Tile Size Question -- Or Why Nothing Gets Done

9 years ago

I hate decorating decisions -- especially expensive ones! This is $5K labor only. (Mainland costs do not apply in Hawaii.)

We need to re-tile floors in two small bathrooms at our condo. The areas to be tiled are each roughly 3 X 6.

The rest of the condo has 13" tile, laid on the diagonal. I'm thinking bigger tiles in the bathrooms -- fewer grout lines being less 'busy'. What do you think?

We also need to re-tile a tiny (not even 34 X 34) shower in one of the baths. Same dimension tile as the floor tile?

I think diagonals on the floors. Not sure about the shower. You?

Also, the main floor tile is a motled 'Maui Dirt Red'. I'm looking at a less deep red mottled tile for the bathroom floors -- not to make a shocking change to something light colored. Does that make sense? I can't match what we have -- no longer available. But...can I then go lighter for the shower walls? (Don't want to shower in a 'dark cave'.)

Toilets, sinks and tub are beige porcelain.

The tile I like is American Olean Costa Rei. Floor tile comes 12 X 12 and 18 X 18. Shower wall tile comes 3 X 6, 6 X 6, 10 X 14.

I'm looking at Oro Meiele for floors and Peitre Bianca for shower walls.

(I'll also post on the Decorating Forum.)

Comments (10)

morz8 - Washington Coast
9 years ago
I don't visualize well, would need to see a picture of the bath before I could place a vote...

But when you said same size tile for the shower floor my 'slippery alarm' bells started sounding.

This house has three 1955 tiled baths. Something has to be said about the workmanship and quality of the components - They are spotlessly clean, fully functional, and dated. I'm ignoring them and will make a decision on them at a later date when a remodeling mess sounds more acceptable to me ;)

My shower floor tiles are slightly under 1 1/2". There are lots of grout lines to keep anyone from ending up in a wet heap on the floor.
chisue
Original Author
9 years ago
My post was misleading. Sorry. *Shower floors* are usually laid with a 'mat' with small tiles. I'm questioning if I need to use the same color tiles on the bathroom floor and the shower *walls*. I sort of think I do, just to avoid yet another 'clash' in a small room.

If I need to continue with 'dark tiles' into the bathroom flooring, I'm concerned that using the same color on the shower walls will be too dark.

If I can use a lighter tile -- no problem using the same thing on floors and shower walls. Is this a no-no because the hall floors are dark?

None of the tiles under consideration are heavily glazed, shiny/slick.

