Funky See, Funky Do

These tiles started out life as “Seconds” and it’s easy to see now why they were designated as such. They are Funky with a capital “F”.



At this point I really must laugh at the fact that over a 100 years ago they were deemed second quality. They were either going to be dumped or sold at a discount someplace. Then 100 years later I chisel them off the floor and reinstall them. Many of the first quality tiles are probably still not around, and here these poor little tiles are starting a new life.

Some things I’ve learned about these tiles are a) they are not all 2-inches wide, and b) they are not all a half inch thick. These are the reasons they were deemed “Seconds”, I’m sure. Ninety nine percent of them are 2-inches wide, but many of them are not a half inch thick. I’ve been able to spot the few narrow ones (we’re talking an eighth of an inch or less off) and I use them when the grout lines start to get tight. It actually works out well



I was meticulous with the first few rows past the tub area. I laid out all of the tiles ahead of time and made sure they were good. I had to put in a half row on either side of the divider, and that took a lot of time. I used a sliver of half inch cement board to raise the quarter round a little. I’m not thrilled with contrast between the super white, glazed quarter round and the, shall we say, less than white unglazed tiles. I almost ran down to the home center to see if I could find a substitute, but decided against it. I really won’t find a match, so why bother.



Once I got past the first few rows the pace picked up, but it is still slow, meticulous work. Laying them free-hand, without the spacers is definitely the way to go. I’ve had far fewer problems than I had in the tub area. Below is a close up for John. I think it looks good. I really, really like them.