Tag: DIY

Tiling with Cement Board Instead of Ditra

This bathroom renovation is sponsored by Lowe’s. Thank you for making this project possible!

I want my bathroom tile to have longevity. I’m using porcelain (wonderfully durable), and have been taking care to do the job right from the prep work through to completion. I’ll share more in an upcoming post about the tile installation, but first I want to point out a big mistake that I almost made (and how I fixed it).

I had been planning all along to lay my tile on top of Ditra. It’s an uncoupling membrane that isolates movement between the subfloor and finished tile, preventing cracks over time. It’s also a waterproofing layer. All good things!

Our bathroom had hardwood flooring, and you can’t lay Ditra directly on top because solid wood shrinks and swells with temperature and humidity changes. I could have added a more dimensionally stable subfloor (OSB, plywood, or cement board) on top of the hardwood. It would have added more weight to the floor, but more concerning was the additional height. When I had the cast iron radiator removed temporarily, I was advised to keep the connections at the same place. There is some give in the pipes, but not a lot. Same with the tub drain and toilet stack. I started to worry that in hopes of saving myself a little time by not ripping out the wood floor, I would be creating costly plumbing fixes in my near future when it came time to reattach everything.

I decided to demo the floor. It added more time to my project, but it was the right thing to do. I had to use my Dremel Multi-Max Saw in a couple of places, but most of the wood came up easily with the combination of a pry bar, wrecking bar, and claw hammer. Safety glasses and gloves are a good idea too.

Next I set about getting the floor ready from there. The plywood subfloor beneath the wood was mostly in good shape. There was some water damage beneath the toilet, but that was easily cut out and replaced.

At this point, I was still planning to use Ditra with my tile, but the finished floor would have now been too low, so I opted to lay OSB on top of my plywood to add thickness. Two 4’x8′ sheets cost less than $20. They’re big and heavy and hard to maneuver, but I got them cut to size, carried them up to the second floor, cut my openings for pipes, fine tuned the fit, and screwed the OSB into place (6″ spacing around the perimeter, 12″ grid spacing within). Hooray! I finished just before midnight, tired and sweaty, but feeling good about my progress.

There are different instructions for Ditra installation based on the type of subfloor you have, so I looked up that information the next morning. The OSB wasn’t the issue I ran into, it was the tile size. “The tile format should always be greater than 2” x 2” (5cm x 5cm).” Hi, I would be using 1” square mosaics! Oh no.

I was basically back to where I was when the hardwood flooring had still been in place. Cement board over top, or rip out what I had just finished and put cement board directly over the plywood subfloor? Out with the OSB. I went back to Lowe’s and picked up DUROCK cement backer board instead, plus thinset, the proper screws, and alkali-resistant fiberglass mesh tape.

Cement board can be scored with a razor blade and then snapped for a clean edge. A saw will cut it too, but produces silica dust particles — a razor blade is the better choice. Screws (8″ apart) hold the cement board in place, but thinset between it and the subfloor ensure there are no springy weak spots and make the floor behave as if it were one solid slab. Taping the joints and filling the gaps with thinset (be sure to smooth the top) also adds to the stability.

I added two coats of Mapai Aquadefense for waterproofing as well. I don’t think this was strictly necessary (this is a bathroom floor, not a shower or wet room), but I’m looking at it as a bit of added insurance. Porcelain tile doesn’t absorb much water and cement backer board is water-resistant, but neither is waterproof.

My mistake put me behind schedule, but lessons have been learned. May they spare you from a similar mistake!

I shared all of this on Instagram Stories as I realized what I had done, and very quickly, the worried messages started coming in. People had either installed Schluter Systems Ditra themselves beneath small tile, or had hired a professional that did. What now!?

You will probably be fine. Probably! The problem though is that Ditra has a waffle texture and where the small tiles overlap in a way that they’re not fully supported, there is a possibility that they’ll pop up or break, or the grout will crack over time (the very thing an uncoupling membrane is supposed to prevent). I’ve seen recommendations for filling the waffle voids completely, letting that dry, and then proceeding to tile. The job would not be covered by the Schluter’s warranty, but if the openings were all filled to the top it should stand up to normal traffic.

TL;DR A high heel putting pressure on a tile is one thing — I had been planning on putting our claw foot tub back in. That much weight focused on four points made me nervous, and since I realized my oversight before it would have been terribly difficult to reverse course, I opted to change my installation method.

