Tag: remodeling

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
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
One Room Challenge: Week 4 (Those Stairs, That Hall)

Some things look better (the ceiling and the third floor doors), most things look worse (everything else).

It’s gotta get worse before it gets better! It will all come together in these last two weeks. I’m so grateful to my sponsors (denoted with asterisks) for providing many of the physical goods needed for this makeover. That has allowed us to allocate our budget toward labor and hire out some of the other jobs that were either over our heads (framing and hanging the drywall that is literally over our heads) or too time-intensive to finish by the One Room Challenge deadline (skim coating the back entry and stairway, and custom binding and installing stair runners). Knowing that those jobs are being taken care of, I dedicated myself last week to repairs and properly prepping surfaces before painting, and Brandon removed a bunch of the stairs’ old carpeting.

We’re working on the front and back entryways, four flights of stairs, and two hallways, but I think the biggest impact for us will be in the second floor hall. We are remodeling this home slowly as we’re able to devote time and money to doing it properly, and the hall is probably the most visible record of that work.

The house has been through many changes in its 125 years. The front half of the house was separated from the back when we moved in, and you had to walk through the former kitchen on the second floor to get to the back bedroom. We removed a built-in that was probably added in the 30s (which was a little sad), taking the hall back to its original layout and gaining daylight from a window that was blocked off in the process. A doorway was moved, the walls were fixed, and the former kitchen turned into a nursery. We also ripped up the damaged old flooring and replaced it with new hardwood. The hall was painted, and all was well for about two years. Then we rewired the second and third floors, and we lived with conduit pipes and plenty of holes for the past year. Now we have a ceiling again! The holes have been patched! And in the next couple of weeks? All of that wood trim is going white, the doors are getting painted black, the temporary lights will be replaced, wallpaper will be hung, the window will get a roman shade, and sconces will be installed where there were never sconces before. It’s all pretty exciting.

There isn’t much else that needs to happen in the hall as far as decorating goes. I like gallery walls in other people’s homes, but I want to let the wallpaper stand on its own here. There is a spot tucked away next to the bump-out for the chimney that will get a new dresser* for extra bathroom storage (it’s just across the hall and down a few feet). That little brass lamp* will stay with the dresser, and maybe the tray* too if I don’t use it elsewhere. Then something will go above, either art or a mirror, but I haven’t decided what yet.

Here’s how some of the other details look together!

I’m so eager to get those sconces* installed. The tassels relate to the tassel sconces on the first floor, and the rope detail relates to the new hardware* on the third. The trim needs to be painted first and then the walls papered, and all of that’s waiting on the other work that’s underway.

The new stair runners are waiting on that work, too. We’re going to have them bound on-site and installed by a pro because there are a lot of twists and turns over the course of four very old flights of stairs. That carpet is on sale right now for National Karastan Month, FYI, in case you’re looking to do the same. Karastan is holding a big sweepstakes for an area rug and $1000 off, and there’s also up to a $1000 cash back coupon as part of the sale.

I have a lot of stair prep ahead of me before our installation happens! Black treads, white risers, and you know… not gross.

It looks so bad right now. But we’re getting closer!

Follow along with the One Room Challenge participants!

• Jana Bek • Chris Loves Julia • Shannon Claire • Coco.Kelley • The Curated House • Driven by Décor • The English Room • From the Right Bank • Sherry Hart • Hi Sugarplum • House of Jade • Hunted Interior • The Makerista • Making it Lovely • Marcus Design • Pencil & Paper Co. • Megan Pflug • Place of My Taste • Suburban B’s • Waiting on Martha • Media Partner House Beautiful • TM by CIH

My One Room Challenge Posts

Follow along from the beginning!
• Week 1: The Before Shots • Week 2: The Design Plan • Week 3: Work Very Much in Progress • Week 4: Those Stairs, That Hall • Week 5: When it Rains, it Pours • Weed 6: Final Reveal!

* Asterisks indicate that an item was provided by a sponsor.

