Tornado Recovery

Ooh, that looks good! I like the new tiles much better than the old ones. I also really like the color of the Hydro Seal.
I'm looking forward to seeing more progress once you have the time. I would also love to see pictures of the signs you are working on (if you get the time to take pictures).

Thanks Zannej. Sloooow progress, but the regular work needs to be kept up.
I'll see if I can scare up some sign shots when I get some time.

At least you're making progress. It looks great so far.

Are you using thinset on the walls for these large tiles? Any particular brand? Or tricks that you have learned from the experience?

Thanks Zannej.

slownsteady, Yes, this is the stuff I'm using.


The main trick I've learned so far is to take my time. Especially with the prep work. Getting the walls/floor straight plumb and flat is a must. If they aren't right, the large tile won't match up so good. The larger the tile, the larger the problem becomes. I got everything pretty flat, but for a couple places. I used thinset to flatten out those low spots, before I started laying tile. The pros can lay tile and make those corrections on the fly, but I'm not a pro, so I do it the time consuming but safe way.
I usually don't get more than 6 or 10 tiles set at any one time. Then it's usually time to get back to the day job. I got a call today to letter an excavator that had to go out A.S.A. P. I had just mixed a batch of thinset. I got the tiles installed, so I didn't loose the batch, got the lettering job done, but that's how it goes juggling time. It's looking like I may have all day Saturday free, so I hope to make some good progress then. I've never worked with rectified tile before. In the past I used low to mid priced ceramic tile, that weren't always the same size. These tile are very flat and all the exact same size. Makes installing so much easier.

It's better that you're taking more time to get it done right than rushing & not being happy with the results. The tiles look great. Although, I'm sure you'll be happy when the project is done & you can enjoy the space.

Yes, I'm looking forward to the day that it's done & I can move on to something else. Got a little further. The south wall is done (less the bottom row). Got the bottom of the shelf tiled last night and the top this afternoon. Ready for the mosaic face.

Looks good! Is something going to be mounted on the left wall where those round plastic things are?

Thanks zannej. Those are leveling clips to align the tiles. There will be soap dispensers on the wall, but they just get glued on later.

The white circular things are the tile spacers. The larger red clips are to keep the tiles level to one another.

Working on a water damage repair job in Milwaukee. The basement flooded late last fall and we are doing the build back for another company that left it like this.

Got a little further today. Hopefully I can get a couple hours in tonight also.

Gary said:

Got a little further today. Hopefully I can get a couple hours in tonight also.View attachment 21711

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Get off the internet and get to work...just say in...

I'm getting too old for continuous use. I have to take a break from time to time.

Gary said:

I'm getting too old for continuous use. I have to take a break from time to time.

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Preaching to the choir.

Thanks for the explanations about the spacers & alignment aids!

Wow! It looks beautiful! I really like how you did the border at the edge of the wall with half-height tiles.

I am curious about the ceiling fan, how high above the tub is it? It meets the electrical codes for placement height, right? It's not within reach while standing inside the tub? I suck at determining distances & I vaguely recall something in some sort or building code about not having light fixtures dangling above tubs unless they were of a certain height above or designed specifically for placement over water.

We have a fan similar to that in the kitchen (with the 4 little lampshades & bulbs) but it has a wood grain for the blades.

Anyway, I'll be interested to see what the window trim will look like.

The fan is about 9' or so & to the ceiling peak is about 15' or a little over. The paddles on this one are woodgrain too, I just put the woodgrain side up. To be honest, the hot tub was one of those "gotta have one" deals when we built the addition about 20 years ago now. It's been used maybe 10 times in that time period. If I was building from scratch I would just build a bigger shower today. I put the Jacuzzi in through the wall under the window during construction, so the only way it's coming out now is in pieces. As much as we "don't" use it, I still can't bring myself to cut up a nearly new tub. (new by usage anyway) This is the window trim. I have a few leftover pieces of HDU (High Density Urethane) that I've used in the sign business. It will probably sit on the shelf for years before I find a place for it, so I decided to design the window trim on the CNC and use it for the bathroom window. It will be similar in design to the window treatment in the foyer, with faux paint to somewhat match the chair rail tile around the hot tub access panel . When I work on that I'll know I'm almost done because it's the last item on the remodeling list.

I've never heard of HDU before.
What was the blue stuff you used for the hydro seal btw? I thought it said somewhere in the thread but I couldn't seem to find it.

I use the HDU for signs. Easy to work with, doesn't rot and bugs don't like it. It can be damaged by hail though, so there are trade offs. I've had HDU signs out in the weather for 20+ years, still going strong.
They look like the attachment when they come off the CNC and then I just paint them like I would paint a wooden sign.

Hydro Barrier®.
I may have referred to it as Hydro Ban at some point, but that's a different product by the same company. They both basically do the same thing. They say you don't need joint tape with Hydro Ban, but I used an anti fracture cloth on the joints & floor, so I went with Hydro Barrier. It's about the consistency of chocolate pudding and can be applied with a brush, roller or flat knife. I did the flat knife first to push the product into the pores of the durock, then brush & roller for the other coats.