Did you catch Part I of this shower remodel? I finally learned how to tile a shower, and it turned out to be way less intimidating than I had first thought. Here’s where we left off.
Because I was using these gorgeous Deco tiles from Tile For Less in Utah, I wanted to determine their exact placement before I started tiling. So I measured and mapped out my shower with painters tape on the carpet in a nearby room and carefully placed my tiles.
Where to Begin
When tiling a shower you always want to start on the outside edge first and work your way in. Otherwise you may end up with a not-straight line on the outer edge. In this case I used some thin set to cement in a metal border first, and then butted in my tiles up to that.
Also, the likelihood that your tub is perfectly level and straight is not high. To accommodate for this I used a laser level and a couple of finish nails to nail some scrap wood (called a ledger board) and create a level surface to start my tiles on, and then went back and finished the bottom row at the very end which required some special cuts to get it just right. Had I started on the bottom row and based my rows off of the tub, I would have been extremely frustrated when I get halfway up and realize the whole thing is wonky. When you take out the scrap wood, make sure you use some more waterproofing paint to patch up those tiny nail holes!
See those nice straight lines? eh? eh?? And now my back wall matches up seamlessly with both of my side walls.
When it got time to tile my niche, I used some scrap pieces of wood to prop up the tile on the niche ceiling while the thin set dried.
To apply the tile I back buttered each tile and used a square notched trowel to make grooves in the mortar. This allows air behind the tiles to escape properly and will ensure proper tile adhesion to the wall. We don’t want any of those beautiful tiles popping off!
How To Grout
After giving the mortar a day or so to dry, it’s finally time to grout! I used this fancy pre-mixed grout in white and a grout float to squish grout into each of the crevices between the tiles. As you go, scrape as much as you can off the tiles before it dries, or you’ll have to learn the hard way (like I did) that it doesn’t come off very easily after the fact. It’s best to use a damp sponge and wipe down your tiles very well and get the grout like you want it as you go. This is much easier than trying to fix it after it dries.
With the grout I used, it does not require sealing! After I spent a couple of hours re-wetting and scraping the excess dried grout off, my shower was finally complete and I was so happy! I installed this beautiful (sponsored) Karci Pfister Shower Faucet and let me tell you, these things are high quality. You can tell when you pick them up because they are heavy!
Not to mention I am IN LOVE with the matte black finish. It was the perfect touch to my shower!
I ended up going with the entire Karci collection for my bathroom remodel, including the towel hanger, toilet paper hanger, and sink faucet. I love how the black adds that contrast to go with my freshly painted vanity!
Remember where we started with this bathroom? It has come a long way! Don’t worry, all the details are to come!
I’ll do a detailed blog post about how I painted the floor, built new drawers for the vanity, covered the existing closet shelves, and installed the board and batten.
Thanks following along!
XOXO,
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