October 26, 2016
Setbacks in Rewiring Our 1891 Victorian House

More progress has been made in the rewiring of our Victorian, but it has not been going well.

The problems all started when we lost power to the second floor in October, 2014. The electrical system was unsafe and we quickly had the problem repaired, but we discovered active knob and tube in dangerous condition throughout the house. Here’s what I wrote in an update from July of the next year.

“The light above the stove sparked and burned a light bulb in Brandon’s hand as he was changing it out one day, which was more than a little scary. In an unrelated event (I think), we mysteriously lost power to a portion of the second floor. While our electricians were fixing that problem, they found active knob and tube that was missed during our initial house inspection, and thus began the rewiring of the entire place. The bulk of the job is done now, but it was suggested that we wait to finish the rest when we didn’t have a newborn. We agreed and then we were waiting until after we hosted my sister’s bridal shower in the house (which I will share next week), and now we’ll be able to get back to it as soon as we can get back on the electricians’ schedule. A ceiling is coming down, walls are being opened, and the house is going to be in a state of chaos for a while, but I’m looking forward to getting this work done because it has been holding other projects back.”

Work resumed in November, 2015. When we tried to have our electrician back out to continue rewiring the house, we found out he had “left the company,” and we suspect that he may have been fired. We came to realize, after having a new team of electricians out, that we may have gotten screwed because at that point we had spent a lot of money and thought a lot more work had been completed. It’s a sick-to-your-stomach feeling, and I don’t feel great about putting this out there, but that’s the truth of what happened. Turns out “the bulk of the job” having been completed was pretty inaccurate.

The third floor, being farthest from the basement where the electric panels are, is the most difficult part of the house to rewire. The plan was to start there, working down floor by floor, until the whole house had been done. When we paused work the first time (because I was about to give birth and caring for a newborn is hard enough without having workers tearing apart your house everyday), the third floor was supposedly done. The whole house was supposedly 80% finished, which didn’t really sound right since they had only been doing the top level, but OK. Maybe because they had fished new lines up, it would all be easier to go from there? Yeah, no. Turns out the whole level was still on one circuit, meaning that a big portion of the work that we thought had been done had not. WTF.

Even the repairs attempted by that first guy’s team were done poorly. It sounded great, in theory, that one company could handle rewiring the house and fixing things up again after they were done, but after seeing what they did, we told them to stop. They’re electricians, we reasoned. Let’s not judge based on their ability to fix a wall.

You see why we told them to stop “fixing” the holes? We would do it ourselves, or hire somebody who knew what they were doing (and likely at a lower hourly rate).

There was also a new scuttle hole made in the hallway ceiling. They were super proud of the way it turned out.

Bad repairs, the work wasn’t done properly, and so much money was wasted. Brandon is angry about the whole situation; I’m just sad. I love this house, but it is not making it easy on us.

A new team of electricians started in November. They split the third floor up into different circuits, fixing problems along the way, and they rewired the second floor. They found a chase that runs all the way down to the basement, which they used to run new lines up. We had thought that the ceiling in the hallway would have to come down, but instead they ran conduit along the surface and we will have to drop a new drywall ceiling below, keeping as much of the height as we can. Our hallway looks like this right now.

It looked like this when we remodeled the second floor before Calvin was born, so we’re kind of used to this sort of thing by now, but still. It was finished and nice for a little while.

The cheap toggles for the hall lights will be switched out for the reproduction push-button switches we’ve installed elsewhere throughout the house, but they’re a little finicky, so we’ll put them up after the mess of drywalling, patching, sanding, and painting has been finished. The hallway will get sconces, too! It’s all going to look very nice, if you can see past its current condition.

Portions of the house did have newer wiring and therefore escaped with minimal damage, but nearly every room on the second and third floor is in need of at least a little repair. This is the wall in one of the bedrooms, on the other side of those light switches.

