Hey Sunny! Help!

[Gryphon]

well...I didnt take a good "before" but heres a picture that sort of shows what it looked like...granted, it wont look much different "after"

[Gryphon]

The tile arrived and tonight is the night to get started. Do I REALLY have to start in the center of the room in such a small space? And how do I handle the transition at the door? (All the threshholds the local places have are white marble, which wont match at all)

[Sunny]

Ooc, what is the flooring like just outside of the bathroom?

As for the other question, my inexperienced thought is....even if the bathroom is small, if you don't start in the middle & the dimensions are an odd number, you may end up with an odd size on one side.

*shrug*

[Gryphon]

theres carpet in the hall just outside of the bathroom...but phase two is to replace that with hardwood...but I dont know how long away that is.

if I start in the middle...at the narrow portion of the room I end up with three full tiles and then two less-than half tiles on each side. (or three full tiles and one almost-full tile sort of under the toe kick of the vanity)

[followsthewolf]

Most tilers start in the middle, but there is not hard and fast rule. IMO, I would visualize (dry run, if necessary) each way. Whichever is most pleasing visually, I would do.

The reason that tilers do the middle thing is so that the room looks "balanced." But, in a very small space, the "visualization" is the dictator.

As far as the threshold is concerned --

    if you can't find a match in travertine (try the specialty flooring stores, too), usually you can find a generic threshold that will do for the time being, since you're going to do the floors anyway (you'll just have to tear it out to do that).

That's the best I've got to offer for now.

BTW -- If you have access to a good piece of hardwood and some power tools (table saw, router, sander, etc) you can make a fairly good threshold, or modify a generic one. I've done that before, and it has worked out very well.

Don't know if any of this helps, but I do admire your willingness to give it a try.

The key to a do-it-yourself project is:

When you are done and are showing it off to guests, do NOT point out any mistakes you might have made. Odds are that, even if it it a GLARING error to you, they won't have the foggiest idea that you fudged over an oops. 

[Gryphon]

Thanks!

As for your last bit of advice...well taken! I was at a superbowl party where  afriend showed off the "terrible" paint job theyd just given their guest bath. Even when he pointed out what made it terrible, it wasnt bad...and I wouldnt have noticed any of it had he said nothing.

[followsthewolf]

When we built the house for the Dr. and his wife last winter, we were under a terrible deadline. Utility trenches filled w/water overnight and had to be pumped, mud everywhere, and on and on.

We had to rush a lot of things, which ground very deeply against my perfectionist grain. But, since the deadline was the bottom line, we pushed on, and finished with two days to redo some lumps.

When they arrived to inhabit the house, they could do nothing but coo over how nice everything looked. We had been prepared for the worst, as this couple was FAMOUS for noticing minor detail. We were shocked. They never noticed the errors.

Naturally, we just scuffed our boots in the dirt, stuck our hands in our pockets, and gave our best "Aw, shucks, ma'am" looks.

Worked like a charm.



Never, ever, point out your mistakes unless you are paid to point them out!!!!!

[Gryphon]

you built a whole house?
you should share pictures!

[followsthewolf]

My ex boss has the pictures.

Maybe I could get some from him. I'll see.

I know a few are not flattering in the least. 

(The mud in the utilities trenches was really deep. I was newbie = sucker in bottom of trench. Mud sucked my boots off my feet. Fall down, go boom. Very cold.)

[Sunny]

The tile arrived and tonight is the night to get started. Do I REALLY have to start in the center of the room in such a small space? And how do I handle the transition at the door? (All the threshholds the local places have are white marble, which wont match at all)

Did you have a chance to start yet? If so, how's it going?

[Gryphon]

The tile came in last week, and Ive done a rough layout. The backer is down, and hopefully this weekend will give me enough time to start laying the actual tile.

[Sunny]

Cool! Keep us posted.

[Gryphon]

Its all done! Except for putting the quarter rounds down. It was surprisingly easy, and looks great. (Except the grout seems to be effervescing?)

[Gryphon]

ONe tip Id give everyone....if youre adding depth to your existing floor...in my case, a half inch--1/4" for the tile and 1/4" for the backer..youd do well to replace the entire baseboard unless you start with nice tall ones. My already skimpy baseboards are skimpier by a half inch now.