Getting a New Floor...Part 2

What hectic weeks these have been!

After two weeks of me tearing out carpet, tile,
baseboards, and tack strips,
all covered in my post HERE,

we now start install.
Thank God we got professionals
for the rest of this job.
Last Thursday afternoon

our tile installer Mark dropped off

our order of Bedrosians
Barrique Gris (aspen Gray) tile, thin set,
and spectralock grout

for an early start on Saturday

we saved some space in our garage for him
 It took Mark 3 trips to Bedrosians to transport it all.

The tile alone was almost 3000 pounds!

 Early Saturday morning Mark

arrived and began scraping the floor.
It was necessary to prep the floor
so the new thin set will have a
solid bond to the slab.

He was removing the old thin set and
a layer of over spray paint and wall texture
still on the floor from when the house us built.

master bathroom

There was quite a bit of it in every room

hallway

He scraped, and scraped, and scraped.....

He did take a break from scraping 
to remove the vinyl in the guest bathroom,

guest bathroom
then he scraped some more.

 He removed the vinyl in the laundry room
and scraped some more...

all the way out to the front door.

After he was done prepping the floor
he took a few measurements,
and began cutting tile out on the front porch.

He started to lay out the gray tile
in the master bathroom.

master bath

With faux wood look porcelain tile planks,
you have to stagger it in thirds
to achieve the look of a wood floor.

Mark was cutting the tile to fit
in and around all the little ins and outs
of a regular wall.

Once satisfied with the cuts

he spread the thin set and began laying the gray tile.

It wasn't long before he had

half the floor covered in wood look tile.

He had to let the bathroom tile set for a day

in order to finish the other half.

So in the meantime, he started on the front room.

There were less cuts so he moved quickly.

This is what Mark accomplished by the end of day one.

 On Sunday morning of day two

I found a few sharp corners that stuck up

a little high.

Mark replaces problem tile on day 2

Mark pulled those tiles, scraped the thin set,

and replaced them

with closer attention to the corners.

James scraping the kitchen floor

Mark brought his assistant James on day two

to do the scraping of the kitchen and family room,

while he continued to cut and lay the Bedrosian tile.

Front living room

Master bathroom toilet area.

The master bathroom is done but not grouted.

Mark decides to run two strips of faux wood

gray tile all the way to the back of the house.

wood tile in kitchen and family room

wood tile in kitchen dining area

Mark needed to let this dry and then move the furniture

on top of it to finish the rest of the room.

"We are not happy!"

Elvis and Cher watched all the action

from behind a baby gate

in a spare bedroom.

Mark continues to lay the wood look tile from

the front room into the hall...

then into the laundry room.

With half the laundry room done

he heads back the hall.

Mark stops here for the end of day two...

Check out Part 3 HERE

Clearing the Clutter or Getting a New Floor...Part 1

It appears to have become a trend here in the blogs

with many wanting to clear their clutter and simplify

their lives.  Those bloggers have stopped collecting

and are getting rid of the stuff they are tired of looking at

in a effort to more enjoy...um...not having stuff. 
Sort of a non materialistic approach to blogging.

I've decided to jump on the band wagon full steam

and go cold turkey with this movement.

 

Here is my hutch/buffet empty as the day I bought it.

Now I can breathe...

But why stop there?

 

I don't need a cluttered old floor either....out you go!

 

Goodbye carpet too!

 

those baseboards felt like clutter to me

so I ripped them out.

 

Hopefully by now you're on to me.

I'm not clearing any clutter from my life,

I love my stuff

and I love decorating with it.

But what I am doing is saving some money.

We are getting a new tile floor installed

and by clearing out the old floor ahead of

time it will save on labor costs...every little bit helps.

 

Samantha and I have really loved the look of a tile

floor that looks like a wood floor. 

Tile planks that look like planks of wood,

they just don't wear like wood.

We chose the Aspen Gray 8'' X 40'' tile

from Bedrosians,

they call it "Gris" from the Barrique line.

Click on their logo below to find out about them.

 

We have also chosen Laticrete Spectralock grout

 

#78 Sterling Silver. 

The best part about this grout,

You don't ever have to seal it,

not every three years,

not ever! 

And it won't stain or discolor,

How cool is that?

The only drawback, it's a bear to install

and installers charge more when you want that grout.

But since most of my house is now going to be tile

(the bedrooms are getting carpet)

I think it's worth it to have this kind of grout.

I have lots more demo to do,

we are replacing the baseboards too.

I'm ripping out the 2½'' high builders basic

stuff and putting in 5½'' high traditional stuff.

 

 Should look pretty nice when it's in.

Well, like I said, I have plenty more demolition

ahead of me so I gotta go.

I'll post more when we start install!

 

 

Thanks for popping in and keep collecting!

 

 

Check out Part 2 HERE

Check out Part 3 HERE

 

 

 

 

 

Elvis the Teacup Poodle Gets a Trim

Before

 

 

After

I just don't like that foo foo poodle cut

give me a clean shave!

It's like having two different dogs.

Which do you prefer, Fat Elvis or Thin Elvis?

 

Thanks for stopping by!