All But Two Slivers

You can see at the left side of the door there are two half tiles that need to be installed. I need to get the door open to do that, which I can’t at the moment. I guess it was a little over 2 years ago when I re-enclosed this small area of the porch that had been opened up in the 1920s. At the time I new I was going to be doing some period style tile in here eventually. What I didn’t know at the time was that the tile would be a half-inch thick.

I had to do the last of the tile while sitting outside the backdoor. Well, after I got all of the tile in, guess what? The door wouldn’t close. It closed most of the way, but for the last few inches the outside corner dragged on the tile. I pulled up on the door as hard as I could and eventually forced it shut. I need to wait until the tile sets and then I can force it back open, and then remove the door and trim just a hair off the bottom. After that, I can then put in those last two half tiles.

I was happy with the spacing, though. I was afraid I would end up with ¾ tiles, or some other odd size at the end. I’m also happy with the fact that I don’t have a ridiculously crooked row at the door. After installing 15 linear feet of tile across the floor, the last row at the door is surprisingly straight. I would say there is less than a quarter inch difference in the width of the last tiles from one side of the door to the other. Frankly, I’m shocked.



I also got very lucky at the transition from the kitchen to the mud room. As you can see, I have all half and whole tiles up against the marble threshold. The tiles are a little crammed in to accomplish this. The grout lines go down to a hairs breadth at some places. I think it’s better than having a bunch of funky sized tiles at a very prominent focal point.

So that’s pretty much it. I hope I can start to grouting tomorrow. I need to deal with the back door first. I’ve decided I’m going to use the Antique White grout. I’m just really very tired, both physically and mentally, from dealing with the tile. I really don’t want to dig out and re-grout the area under the tub.



Above you can see what I call Reject Sill. There are little piles like this all over the place. All things considered, the loss wasn’t too bad. I opened 18 of the 20 boxes I salvaged, and I think all of the rejected tile would make up about 2 boxes. That means I was right at about 100 sq ft of tile installed.



Over all I’m very happy with the floor. It is a bit funky, I’ll admit. The uneven and tightly spaced grout lines I really like. The only thing I wish I could correct is the thickness of the tile. Given that they all aren’t exactly a half inch thick, there is a variation in the height of the tiles. It’s very subtle, but it is there.

I tried to correct for it when I noticed it as I was installing, but it was hard. During installation, I’m basically looking directly down on the tiles, and it was not always easy to spot the problem tiles. It could be an issue when sweeping the floor, but I don’t clean my bathrooms that often anyway, so it shouldn’t be an issue for me.

I’m hoping I can get some major plumbing things installed this weekend because next week I’m starting a very hectic pace in my life. I’m sure the blog is going to suffer tremendously, but I’ll be back.