Day Eight: The Massive Bathroom Project

Well, the big bathroom project was almost done!!!  But I wasn't out of the woods yet.

My tub contractor had given me the idea of a new product that he loved to use.  It's called TrafficMaster.  I had never heard of it before, but it's basically ceramic tile without the ceramic!  ha!  I checked it out at Home Depot, and the floor display had me sold.  You could do it with or without grout, but far and away, the grout was the way to go.

I bought myself several boxes, some snips, and headed for home.  But I have a confession first...this wasn't my original intention.  This was only after a previous project went south in a hurry!!!

You see, I had learned that you could paint tiles yourself, and after seeing the job done by a professional, I wanted to try my hand at it.  haha...I was worthless.  I have the confidence to try anything, and that can get the best of me.  This was one of those times.  I had placed a primer seal over the floor, and well, it looked terrible.  At least the floor was now primed, right?!

My "new" floor.  A failed project.  I simply primed the floor tiles, hoping they would look new.  Not so much.

The ugly old color was gone.  But up close, this wasn't that much better!  A failed project!

But I was smart (wise?) enough to see that the results weren't as expected, hence me going after the tiles.  The tile project itself was pretty fun.  Because these aren't ceramic, you don't need any special tools outside of tin snips.  And when it comes down to hard corners...well, there is no such thing!!!  I would simply make a mark on the tile with marker, then cut it with the snips!

Don't get me wrong, the project was a bit tedious.  The tiles aren't perfectly square (don't believe the box!), and making same-width tile spaces was a bit of an art, but the difficulty level is pretty low.  It just takes time and patience.  And a few tough fingers for cutting!  These tiles are tough!!!

Laying down the tile.  All you need are some snips and some patience!

The best part is that you can follow the shape of anything!  Check out my wood trim piece!  I was proud of that one!

No dust, no saw, no concern about circles!  Just cut and place!

One by one, though, the tiles came together, and after each square-foot went together, my excitement grew more and more.  This bathroom was starting to look sharp!  It looks NOTHING like the previous one!  And that has me very, very excited.

I was able to follow the contours of the wood trim, the newly-exposed bathtub, and the toilet flange.  Seriously, this stuff is incredible.  It sure took the work out of tile cutting!!!  And perfect cuts were possible!

The floor is ready for grout!

I LOVE my new floor!!!  Agh, this is so rewarding!!!

I'm completely sold on the new tiles.  Now all I have to do is grout.