Movin' and Groovin'

Wow! What a week it has been at Wallpaper Acres!

John and I took full advantage of being off work the back half of Wednesday and Friday to knock out some projects!

Let us first take a trip down memory lane to see what the half bath looked like prior to renovation and post-toilet leak. Bright red floral wallpaper layered over red-colored wood wallpaper coupled with black linoleum layered on top of dated linoleum, needless to say, not our style!

On Wednesday afternoon, we got to the house and started by removing all the self-leveling spacers and clips. All you had to do was give them a good kick so that was a lot of fun! Next, we mixed the grout and used tile floats to apply. We went with Mapei unmixed grout as it was $40 cheaper than the pre-mixed stuff and we already had the right tools to mix it. Mixing the grout was 10x easier than mixing the mortar/thin set. This process went fairly quick and was very easy. I would say it was easier than doing the grout on the backsplash in my last house. While John finished up the grout, I started wiping down the tiles so that there was not any residue left over, this makes for an easier clean up when the grout is completely dry. When cleanup time arrived, it cleaned up beautifully and the tile in downstairs laundry room/half bath turned out amazing!

Takeaways from Tiling:

• Dry fitting, it is worth the extra day of work! Adam, thanks for your patience!

• Mix half a bag of mortar at a time, it is hard to mix the bottom of the bucket when it is filled to the brim.

• Let the mortar under the Schluter-DITRA (our waterproofing membrane) set and dry prior to walking on it...it does not say that this step is needed but we found that the product settled in certain areas we were standing which called for more leveling later on.

• Use a tile-leveling system! We used one purchased from Home Depot and it did it's job. However, it was very flimsy and when using the crimper-thing to level, it would snap the spacers/levelers off prematurely. We are invested with this system for our next project and it did work, just proved to be frustrating at times.

• Don't forget that there will be baseboards so there is some wiggle room for cuts next to the wall. We measured so the tile would go under the drywall but in some spaces that proved tricky as there was no room for thin set below AND the tile so we had to cut back the drywall in some spaces.

The other half of the afternoon was spent finishing up the installation of the accent trim in the formal dining room. John made the cuts and I followed behind with the caulk and the wood filler to fill in the nail holes. At this point Willow was exhausted and we called it a day!

When we returned on Friday, John turned his focus to installing the beadboard and I focused on paint in the formal dining room. We were also getting internet installed in the AM. John purchased a Makita track saw for the beadboard and really loves this new tool! It made the process so much quicker and exact. We probably could have had all the beadboard installed by lunch but the internet guy and John became quick friends and John became his assistant...LOL! Fun fact, Don (the internet guy) lived one street over from my Murfreesboro house and also worked for my previous employer a handful of years back, small world!

Meanwhile while John was learning about and installing fiberoptic cables with Don, I was painting away. We had already painted the wall prior to installing the trim and we bought pre-primed trim. The process went fairly smoothly but just took some time. When the tape was peeled back I was very pleased with myself! I used a 2-inch brush for the tops and sides of the trim and a weenie roller for the faces of the trim boards. It took two coats and it was done! I also filled up a cup and applied touchup to the Fresh Eucalyptus (top wall color) and touched up around the crown molding as the lines were not the best where the wall and crown molding met. I have to brag on myself a little bit...my "cut in" skills have only improved and I am very happy with the job that I did! Take a look below to see the finished product (pardon the mess, we have things stored everywhere!). All that we need to do in here is to re-install the light fixture in the center of the room.

Once John got the beadboard installed, we headed off to Home Depot to buy baseboards and trim. I saw a trick online where you buy a 2-inch tall piece of trim and install it upside down to cap off your beadboard...and man, did that work out in our favor! The top of the trim is approximately 1/8-inch and so is the beadboard so it provides a smooth finish and appearance and then the thicker base is now on top. That really finished off the look!

We wrapped up our Friday night (11-hours at the house but very productive day) with another exhausted Willow with Saturday's goals being to install the baseboards in the bathroom, paint the beadboard feature wall, and a Vols victory against Vandy.

On Saturday, we were movin' and groovin'! We hit the ground running and John started installing the baseboards while I ran to Home Depot and bought shoe molding and other miscellaneous items that were needed for the house. When I returned, John had all the baseboards cut and was ready to move onto the shoe molding. Once he got it installed, the room looked amazing! We started to tape off the wall and floor for paint. We painted the beadboard, trim, and door frames. Now all that is needed is to re-install the fixtures (new toilet, pedestal sink, washer, dryer, and light fixture) and the room will be finished! This room has so far exceeded my expectations and I am excited to see it completely put together. Oh and the Vols got their victory!!

(We covered the wall outside corners with a decorative piece of corner trim to provide a finished look without there being an exposed side of the MDF beadboard. This product was also cheaper than the products priced per foot and I personally like the detail that it has rather than it being plain.)

(Just look at that finished product! The tiled floors are level, the beadboard calms down the yellow walls, and the baseboards complete the look and finish the space!)