August 29, 2019
Making DIY Plywood Countertops

There are a few options when it comes to wooden counters. Let me just say right now that I’m not sure I picked the best one (given a do-over I would make the counter with solid wood), but it was among the least expensive and not a bad choice. This was my reasoning…

Butcher Block

Butcher block is a great choice in a kitchen, but it does say “kitchen” to me and felt like an odd choice for a laundry room. (I’m sure that is my own weird reaction.) I didn’t want the striated effect, and I don’t always care for the way it looks when stained as opposed to oiled. Of course now that I have plywood counters that I also don’t love the look of stained, this was a foolish reason to rule out butcher block, but at least I saved a lot of money in comparison?

Faux-Wood Laminate

I’m not a laminate snob — it can be a great choice and was something I had considered — but I’m not into the fake wood options.

Reclaimed Wood

Ideal! Lovely and with history and character! It felt beyond my woodworking abilities though, for pretty much the same reasons I avoided wooden boards.

Wooden Boards/Planks

Turning boards into counters seemed daunting. I don’t regret using plywood because I haven’t done a whole lot of woodworking projects and I learned a lot, but I wish I had the confidence I’ve now gained because this would have been prettier.

I would have needed a biscuit joiner, biscuits, and plenty of 36” long clamps. Maybe a planer, too? Lowe’s is sponsoring the laundry room reveal and they would have provided any tools and materials I needed, but I approached this project as I would have on my own, keeping in mind a budget and a level of appropriate finishes for a 125-year-old basement laundry room. It’s way nicer than before, but I can’t make the room into something it isn’t architecturally and I didn’t want to hoard a bunch of specialized tools I might never use again just because I could. Still, I have minor regrets. This would have been far nicer.

Plywood

Winner, winner! I figured it would be easy to work with since it’s already a large, flat pane, and plywood is inexpensive. I don’t love the end result, but I don’t hate it either. If you’re considering this option, I hope it’s helpful to read a positive but not glowing experience with it.

Plywood comes in a variety of wood species, thicknesses, and grades. I chose pine over oak or maple because while it is softer (and susceptible to gouges and scratches), it takes a mid-tone stain nicely and doesn’t blacken with water exposure. I was planning to stain and seal my counters, but with wet laundry and a big sink both having the potential to ruin them, I’d rather see wear with age than black spots.

Two of my cabinets end against uneven stone foundation walls. I used a compass to scribe the edges onto a piece of cardboard, then cut the edge with a razor and tested the fit. Once I was happy with that step, I used the cardboard as a template, traced it onto my plywood, and then cut those edges with a jigsaw.

I used two sheets of plywood (a nice 3/4″ thick pine for the top and a lower grade 1/2″ for the bottom) to make a strong counter for the sink cabinet. After cutting the top sheet to size, I dry fit it into place before centering and tracing the sink template.

I don’t use our table saw very often (and whoops, I didn’t clear the cobwebs on the base), but the blade we had in it would have chewed up the plywood. I picked up an inexpensive new 10” blade with 60 teeth that cuts plywood cleanly. I picked up a jigsaw blade with more teeth (12) for the same reason and it left fairly smooth edges.

I used a different technique for the other two counters. I didn’t need a full second sheet of plywood for more strength, I just wanted to raise the counters up a little to make room for trim pieces while leaving clearance for drawers to open. I added 1/2″ thick pine boards around the perimeter of each counter. Each piece was glued, clamped, and then screwed into place.

Plywood edges are ugly, so I added simple 1-1/2″ pine trim around each counter. They were glued, clamped, and held in place with finish nails. I used a nail set to countersink the nails and then fill them with stainable wood filler, but here’s another lesson learned: get pine wood filler if you’re working with pine because I didn’t and the filled holes took stain differently.

I filled nail holes and any imperfections, then sanded the counters with 200-grit sandpaper. I wiped the surface clean with tack cloth and applied wood conditioner, followed by two coats of Ipswich Pine stain. I finished with three coats of polyurethane applied with a natural bristle brush, lightly roughed up with 320-grit sandpaper between coats, and buffed with 0000 steel wool after fully drying.

The photo below on the left is from when I applied the second coat of poly (still wet), and on the right is the finished counter. I chose a satin finish, which I’m happy with.

