Tile Installation

We started Saturday's workday with what was probably the biggest screw-up of the entire project. The tile spacers we had bought the night before were missing. I'm guessing we left the bag in the shopping cart when we loaded the car with the tile. So before any work could begin, Q had to make a quick run to Home Depot.

We spent the entire first day laying the whole, uncut tile pieces in the center of the room. We chose to install it on the diagonal to contrast the straight-laid tile in the rest of the house. The fact that this is practically an octagonal-shaped room made that easier.

I can't get Luke to put his dishes in the sink or clean his room. But when a home improvement is involved, he works just as hard as the rest of us. For this project, his job was to mix mortar. And with two buckets in use, he was able to keep the stuff coming so we never ran out.

Meanwhile, Kyle--was upstairs playing Wii and talking to his friends on the phone. But in his defense, he excels at putting his dishes away and cleaning his room.

Quinton is truly the hardest worker of anyone I know.

On Sunday, we waited until after 10:00 to start work because we didn't want to wake the neighbors with the LOUD tile saw.

We borrowed the saw from my sister and brother-in-law. I am very afraid of that thing, but Q handled it like a pro. He just had to trade in the Dr. Drew look for a pair of protective goggles.

We mass produced a bunch of Superman logos in slate-look porcelain.

Even I'm willing to get my hands dirty once in awhile...just as long as it's done in the name of residential interior beautification. I didn't even break a nail. Not one. But my hands are now chapped to within an inch of their life.

The last and the most difficult piece. One tile had to wrap around the jamb to the closet door. Q suggested doing it in two pieces, but I quickly shot that plan out of the sky.

There...problem solved.

When shopping for the listello (aka: boarder tile), I was looking for something that would match our existing tile (bottom) and the new tile (top). But I also wanted something that was interesting and different. There are lots of plain grid patterns out there. I passed on those because I have no room for monotony in my life. Anyway, think my choice was a successful one.

The end of Day 3.

Next: Grout installation. That may not happen until next weekend, however. Q has work, and the new semester starts today.