The house is still not completely rewired. The second and third floors are done though, as are the outlets on the first floor that were easily accessible from the basement. All of the ceiling fixtures and wall switches on the first floor still need to be done. Our potential kitchen renovation is off the table for now and we’re thinking that we shouldn’t even worry about rewiring it yet because there’s going to be a lot of damage (in a room with wallpaper, beadboard, and a tin ceiling) and it’s going to be expensive. It may be best to finish everything else and apply the money we would spend in the kitchen on a full gut reno, opening up the walls to reconfigure the layout and addressing the wiring then.

We are pausing the electrical work a second time because our finances need time to rebound a bit while we fix the walls and ceilings upstairs. A new ceiling along the entire second floor hallway won’t be cheap, but it will be a lot easier to knock out than the rewiring has been. It all needs to be done sooner rather than later, but the old wiring has been in place for decades and it can sit tight for just a little longer. Up next for us is the One Room Challenge, which I am ridiculously excited about because I need something back in order. I need a break to just concentrate on making something pretty! The closet/dressing room was a nice project — one that I thought was done. And then it turns out that there was an old line feeding the light fixture. Four new holes were made.

Oh, and this person-sized hole on the third floor to access the closet’s ceiling fixture from above. Fun times.

Two floors down. Sort of. One to go.

April 4, 2016
Finding the Balance Between Sponsored and Not

I had something else planned to share today, but in light of recent comments (which were polite and respectful, thank you), I want to let you in on my thought process with a big upcoming project. And I would love your feedback.

Our home had more pressing issues to tend to before we got to the kitchen. We addressed the heating system, remodeled the second floor and turned a superfluous kitchen into a bedroom (Calvin’s nursery), consolidated the multiple gas lines and accounts into one and did the same with our electrical service (in addition to rewiring everything).

There is a room off the back of the kitchen, a former sleeping porch, that would be wonderful to open up and incorporate. Direct access to the yard! Breakfast for the kids in an eat-in kitchen! The ability to not have our stove right next to the fridge! It requires opening a load-bearing wall though, and new flooring, new cabinetry, the works. It’s a maybe someday type of project, and it’s not something that we’re looking to do right now. The kitchen works well for us overall as it is — we have plenty of storage, the cabinets have some quirks but they’re fine, and we do at least have the modern convenience of a dishwasher.

That antique gas/wood-burning stove, though! I’ve been hesitant to get rid of the it because I have a love/hate thing going on, but it’s time. We’re a family of five now, we cook dinner every night, and the stove makes it harder than it needs to be. We’ll be selling it eventually and I’m sure it will have many more useful years ahead of it, but we’re ready for something else.

We’ve also had some electrical problems that are driving a redo. There is a sconce, a ceiling fan, and three pendant lights in the kitchen. The light above the stove sparked and burned a light bulb in Brandon’s hand as he was changing it out one day, which was more than a little scary. In an unrelated event (I think), we mysteriously lost power to a portion of the second floor. While our electricians were fixing that problem, they found active knob and tube that was missed during our initial house inspection, and thus began the rewiring of the entire place. The bulk of the job is done now, but it was suggested that we wait to finish the rest when we didn’t have a newborn. We agreed and then we were waiting until after we hosted my sister’s bridal shower in the house (which I will share next week), and now we’ll be able to get back to it as soon as we can get back on the electricians’ schedule. A ceiling is coming down, walls are being opened, and the house is going to be in a state of chaos for a while, but I’m looking forward to getting this work done because it has been holding other projects back.

In the meantime, we had the faulty kitchen pendant rewired and thought all was well, but then I was changing a bulb recently in the pendant above the sink and the same thing happened. The sparks were pretty spectacular! So now we aren’t sure if the problem lies in the house’s wiring (the kitchen has not been done yet), the vintage lighting fixtures, or both. The problem will be investigated, and I’m hoping it can be fixed without destroying the tin ceiling.

