Update: See Part 2 and the reveal of our new tile floors in this post!
A few weeks ago after selecting our cabinet color at Lowe’s, I walked over to the tile section and immediately spotted this Leonia Sand porcelain tile:
It came in two sizes—12×24″ and 6×24″. I preferred the wood plank look so I decided on the 6×24″ ($2.29/ea). The price was reasonable and I thought it looked lovely against the cabinet color, and that it would also be a nice way to add warmth to all the white, black and gray.
Saturday at 7am we were at Lowe’s to buy all of the supplies, including a $90 wet saw (which ended up being too small for our tiles but we made it work anyway).
My dad has some experience in this arena so he was kind enough to offer to help for the day. We also did quite a bit of research along with consulting the staff at Lowe’s to help us figure out the best plan of attack.
The first step was to prepare the surface. We went with HardiBoard cement board—it’s a couple bucks more than the generic stuff but supposed to be much better.
I came up with this layout based on the room’s floor plan (which were based on measurements from before the demolition began that ended up being larger than the actual size, so we used only 9 boards instead of 10):
We had never worked with this stuff before so I didn’t know what I was in for, but it ended up being the easiest part. It breaks apart easily after scoring with a blade, so my job was to measure and score/cut the pieces to size…
while Brad and my dad screwed them into the plywood (using special cement board screws).
We were able to knock it out (problem free) in two hours. Teamwork!
Before setting the tile, we had to cover the seams with special mesh tape.
We did a dry test fit in a few areas to see if there would be any fitment issues. Fortunately, they lined up just perfectly that we didn’t need to make any tricky cuts between the transition to the storage room:
With our layout in place, we snapped a chalk line where the first row would be placed along the wall:
Then one by one, it was mastic + tile…
The troweling process immediately brought back memories from our kitchen wall tile installation.
This floor tile was definitely easier since they are larger pieces and you don’t have to fight gravity. We had these rows down in an hour:
Then things got a bit tricky. Since you can’t walk on freshly laid tile, we couldn’t just tile the storage room as there was no way out. So I had to become a bit of a gymnast—working in a counter clockwise pattern, planning my tiles and stepping in between empty patches until I could contort myself out of there.
Luckily it worked, and we had an efficient system running where my dad would cut the tiles, Brad would deliver them and help me spread mastic when needed, and I’d set the tiles. In 4.5 hours the room was done.
That’s 4.5 hours straight of crouching for me which doesn’t feel so great—but looking at our freshly tiled floor does!
They look quite a bit more gray in this room than in the store which I wasn’t expecting but I guess I don’t mind. They actually remind me a lot of our hardwood floors in the rest of the house.
Tomorrow we’ll finish them off with grout and then it’s on to the next project!
Jenna Sue says
Great question Melissa! We read so many opinions arguing both sides but decided that we'd go ahead and do it to be safe… then we asked the tile guy at Lowe's again and he said it really wasn't needed with Hardie board which has a better design to counteract any uneven-ness, and also the mastic would have to be completely level for it to even work properly. So we changed our minds and decided to skip it. It's grouted now and looks/feels great so we're hopeful!
Karen says
It's looking great!! I have been following you for about a year now and your progress is nothing short of phenomenal!! I don't know anyone who has ever gotten almost an entire house finished in one year. I have two questions though: Why did you start on the wall by the doorway and not the back of the rooms? And how do you get a printout of how to cut your cement board (that is awesome!)? Thanks, Jenna.
Melissa Boyce says
Looks great! I have read that you need to use the mastic under the cement board as well…did you read that and is there a reason you chose not to do it? Thanks!
Samantha Fabris says
I'm having flashbacks to a week ago where I tiled for the first time. I went the big 12×24 tiles, it was exhausting. Your is looking awesome!
Becky C says
Looks super fabulous! We're actually creating a new laundry room right now as well and just picked a similar floor tile to do ourselves. You made it sound easy so I hope we don't hit any major snafus (first time doing flooring but have backsplashed before). Can't wait to see your project finished!
Lindsay Ava says
This looks amazing! The way you have managed to transform a small storage room into this amazing laundry room and even have storage is so good to watch, it really does look so good. I will bookmark your new site in now 🙂
Jenn says
They look so beautiful! I hope you recover quickly from all the tiling gymnastics!
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Ange! He really is the best ever 😉
Jenna Sue says
I couldn't believe it either! I thought for sure it would take two days. I just wanted to get it over with though so I hustled 🙂
Anonymous says
I have been following your blog here from Australia for awhile and just love it! I can't wait to see the finished laundry room it's going to look amazing. How lucky you are to have such a great Dad to help you out. A girl always needs her Dad – even if it's to help lay tile!! Ange
Ginet says
4.5 hours to lay tile? You guys are pro! It's looking good!
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Jenna! I would do the redirect but I want to leave this blog active for the archives, and because I'll be referencing old posts often at the new url 🙂
Jenna @ Wife in Progress says
Love the floor! Reminds me of the tile you had in your old master bathroom! By the way, you should set up a 301 redirect to your new URL so that this one will automatically redirect for you!
Ann Koehler says
It's really coming together. I really like the floor tiles you chose. It will give some warmth to the room (color wise) and if they do look more gray at home than what they did in the store, I think they will complement the cabinets.
Jen says
Hi! I have been following your blog for a while now. I love your home and style. The laundry room progress looks great! Tiling is not too hard when you get going. Can't wait to see it all done. You are an inspiration.