by Wendy Scheel | Jul 16, 2016 | DIY, Sidenote Saturday
So far, tiling the backsplash has been fun. Not fun like going on vacation fun, but fun as in learning something new and taking pride in the fact that I did it and it looks great fun.
But yesterday, the fun came to a screeeeeeching halt.
Grouting is not fun.
It is tedious and messy and time consuming. You should definitely hire someone to do this for you. God Bless those people that enjoy this step or make a living doing it. YOU ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY!
First I mixed the Flexible Grout Admixture (the bottle on the left) with the sanded grout. The Tile Shop suggested using the admixture instead of water. Since this is my first time grouting, I can’t say that it worked better than water, but I can say that it worked really well.
Per the instructions on the bottle, the consistency of the grout should be similar to toothpaste. Again I added the liquid first and then the grout powder. After finding the consistency of toothpaste, the mixture needed to sit for 6-8 minutes before starting to grout.
At this point it was a matter of squishing the grout between each tile using a padded trowel. (I have no idea if that is the correct name for the trowel, but it has a little bit of give to it.)
In the area that the trowel was too big, I grabbed some grout with my fingers and filled the cracks. Grout will fall off your trowel and onto the counter and behind the stove and onto the bottom of the cupboards and maybe even possibly onto your glasses. I warned you it was messy.
I grouted about a ten to twelve inch space and then wiped everything off with a damp (not wet) large sponge. Rinsing my sponge often, it took at least five times to remove the grout from the tiles. I warned you about tedious.
Final warning: Time consuming. The pattern of grouting and wiping continues until you have bumped your head 3000 times on the cupboards, you run out of grout or you’re finished.
The grout needs to dry for 24-72 hours before I can seal it. Thank goodness. I am going to need that long to get motivated to finish. 🙂
On Monday I will share a couple of tips and tricks I have learned and then the big reveal on Wednesday!
Have a great weekend,
Wendy
by Wendy Scheel | Jul 9, 2016 | DIY, Sidenote Saturday
Today is the day. Today is the day that I jump in and start the backsplash. Today is the day I stop watching 8000 videos and reading tutorials and just go for it.
Today, I am nervous. I have never taken on a project like this one all by myself, but I am going to give it a shot. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and successes.
Let me back up one step, prior to gathering supplies, I took a class to determine first hand if I could even do this.
I decided that I could.
Then I made about five trips to The Tile Shop to find the exact tile I envisioned. And just when I thought I had found “the one”, I found a different one.
This is going to be in our kitchen for a very long time, so I wanted to love it, not just like the tiles, but love them. This is my definition of tile love.
Next I had to do some math.
My backsplash area is approximately 220 inches wide x 14 inches tall.
220 inches wide x 14 inches tall = 3080 square inches.
One foot equals 12 inches. One square foot: 12 inches wide x 12 inches tall = 144 square inches.
I needed to figure out how many square feet of tiles I needed:
3080 square inches/ 144 square inches = 21.39 square feet.
If each tile sheet is 1 square foot or 12×12 square inches and each box contains 10 sheets,
then the answer to “How many tile sheets do I need for the backsplash?” would be 21.39. Rounding that number to 22 means that I will need two full boxes of tile and a third box for fill in tiles and breakage.
Did I lose you? Call me if you need help.
Side note: I tutored Algebra for years and also volunteered to teach an advanced math class at our local elementary school.
I love math.
Moving on. The next step was to gather all of my supplies. I bought:
- 3 boxes of Gobi Brick Tile
- Pro Grout Natural Sanded
- Flexible Admixture
- Pro Bond Non-Sag
- Enhance and Seal
- Trowels
- Wet Saw
And now…I work.
Stay tuned for a progress report on Monday.
Wendy
by Wendy Scheel | Jun 11, 2016 | New Products
Last Saturday at Jack’s graduation party our previous neighbors came by to celebrate. During the several years we lived by them, we became good friends and shared a lot of stories about our lives and the lives of our extended families.
As we toured the house, Sherri shared her story that she had recently redone her own kitchen. This launched a whole conversation about my plans to redo our kitchen backsplash. After showing her the tile sample I had decided upon, she asked me where I got it from. Cue Tile Shop spiel (you can read the whole spiel and about how much I love the store here).
Well unbeknownst to me, Sherri’s Mom works at The Tile Shop that I have been going to for years.
We chatted about how long her Mom had worked there and what her hours were and on and on. The small chit chat went on and on and with such a busy day, I forgot all about it.
Then out of the blue, Sherri texts me a couple of days later telling me that her Mom and all of the other employees at The Tile Shop had been called into a meeting. The reason for the meeting was to inform the employees that the store was closing for good. On June 19th. THIS June 19th, as in 8 days from now!
Whaaat?
The first chance that I got I high-tailed it into the store to see if it was true. Not once did I think that Sherri wasn’t telling me the truth, but I needed to hear it for myself.
I spoke with the manager and yes, they were closing on the 19th.
Boo. ????
That very moment I ordered all of the tiles and supplies that Chub had said I would need. Thankfully, that was on Thursday, the final day they were ordering a delivery truck, which would arrive Monday.
I can still return any extra tiles or products that I need to, but after June 19th, I would have to drive over an hour to get the next closest store.
Boo again.
But wait, as always, there is a silver lining to my story.
Guess what store is going to replace The Tile Shop????