They were dry to the touch after sitting overnight, but I left them alone for three days before putting anything on top. They’re attached to the counters with simple metal L brackets and wood screws.

The pine trim took stain differently than the pine plywood. You can see the filled-in nail holes. The counters are smooth, but not a perfectly glassy finish, and the wood grain is nothing special. I don’t want to seem so down on them, but I don’t want to encourage anyone to do this and think it’s going to be the most! amazing! project! ever! They’re good, utilitarian counters for a good, utilitarian space, and they’re cheap. I give them a B+.

November 8, 2018
The Accidental Geyser

We washed a load of laundry last night! In our own house! Oh, function. How I’ve missed you.

The sink cabinet is in place, and the washer and dryer are up and running. I ran into a few problems along the way, but mostly things like needing a gas line that was 5′ instead of 4′ long. Easily fixable, just necessitating another trip for supplies. And I did have a water incident last night, but all is well now!

Here’s what happened. I finally had everything hooked up. Gas line to the dryer. Semi-rigid dryer duct all hooked up. Hot water to the washer, and cold water split to both the washer and steam dryer. The last piece of the working laundry room puzzle was the drain hose.

I replaced my washing machine with a Samsung FlexWash — a relatively new option on the market with a secondary washer. (Sounds useful, right? I’m pretty excited about it! Lowe’s is sponsoring the laundry room reveal, so they provided materials and appliances for this whole project.) There’s only one water inlet each for hot and cold and that installation was straightforward, but it has two separate drain hoses. They meet together at the end with a Y-shaped adapter, and that part goes into a standpipe drain. Ours is behind drywall with access through a washing machine outlet box.

I was about 12″ short, so I figured I would just hook up a universal washing machine hose extension and be good. Nope! I wasn’t thinking about the logistics until I read in the manual not to do it, but of course it makes sense. Water would flow into one hose, be pumped out, but then backflow into the other section if the adapter wasn’t right at the drain. OK, so plan B. Instead of one extension hose, I used two — in between the machine’s hoses and the connecting piece. There were no instruction and it wasn’t the easiest thing to figure out, but I bought reducing couplings and clamps and hoses and messed around until I got it. YAY! Ran a test cycle and thought all was well. Kind of loud while it was draining, but eh? I was watching the drain hoses and all of my connections, feeling pretty good about solving my problem and not seeing any leaks. Meanwhile, water was flooding into the cabinet two feet to my right! Wonderful.

I took out the old utility sink two months ago and never capped the plumbing. I turned off the water supply and left the remainder of the drain pipes alone, not thinking that it would be a problem. The utility sink and standpipe from the washer are connected behind the drywall where it’s out of sight, out of mind. So of course when the washer was draining, water flowed down the pipe and plenty came up and out of the old, uncapped utility sink drain! Secret cabinet geyser! I realized the problem pretty quickly, stopped the machine, and soaked up the water.

Back to the store before they closed. I bought a J-pipe, 12″ extension, and a cap suitable for high-pressure (something important to note, because not all PVC components are). This is a temporary fix because there will be a new sink in place soon enough, so I wrapped the pipe threads with plumber’s tape as opposed to using glue/cement before wrench-tightening the connections. I probably could have just used a cap alone, but I thought it would be best to raise the height to above where I assume the standpipe and sink drain meet behind the wall. I am not a plumbing professional! Take my solution with a big shoulder shrug and fingers crossed, but it worked! And somewhere around here I have a leak detector from when I went to visit Delta’s headquarters last year. I think the laundry room is a great place to set that thing up.

July 27, 2018
Tiling the Basement Laundry Room

Today, I grout! But first, let’s take a look at the tiling progress I’ve made.

I started by finding the center of the room, then going out from there to see how square (or not) the room was. The laundry room is 10’x14’ and surprisingly not too wonky, at least as far as right angles go! Next, I dry laid sheets of tile to see how they lined up with the edges of the room. I don’t think this step is as important with small mosaic tiles as it would be with a larger format, but I felt better seeing some of the flooring in place before continuing.

I mixed my mortar to the consistency of peanut butter and was ready to affix the tile. (Tip: add powder to water when you start, not the other way around. It’s easier to mix without forming a dry clump at the bottom that way.) You can prefill the little waffle squares in a Ditra underlay (more about why I used Schluter Ditra right here) so that’s why you see some patches already filled in and dry — I was using up whatever mortar was in the bucket after adding the KerdiBand strips to waterproof the floor.

