity and Bath before the Remodel

This project is continued in Part 2.

Take care,

Bob Jackson

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