So. New stove. Rewiring or replacing the lights. While we’re at it, I would also like to put in new counters, swap out the sink and faucet, remove the wallpaper, paint or put up new paper, and add ventilation with a range hood. Maybe paint the cabinets, bring in some tile, and revamp or replace the kitchen island too. I’m in the early stages of planning everything right now, but the crazy thing is that (to be perfectly honest) the blog puts me in a position to do much of the room for free.

The business of blogging is always changing and those of us that have been doing this for a long time are always adapting, and I’ve addressed the topic of sponsorship before. I teach, I write elsewhere, and I cobble together a living from other opportunities, but the primary source of my income is sponsor-driven and has been for many years. I’m not sure what our budget for the kitchen will be yet, but let’s say I can set aside $10,000. We will likely hire someone to put in the ventilation and there will be some repairs needed after the electricians do their thing (the extent of which will determine whether we DIY or hire out), so those costs are somewhat fixed. With the rest of our budget, I could buy a mid-priced range, save money by painting instead of adding tile or wallpaper, rewire and keep our existing lighting (assuming it can be deemed safe), reuse the sink and faucet that we took out from the kitchen on the second floor, and watch our pennies with all the rest.

Bloggers hold influence, and therefore companies are often eager to get product into our hands in exchange for coverage. Any goods that I accept, either those that have been proactively offered or that I seek out with proposals, would effectively increase our overall budget and allow us to allocate our cash differently. It could mean the difference in my design between a standard 30″ stove and a higher-end 36″ range (the added six inches comes with a huge price jump), or it could mean more beautiful lighting and a new sink. I wouldn’t accept something just because the (free) price is right, but if it was something I would have purchased anyway, I simply look at it as another form of income — one that allows us to accomplish more than we would have been able to do otherwise.

There are a couple of remodels going on in the blog world right now that will be incorporating gifted items, some of which have been more clearly disclosed than others. The ongoing One Room Challenge series, is fun to follow, provides a ton of inspiration, and it is made possible in large part by sponsorships. Knowing this doesn’t diminish my interest as a reader, but perhaps my perception is different because I am on both sides of the issue.

Accepting sponsorships or free goods allows me to create a more beautiful finished product (I’m happy), offers coverage for the brands I partner with (they’re happy), and produces more original content for the blog (I want you to be happy, too). I get that it’s not easy to relate to a kitchen done entirely with free goods, but I think there is a balance to be struck and I can’t make the call in a vacuum or an echo-chamber. I can discuss these things with friends, family, and fellow bloggers, but then sometimes I’ll make a decision and it prompts a completely unexpected reaction. So let’s talk. Would you prefer to see a modest kitchen redone without the help of free goods? Or a more involved design with higher-end finishes and details that were made possible (either in part or entirely) by seeking out partnerships? Do you draw a distinction between accepting individual components (appliances, tile, etc.) or an overall sponsorship (brought to you by _____)?

I’ve always aimed to be transparent in these matters, so you tell me. What would you (ideally) like to see? I’m listening.

July 30, 2015
The Nursery, as a Clean Slate

I had been considering a few colors, but I decided to go with white walls for Calvin’s nursery. It just felt right.

It’s creamier than the stark white that’s so prevalent today, but it works nicely with all of the wood. (The color is Crisp Linen White, by Glidden.) Without white trim to contribute to a light airy feeling, white paint that was too bright would have fought with the woodwork and made the room feel cold.

Before and after time!

This is the best angle to look at the room from, to understand the changes to the hallway and relocation of the doorway. The sink is gone, and you no longer have to walk through this portion of the house to get from the front to the back.

Our Victorian was originally a single-family home, but it had been converted to apartments long ago (sometime around the Great Depression, I believe. We have some old paperwork and census information that I ought to write about!). Getting rid of this kitchen and turning it back into a bedroom is in line with how the house was originally designed.

The radiator was not moved, but we did get rid of each of those three doorways you see here. We relocated one of them to a new wall that was built and reused the door and trim.

I’m not in love with the cabinetry, but it is staying and will function as a closet, dresser, and additional storage space.

Now that the new room has been painted, I can finally get started on the fun stuff!

January 26, 2015