I started in the center and worked my way toward the wall where the water heater goes. I want to get that thing back in place! (Hot water, I miss you. So much.) By the end of day 1, I had made it to the wall and close to two corners.

Day 2, I started back at the center and worked my way toward the opposite wall. Then, leaving a path around the perimeter, I went back and got the two corners I had almost made it to the previous day. I didn’t want to start in one corner and work all the way from there because the tile sheets give a little, and you can get really out of square really quickly over longer distances. If I would radiate out from the center, I figured I had a fighting chance at doing this well.

I ended the day with staggered seams. I’ve seen mosaic tile installations where the seams between tile sheets is super noticeable, and I would be pretty mad at myself if I did that. There are a handful of spots where I feel like the spacing is slightly off, but I don’t think they’ll be very visible once everything is in place. I’m also looking at it far more critically than most would. Such is my way! My next tiling job is going to be the bathroom, also with a small mosaic tile, so I’m glad to have this space as my learning experience. Obviously I want this room to look good, but the stakes are ever so slightly lower.

Day 3! I had left all of the hardest cuts for the end, so I got all of my little tile pieces in place before mixing up my mortar again.

I experimented with a few different techniques for cutting tile. A snap cutter is difficult because the scoring wheel stops at every individual tile. It works, but you have to scoot it along, piece by piece. I found it easier to use a scoring knife and tile nippers. Best of all though was the wet saw! Mine has a laser line that I found very helpful (I didn’t use the optional guide rail), and the guard kept most of the water from splashing me. I wore leather gloves and safety goggles to protect my hands and eyes from the little shards of tile that would fling off occasionally, but I found the wet saw easy to use and great for precise cuts.

I added blue tape to mark the perimeter of previously laid tile that were safe to walk/stand/sit on. You don’t want to put pressure on the freshly laid tiles because they’ll shift around or mortar will squeeze up through the gaps. If you look for the patch of flooring that looks whiter than the rest, you’ll see where I was using too much mortar in the beginning. It oozed up through the gaps and I had to scrape it out of there after it dried with a grout saw, razor blades, and a stiff-bristled brush. It will be fine once I grout the floor, but it was a mistake I wish I hadn’t made.

There’s still a lot to do before I can call the room finished, but this tiling job was the most time-consuming part of it. I’ll grout today and let that dry overnight. Tomorrow, I’ll clean the floor with haze remover and then I’ll need to use a grout sealer before I can call the floor done. But the finish line is in sight! Hot water, ahoy!

July 11, 2018
Laying Ditra to Prep for Tile

Still prepping for tile! I underestimated the amount of work it would take to DIY this install.

I imagined it like this. Bring tile home, slap some premixed tile adhesive down, affix tiles, grout. Easy! Instead, after getting the tile home, I realized that we had to scarify the concrete (remove paint from the surface with an angle grinder). Repair cracks in the slab. Lay Ditra, not with premixed mastic, and waterproof with Kerdi-Band. We haven’t even gotten to the actual tiles or grout yet!

Schluter Ditra is an orange plasticky waffle-looking underlay for tile. I chose it for two reasons, both of which aren’t major problems, but I wanted some insurance for my tiling job. The first is that it’s waterproof. We have a dry basement (thankful for that, because it’s not always the case around here), but if there was ever a problem with water coming in, a burst pipe, or a leak, I wouldn’t want the water seeping through to the foundation. And the second reason I went with Ditra was to prevent the tile or grout lines from cracking. The cement had some minor cracks in it that have been repaired, but it seems likely that they could come back or new cracks could form. The underlay wouldn’t help with major shifts, but it is supposed to isolate small cracks and separate them from the tile above.

I don’t have a ton of tiling experience. When I decided to add Ditra, I watched a million installation videos and thought it looked quick and easy. It was not! Unrolling it and cutting to size: quick. I thought the whole installation would take two hours though (unrealistic expectation!?) and it took me two days. Mixing up the mortar to a “loose” consistency – somewhat watery but still able to hold a trowel notch – I didn’t feel entirely confident. I was hoping to use the premixed stuff to save myself some time and mess, but that’s not an option. I think I got it, but then did I use enough? Too much? I want to do a good job, and this whole thing had me second-guessing myself.