The current tiles in the bathrooms are individually laid, glazed, 2" tiles -- what a labor!
Related Discussions
Heat & Fire & Why Nothing Is Getting Done Here
Q
Comments (12)
Dawn and GM, so sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations. As for me, I'm struggling trying to get my iris bed prepared and it is raining nearly every other day. The ground is saturated and smells spoiled. One of the pots containing my peppers and petunias got it's drainage hole plugged somehow and so I lost what was in that pot. Two of my Datura have died because of the water and DGS broke one. On the plus side, though, the remaining four are getting ready to bloom. They are not very tall and do not have many leaves so I hope the plants will be able to support these huge flowers. I have lost other plants as well, due to the standing water, among which were a couple of Cup and Saucer vines I had nursed along all spring and some english lavender I was really looking forward to. DGS is on summer vacation now and all he wants to do is watch TV and play video games and talk on the phone. He'll be a senior in HS next fall. He's kinda getting on my last nerve. I'm trying to help him get a summer job and it's not easy because he has poor math skills. Last summer he worked at Sonic and it was a struggle because he was car-hopping and he had so much trouble making change, got accused of stealing $80 and then they found they'd made a mistake in their calculations and they had to apologize to him but it left a sour taste in all of our mouths because they treated him so bad when they thought he was a thief. Yesterday we had to go buy stuff for Church camp, had to get groceries and went to several places picking up applications and I helped him apply on-line at Wal-Mart and K-Mart. You end up taking a test and everything. So that ate up most of my day because I had to field phone calls while he was working on his applications since he thinks you can't just let the phone ring, ever, and his friends call over and over and over. We just got a call from Wal-mart and he has an apppointment to talk to someone at 9pm tomorrow so they're probably considering him for night stocking. I sure hope he gets hired. On top of that, my computer is acting worse and worse all the time. It was fine till I had to install all that software when I got at&t high-speed internet. It has slowed my computer down big-time and sometimes I just have to reboot because it locks up so often. Last night I did a Norton scan, which didn't find anything, then I did an AVG scan which found 122 things to fix. Unfortunately, my computer is not working much better after all that, so I will probably do a defrag today and see what else I can do. This morning I worked outside in the mud trying to get a little further in the iris bed and now it's hot. I'm used to working in an air-conditioned office so I come inside when it gets hot, too. I'm so sad to hear about the kitten. It sounds like its mother was probably dumped off sometime previously and has fended for herself after having learned not to trust people. She will teach that to her kits, if they survive in the wild. The kits can be tamed, but the mother is another story. And do watch that bite. I was bitten by a neighbor's Siamese. He liked to hang out on our front porch and I would always pet him. One day while I was petting him he just sunk one of his fangs into my hand, just below my middle and index fingers. Before I could get in to see the doctor, I had a lump on my hand the size of half a golf-ball and there was a red streak going up my arm. The neighbors denied he was their cat and later on said they "gave him to friends who lived in the country". You can bet your bottom dollar that's a nice way of saying they "carried him off". Jerks. GM, I have plans to clean things out this winter and have a big sale next spring. The sale we had this spring was extra plants and things from the attic. It's really nice to have the attic cleaned out, but the rest of the house needs it badly. Sometimes it's good to whine. Hugs to both of you.
...See More
Comfortor sizing, nothing fits
Q
Comments (14)
A new twin hospital bed in a care home is also a challange. I'm across the states so I can not measure in person, but hopefully the twin extra long fitted sheets will fit, but then what size top sheet and warmth will fit looking nice to cover the mechanical bed? Maybe we need new size discriptions for our bedding. How many want extra long flat sheet to fold back keeping the blanket clean and to pull over your head with out pulling out the foot. Why not Fitted top sheets that can't pull out? All the mattress sizes, at least the elastic all the way aroung help here. We have bedding because that's how it's always been done, how bout we think outside the box what really comfortably works?
...See More
Nothing is Working to Get Showings
Q
Comments (16)
If you've been on the market for two months with no showings whatsoever, then your house is clearly overpriced. Sorry to be blunt, but your location is not the issue; your price is. If you listed your house for $100,000, you would have buyers beating down your door to buy your house regardless of the "location." Obviously, you're not going to do that, but at $249k, or even $239k, "location" becomes a concern to the buyer. You have to find the right price between $100k and $239k where buyers like your house (and your price) enough to overcome whatever concerns they might have about the location. And btw, I speak from experience. I used to live on a major commuter road (it even had the name "highway" in its name) underneath a bridge, and adjacent to a trail that is slated to become a mass transit light rail line. I first put my house on the market 4 years ago at the height of the buying frenzy, but received no offers and very few showings. I, too, blamed it on the location. I didn't realize that I was overpriced even in a seller's market. Then last fall, with the guidance of a different real estate agent, I put my house on the market at a reasonable price on a Thursday afternoon, and had five offers by Monday - two with escalation clauses. It's never about the location, the size of the kitchen or bedrooms, or whether the house needs to be updated; it always comes down to price. At the right price, any house will sell.
...See More
Are these aphids? And if so why is nothing working to get rid of them?
Q
Comments (7)
The blossom drop started about 6-8 weeks ago, when the days were quite long. Prior to their arrival, I had very bountiful plants. Since their arrival: just about nothing. This includes both the plants I planted at the beginning of the season and plants that were planted about 2 months ago. Further damning evidence: I have a tomato plant in the front that barely has any of them on it, and it's pumping out a ton of tomatoes. The plants are both in beds and containers. Automated drip line in the beds. I stopped fertilizing when I believed they were aphids. The flowers don't drop, they appear dried out. And these bugs are always on the stem immediately below where the flowers are. They tend to just roam around, always below where the flowers are. They're never on sucker branches. I have sprayed both neem oil and insecticidal soap directly on them and watched them walk around for minutes afterwards. Basically, tomato production just abruptly stopped right around the same time the population of these bugs jumped up. The plants have been growing in size and are thriving. I had one that had a 33' diameter (my wife ended up pulling it since it wasn't producing but was getting so big). Here's what it looked like before their overrunning the plants: I was getting this weekly: And this was a week or two ago, before my wife pulled up the two biggest ones (there are only 4 tomato plants in the beds in this photo, three in the middle bed and one in a back bed you can't really see): The plants seem healthy in every single way, except that most of the flowers shrivel up before fruiting. Most drop before they even blossom. But some make it through and flower and I'm getting 1-6 tomatoes a week.
...See More
sjerin
9 years ago
I vote for as light as possible. Would it look so bad to use off-white in the shower? I hate the showering-in-a-cave feeling!
nicole__
9 years ago
I do a lot of remodels. Is there a window in the shower? A canned light in the ceiling of the shower?

Usually I find porcelain tile that's on sale....you have Home Depot as I recall seeing them where I was visiting....? You can also shop online & send it to the store.

If your going to spend that kind of money on labor....how do you feel about incorporating marble or granite into your plans?

Subway tile is a safe....in style and lasting look...

Edited to address tile size:

I cut 12"x12" tiles in half so they match the floor but are smaller on the shower wall. Big tiles, even 18" ones will work diagonally like you suggested and a light color is GREAT! The floor and walls need to be VERY similiar to get a consistent look....

Earth tones are in...slate is VERY "in" right now. Porcelain tile is better than ceramic....

White/grey Carerra marble and a mat floor of it is VERY IN!

This post was edited by nicole__ on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 16:37
chisue
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks! I need a LOT of help! Seems we all agree on diagonals and as close to 'same' as possible for floor and shower walls.

Advice here has been to be color-consistent, hall-to-bathroom, but y'all think that's not important?

