Breaking the Bathroom - Part 4

I decided on a sink!!

So the saga continues. If you missed the progress so far, check out part 3 here.

I found a beautiful sink online. It was the perfect height and proportion for my existing vanity. But I didn't like the sticker price. I ended up finding the same Kohler sink for a little less money at Wayfair.

I ordered it on a Tuesday and had it by Friday. Not bad at all.

The main problem is they didn't include the template, which apparently is a common review for this.

Luckily, I like math, did a few quick measurements and figured out the cutout size.

I used a jigsaw on the small cutouts and thanks to the tape, ended up with a nice clean cut.

Under the watchful eye of my favourite supervisor, we plopped the sink in and began to caulk the sink and the spaces where the tile meets the counter.

Maybe tomorrow I will share the full reveal?

Maybe. Maybe not...

Breaking the Bathroom - Part 3

Welcome to part 3 of Breaking the Bathroom. If you missed part 2, you can find it here.

After falling in love with, then waiting for my new tile to arrive for 2 months, the day finally came!

In order to put the new tile on, I first needed to remove the faucet and old sink. 

 

One last look at this old beauty.

Using a couple of putty knives and set to slowly scraping the old sealant off.

This takes a bit more time than you'd think... you need to very gently pry the sides up. Not shown is when I used a small piece of wood trim to hold up the front edge while I worked around the sides and back.

I cleaned off all the old caulk/sealant, and pulled out my mosaic tile. Thanks Ames tile for being amazing!!

Working in roughly 18" sections, I put on the thin-set, then used the notched trowel to take off the extra.

I started with one sheet high, knowing that I would want to fit the mirror frame first to ensure that the tile fit properly. 

I installed the mirror frame, which was super snug and perfect. I put down some painter's tape to protect the new frame, then was able to fit exactly one row of mosaics into the top space. 

Another 30 hours or so, and I started in on the grout. I chose a white on white look for subtlety. 

Then, I needed to look for a new sink. I agonized over this decision, because the lazy (and partly purist) part of me wanted to head to restore, find one that was the exact same size and plop it down. 

Check back tomorrow to see what I decided to do! 

Sorry, I know I suck with these "to be continued" endings.

Breaking the Bathroom

I kept looking at this 55 year old backsplash tile, thinking, "Surely the mortar behind the tile would be old and crumbly by now... right?" I kept looking at it. Then one night 3 weeks later, I tapped it with a hammer. I tapped it, and the corner just popped right off.

I had a box of beautiful 2x8 white Bellavita tile that I purchased over a year earlier, and I just hadn't had the time to get on with it.

So after I put my kid to bed, I started tapping away. Carefully pulling the tile away from the wall. That first tile was so easy. 

In fact, that whole first row was great to take off!

The problem is, by the time I got to the corner, the tiles were no longer easy to remove. How are they this stuck on after 55 years?

It became very slow going after this. 

It got to the point where I had to hype myself up and say, "only 20 more tiles left, only 19 more tiles left...". Why? Why did I do this to myself?

I finally got it all off, and set to repairing the wall with a skim coat.

After it dried, I sanded it smooth, and opened up my box of tile ready to get going on the tiling.

Public Service Announcement: Always open your tile when you pick it up to ensure that all of the boxes are indeed the same colour. Hello full box of charcoal. How did you get in there with my order of white tiles?

So after contacting the distributor, I discovered that this tile is discontinued. 

All I could do at that point was figure out what to use instead, and cover the whole thing with plastic until I did.

How's that for a cliff-hanger? Stay tuned for the next installment of Breaking the Bathroom, tomorrow.