The Ditra is down, and the seams and perimeter sealed with Kerdi-Band (it’s recommended over a concrete slab and completes the waterproofing). I carried in box after box of tile and laid out a few rows for a dry fit, and I’m about to finally start getting them into place. I have tile snips, a snap cutter, and a wet saw; I’ll have to do a little experimenting to see what gives me the best results with sheets of mosaic tile.

I would recommend covering your skin when working with mortar and wearing clothes/shoes you don’t care about ruining. I wasn’t wearing gloves at first, and I got a fair amount of mortar on my hands while I was working. I washed my hands after about two hours and realized my skin was reacting pretty badly (the fingertips were pruny and dry at the same time). Apparently the alkali content affects people differently, but in high enough concentrations or for a long enough duration, it can not only dry out your hands but cause chemical burns as well. Rinsing your hands in vinegar neutralizes it, and a barrier cream (or vaseline in a pinch) is recommended. Luckily my hands are fine, though they were shiny and new on the palms since I had just given them an accidental alkaline chemical peel! Lesson learned and gloves are now being worn for all parts of this project.

Oh, and the expanded time frame of this DIY installation? We’ve been without a washer and dryer for a while now. That hurt, but it was manageable. Less fun has been the week without hot water. We’re going through a heat wave and you would think that maybe a cold shower wouldn’t be so bad? Nope. Terrible! I need that basement tile in and grouted so we can get our indirect water heater tank back in place.

p.s. Did you see the little black phonograph peeking out on the left side of the second photo above (next to the all-important Diet Coke for caffeine)? It’s cute and it works! You rest your phone in the slot and the sound is naturally amplified. I’m going to keep it in the laundry room when it’s done, and I’m thinking of picking up another to go in my closet.

July 2, 2018
DIY Tumbling Blocks Hand-Painted Floor
This post is sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts.

The painted floor in the bathroom is done! It only took a million hours!

‘Tumbling blocks’ is a classic pattern that has been trending for a few years now. I think of it as a quilting pattern from the 1800s, but decorative rhombille tiling goes back centuries. If I were doing a full renovation of my bathroom, I would lay tile like this, but this project is more of a refresh. The wood floor was already painted and in need of a fresh coat, so I figured why not go for something interesting? And of course, I have painted a floor before. I know it takes time and I know I am sore by the end of it, but I also know it’s worth it.

I’ve seen people take on this particular pattern before, or a variation of it. Here are a few examples.
I found a free template, and I played around with the colors and scale in Photoshop. I was torn between black and white or pink and red, and I decided to go with the more colorful scheme inspired by this encaustic cement tile from Mosaic House.

I looked through my paint fan decks and chose three colors. I wanted pink and red, yes, but not too bright or candy-colored. The pale pink is Puppy Paws, the medium is Odessa Pink, and the red is Crimson — a quart of each in floor and patio low sheen enamel, stopping on the way at Dunkin’ Donuts for an Iced Macchiato.

I used to be more of a latte fan, but the macchiato has become my new favorite. When I was at the Dunkin’ Donuts headquarters last month, we were able to learn about the different hot and iced espresso drinks they offer and then make our own. Both drinks are made with milk and espresso, but a latte only has one shot of espresso and a macchiato has two, giving it a stronger coffee flavor and more caffeine (which was definitely needed as I worked on this project!). I like to order mine with a Mocha Swirl because: chocolate. Delicious.

So, coffee and paint in hand, I was ready to get started.

I started at the far end and worked my way towards the door. Luckily it worked out and my pattern stayed aligned with the floor boards (for the most part). If I were doing it again though, I would have started at the doorway where the pattern is most visible. That’s the recommendation when working with tile too. You want to start your pattern where you are most likely to be looking at it, and if it’s going to go wonky, you want that hidden toward the back.

I only drew out the pattern on the far side because I figured I would smudge/erase it as I worked if I did the whole floor. Again, if I were doing it again, I would have started at the doorway, but alas. I drew a portion of the pattern, painted some of the lighter areas, drew more of the pattern, painted some more, repeat.

I have a pretty steady hand, so I painted the whole thing freehand with a pointed artist’s paintbrush (round, size 16). You can create a stencil or tape off the pattern too, but neither really seemed easier to me than just going ahead and painting it with a brush.

It took three full days of work, and three coats of paint for each color, but it’s done. Hooray! And now you can pretend to play Q*bert in my bathroom.

I just have a couple of details to get to, and the whole space will be finished!
July 7, 2016