HOBBY LOBBY!!!!
Now don’t get me wrong, I was devastated for a full 14 seconds when I found out that The Tile Shop is going away, but Hobby Lobby within 20 minutes of my house?!
I sincerely tried to hide my excitement for the sake of the employees that will have to make some life changes as they move onto another store or another company..…but a Hobby Lobby!?
I can’t even.
Have a great Saturday,
Wendy
Sidenote: My pictures have nothing to do with my story, I realize that. But, I wanted to show you these picture frames that I have had for a little while and finally have them ready here if you would like to purchase one.
The story behind how I found the two gentlemen that make these frames is quite the story too.
by Wendy Scheel | May 28, 2016 | Sidenote Saturday
Happy Saturday!
I feel like I have been off the grid for way too long. My computer problems are fixed and my user error incidences are becoming less. 🙂
So let’s catch up.
When we were last together, I thought I had found “the one”. A stone tile that would add texture and a bit of color to my otherwise neutral kitchen.
But it’s a women prerogative to change her mind, right?!
I think I love this one.
Not the shower per say, but the brick shaped tiles in the middle of the shower.
The next logical step after finding the tile was to figure out how to tile.
And then I received a sign from above!
Technically this was not a sign from the heavens but a sign on the floor of The Tile Shop. But saying it was a sign from above makes for a good story.
I’m all about professionals teaching me a new skill and this sign had me at “Free”.
Last Saturday I arrived at class to find 3 other people attending also. I asked them if they minded being in a few pictures for my blog. No problem they said in agreement.
The couple on the right were DIYing there kitchen backsplash also. They were new to tiling and this was the second time they had taken the class.
What’s the unwritten rule? Measure twice, cut once, or in this case, Class twice, tile once.
The other gentleman in the photo was a little more seasoned in the world of tiling but he was taking the class to get some tips and tricks about installing glass tiles.
And then of course there was me who knows nothing about anything when it comes to tile.
You could say that this class is for all skill levels.
Chub had a very nice area for demonstrations with helpful instructional posters.
Chub choose the three different kinds of tiles each group was considering working with.
The DIY couple chose a porcelain tile, my tile was a natural stone and the other gentleman was working with glass.
Chub laid out a thin set mortar using all of the proper tools. The one thing I took away from this class is that you need the proper tools and materials to do the job right.
From here I could go into all of the steps of tiling, but honestly, I skim over those parts when I am reading a blog and figured others do the same.
But let me tell you this, this isn’t as easy as it looks.
So when I actually do this myself, I will write that blog with pictures. Pictures of what not to do will be included.
You’re welcome. 🙂
The last thing we did was practice cutting tile.
I let the guys in the class go first so I could learn from their mistakes. When it was my turn, I perfectly cut my stone tile.
ROCKSTAR!!!
This weekend I will be purchasing the tiles for the backsplash and laying them out. (Step 1).
The process of actually applying them to the walls will not begin until after the fourth of June.
Our son Jack is graduating from high school next week and although I would love to have the new tile in place, the reality is that that is not going to happen.
Slow and steady is going to win this race.
Cheers to a safe and happy Memorial Day.
Wendy
by Wendy Scheel | May 23, 2016 | DIY
Last week we received a follow-up call from the landscape contractor about our outdoor living space. (This is where I first mentioned that project).
The small city that we live in has a regulation that only 25% of your property can be hardscaped.
Hardscape refers to hard landscape materials in the built environment as opposed to softscape, the horticultural elements of a landscape. This can include paved areas, driveways or retaining walls. It can include materials such as stone, concrete, etc.
Currently we are at 25%, which means we cannot add on a larger seating area, fireplace or pergola.
Oh wait, that’s not true! We can if we present our plan to the city council and then beg, OR we can rip out the cement driveway OR we can tear up everything we currently have and start over.
Ugh.
The area we have is fine and wonderful so as of today we are going to drop that project and maybe re-visit the idea some day in the future.
All I can do is take a big disappointing breath and move on to the next project on the wish list.
Luckily, I am equally excited about this next project.
Drumroll please…….A new backsplash in the kitchen!
Did you even know that our current backsplash is painted? Someone with a lot of talent painstakingly created this.
But is has run its course. There are spots and areas that will no longer clean up nicely. And when I say they don’t clean up, I mean they are really bad.
Cleaning is not my greatest strength. Oh who and I kidding, it’s not even in my Top 10. I can overlook, and flat-out ignore small spots and stains, but even for me this backsplash is past its prime.
Something needed to be done, so where else does one go if they are looking to tile their backsplash?
The Tile Stop.
This is where God presented me with a gift from Heaven.
He calls himself Chub.
Knowing very little about tile, Chub was a wealth of information. Not to mention a great listener and a patient man.
Like all of my projects, I have a vision. But I depend on others sometimes to make my vision a reality.
I described my vision to Chub and we talked though what my current cabinets and counters looked like. Thank goodness I could refer to the Home Tour 2015 pictures so he could totally envision the area.
After walking basically through the entire store (I told you he was patient), these were the first two sets of samples I brought home.
I quickly eliminated the sample on the left. It was too light and didn’t “add” anything to the kitchen. The other sample is a quartzite stone also in a brick pattern. Each and every brick has a different look and feel. And if I don’t like a particular brick, I can replace it with one from another sheet.
I think this might be “the one”. Stay tuned.
Wendy
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