Guest room floor....

I'm ready to grout!! But sooo not looking forward to it. I have decided to mix the grout a little wetter this time to see if that helps.
Same 2 angles for the pictures. DSCN2343.jpgDSCN2344.jpg

I finished the last tiles yesterday morning. Late in the afternoon, I started cleaning off the stray thinset from the tiles I laid last weekend, making sure I didn't touch the tiles from the morning session. I went back and did those this morning.
If you don't have a good way of doing this, I have a routine that works pretty good. I used to keep a wet sponge and wipe tiles as I set them. But that takes time, moves the tiles around, and the thinset goes bad in the bucket before it's all used. I found these sponges at Wally World last fall and they work great! DSCN2347.jpg Funny how the sponge can be so out of focus, but it's a great shot of the tile! Shows what the tile really looks like, instead of the solid charcoal the other shots make it look like. Anyway, this is the mild abrasive scotch pad on a sponge. I'm sure straight scotch-brites would work fine also. "Sands" the dried thinset off, but doesn't harm the tile. Gets down in the tile's texture to get it off good, as well as the edges of the tile. Came off after sitting for a week as easily as it did the stuff that was just on a day.
After cleaning the thinset off the tiles and vacuuming, I came back this afternoon and used a damp microfiber towel to wipe down the tiles. I'll vacuum and wipe again just before starting to grout next Sat. I used the microfiber towels last fall instead of sponges to clean the grout lines and grout off the tiles as I went. Works much easier than sponges. Not near as many water washings to make sure to keep the haze down to a minimum.
This was a much easier weekend than last week. Not near as much time on my knees!! Next week will be a bear though. Have a good week everyone! Jim.
 
OK, the floor is done!! Glenna is in painting the closet now. I made a trip to HD for some carpet tack-strips to put the carpet back down at the door...Wouldn't you know there was a seam in the carpet about 1/4" short of where I needed it cut so it would tuck in against the tile! Couldn't get a good cut that close at the seam tape, so it's a little short. I stretched the carpet as much as I could without a knee kicker. The seam going into the master bedroom has been destroyed by the blind rescue pup, so it's all a mess anyway. If I had been smart, I'd cut the old carped out of this room in a way that I could have gotten someone to come in and redo the hallway with it to at least get by for a while. May be the push we need to decide which room gets done next anyway. Might just have to do the master suite first instead of the family room/kitchen. I don't look forward to tiling either one. Bedroom is 16 X 22, and the MB is about 15 X 8 (floor space) plus 2 8 X 8 walk in closets. FR/kitchen is 16 X 40. Will probably need to buy all the tile for both of these at the same time so it doesn't get discontinued like the tile on this room has been. Had originally thought we would use this same tile in all the rooms. Maybe the larger version of it in the FR/kitchen, and laid at a 45 angle. But guess that's out now.
Only one picture, the other one didn't come out.dscn2355.jpg But you've seen one grout line, you've seen...oh never mind.:rolleyes:
Hope you are all having a great weekend! Jim.
 
Well, it has dawned on me that I never showed a final picture of the room. It is finished. Guest has come and gone (left a week ago Thursday). I've taken several pictures. Most turn out very orange. I got one a few minutes ago that is a little dark, but should work. dscn2372.jpg
LOML if happy with the outcome. Guest was comfortable with the new bed. That all makes me happy. :thumb:
Now to save money and decide what the next project to tackle will be. Cheapest will be to scrape the popcorn treatment off the ceilings in the kitchen/family room, utility room, and also in the Master bedroom and bath. There will be a couple places where the sheetrock in the ceiling will have to be repaired/small sections replaced. But that is still pretty cheap. Then we need to tackle the fire place and the take down the paneling in the family room and texture walls. While it will a pain in the tookus to do, still not too expensive. Then comes the expensive part...tiling the those areas. I figure 4000.00 just for the tile, thinset and grout. And cheap tile at that (2.00 sq foot ). Then I'll get to start on the kitchen cabinets. :wave:
Hope you all had a great weekend! It was beautiful here. Jim.
 
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Yeah, but it has to be sitting on something!!:thumb:
Wish I could get a better picture from the other side. Tried natural light this afternoon, ceiling fan light with and with out flash. No good. That one picture was with only 2 of the bulbs in the ceiling fan working, and the flash. DSCN2370.jpg See what I mean? Better angle and composition, but horrible on the lighting and color. Jim.
 
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