Floor Tile

Last weekend we spent all day Saturday (12 hours!) installing the floor tile in the master bathroom.  We have 12x12" tile and used a brick pattern on a diagonal.  We knew that this pattern would make more cuts and take longer to install, but we heard from several people that straight lines in a long, narrow space, can really highlight imperfections.  Originally I wanted the diagonals to run the other direction (If you're a Manning or related to one, you can appreciate that tile, like fish in a wall sculpture, can go the "right way" or the "wrong way")  Basically, our tiles are "swimming" the wrong direction, but there was absolutely no way to install them in that direction without tiling yourself into a corner.  Andy would have had to live in the bathroom (minus the toilet) for 24 hours until the thinset dried!

We dry laid the first few rows to practice some of the cuts and work in the closet before we mixed the thinset and had to start laying the tile.

Andy borrowed a tile saw from a co-worker (thanks to JM!) and we set it up over the bathtub so that we didn't have to truck up and down the steps and out to the garage to make all of the cuts.

The "affectionately" named dinosaur tile!

It took us a few tries to get a system down, but by this point we had it down to a science.  We would measure and make all of the necessary cuts, Andy applied the thinset, and then I laid the tiles.

It actually took two days to do all of the tile 1)because we were too tired to finish it Saturday night, and 2) it was easier to work in the small space since we could walk on the tile we installed on Saturday.

All done and ready for grout!