Wouldn't 12 X 12 be just enough 'off' to look odd adjacent to to 13 X 13. Better to have a bigger difference.

Nicole -- No high-maintenance materials possible. We rent when we're not here and have to depend on cleaners -- who vary from spacey to downright destructive. No windows, but the vanity side of the shower bathroom has mirrored walls and two 100 watt sconces on dimmers. There is also a ceiling exhaust fan light. Maybe with enough glass, a dark tone would not be a 'cave'.

The labor cost seems *ridiculous*, but almost everything is a third more here. Three bids are all about $5K. How many man hours do you see here? Demolish existing tiles on floor and shower stall; cut and lay new; re-set toilets. Two 3 X 6 floors; shower 34 X 34; plumbing doesn't move. We're ground floor; park at the door.
Elmer J Fudd
9 years ago
I think no one's eye is going to be able to notice a 1 inch size difference for adjacent tiles on a diagonal. I also think a consistent color attempt isn't all that important. If it's different tile, that will be noticeable. People don't always have the same flooring throughout a unit.

Given that it's a mostly a rental, I would go for some kind of not too light variegated pattern and dark-ish grout. I'd guess a good part of the cost is the shower. It's not like the floor, they need to build in the waterproofing underneath (with whichever of several techniques they use) before applying the tile.

You've gotten competing quotes, that's what it is there. Hang loose, Bro!
nicole__
9 years ago
chisue.......my last rental got grey tile with grey grout for the cleaning issues you mentioned. The bigger the tile...= less work. Fewer man hours. If the tile in the shower goes to the ceiling and your tiling under the vanity? Tile baseboard? Remove the toilet for later use....lots of scraping and I'd remove the wall board & flooring underlayment.

Then I use hardibacker on the floor and wonderboard on the walls. Start fresh. If you use big tiles set square...not offset(more cuts), not diagonal(more cuts) that would cut labor costs too. It just doesn't look as nice.

I seal the grout with an additive, makes it easier to clean AND use Hydrex on it later once it's set.

Sounds like you have plenty of light. As a landlord concentrate on making it LOOK clean. I'd go with grey tile and grout myself...

This is how I'd break it down:
2 people, one cutting tile, one hanging it:

8 hours demo
3 hours hanging wall board & floor board
8 hours on a diagonal cut tile design with a 4" border around the shower and floor

3 hours grouting it all , let it set to dry for a day

5 hours resetting the vanity, faucets & toilet , clean up grout

4 days approx to get it done. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut......if your using a plumber, then a tile guy & they alternate back and forth.....could take weeks to fit you in their schedule.
chisue
Original Author
9 years ago
Ya' Snidely, you're right. DH's favorite name for a business out here is Suck 'Em Up Pumping. (They service port-a-potties.) I'll just have to spend what it takes, and stop driving myself crazy.
chisue
Original Author
9 years ago
Nicole -- Thanks so much for all your time to figure this out. I guess the job is worth the money.

He's also going to apply a backsplash in the kitchen -- another thing I have to choose! I want to remove the over-the-range microwave and have just a recirculating fan. (Guests keep breaking the handle on the M/W; I'll go with the smallest countertop I can find.)

He will replace two hollow core doors with solids so I can hang towel bars on the inside of the shower bath door...and so they feel less cheap!

Thanks to you and to all who have helped. The work cant happen until May, but I want to get the decision-making *over*.
nicole__
9 years ago
chisue....your welcome.

I'd like to ad that I stay in a LOT of hotels, on the ski slopes or Islands.

Here are a few of the places I've stayed. It might give you some ideas...?

http://www.wakatobi.com/vr/vr.html

http://en.hiltonhoteldeals.com/australia-newzealand-southpacific?WT.mc_id=zMWWAAA0EA1WW2PSH3Search4DGGeneric7GW842004&WT.srch=1&utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=paidsearch#australia

click on room details:
https://www.totalrewards.com/reserve/?roomtype=AUG&propcode=clv&_ga=1.165105725.345483018.1422713182#calendar/propCode=CLV&roomtype=AUG&adults=2&children=0amp;LOS=2&roomDetails=%5B%7B%22Adults%22%3A2%2C%22Children%22%3A0%7D%5D&nodate=true&tripCode=&action=FindRooms&arrivalDate=02/01/2015&departureDate=02/03/2015&isExpired=null&isValidOccupancy=null&__cb=1422713234020

Tile Size Question -- Or Why Nothing Gets Done

Comments (10)

morz8 - Washington Coast

chisue
Original Author

Related Discussions

sjerin

nicole__

chisue
Original Author

Elmer J Fudd

nicole__

chisue
Original Author

chisue
Original Author

nicole__

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Tile Size Question -- Or Why Nothing Gets Done

Comments (10)

morz8 - Washington Coast

chisueOriginal Author

Related Discussions

sjerin

nicole__

chisueOriginal Author

Elmer J Fudd

nicole__

chisueOriginal Author

chisueOriginal Author

nicole__

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

chisue
Original Author

chisue
Original Author

chisue
Original Author

chisue
Original Author