Ok, so as I mentioned in part 1 and part 2 of my recap on Black Feather Farm, Kit (DIYDiva.net) and I didn’t really have a set game plan for what we would be doing during my three-day visit. But as I was walking around the farmhouse for the first time, Kit and I were already chatting up a storm about all the projects we’ve each been doing and how long our to-do lists seem to keep getting. And that’s when I took a peek into her upstairs guest bath and saw a very familiar sight:
Back in March, Kit began tiling her bathroom. Then stopped. And this was how it stayed for many months.
I can’t even talk shit about this. That’s the way projects go sometimes—especially if you’re doing them on your own and have things like donkeys and chickens to feed and chase out of your kitchen. Not to mention, I’m not exactly the right person to judge another’s progress considering how long it takes me to finish my own bathrooms (ahem, the master still has zero progress made since ripping it out). Instead, I looked at this room and had only one thought: since I realistically have nothing else to do while I’m here, why not help Kit finish something that she isn’t able to get to, like this shower tile?
Kit had made a couple of comments earlier in the day that one of her favorite things to beat cold Michigan winters is a hot bath, and I noticed that she had all of the supplies already (such as big, giant boxes of tile just sitting around, itching to be put on a wall). She also mentioned how exhausted she was. It seemed like an easy win to just put on a comfy tee, open a bottle of beer, turn on my music playlist, and get to work.
In hindsight, I really should have paid more attention to how tired Kit really was, but she hung in there with me during the entire first day (save for her occasional meetings and such while working from home). I then continued on with finishing one side the next afternoon while Kit was at work, and then she helped finish the last side the same night.
There was a lot of beer, and swearing, and goofing around, but here’s where we started:
There was also some ingenuity on Kit’s part:
We also Periscoped each night as we made progress, so check out my last post if you want to see two overtired gals talking incoherently about tiling and making weird jokes.
And here’s where we finished!
Wouldn’t you know it… we were ONE bullnose tile short! UGH.
You eagle-eyed DIYers might also notice that the tile in the corner on the left doesn’t quite match up. That’s because we used two different brands of 1/8″ spacers, and it turned out that despite that they were supposed to be the same size, they created the slightest difference in spacing, which eventually causes a misalignment in grout lines when you’re half a bottle of wine in at midnight not paying attention. We did a lot of mixing and matching of the spacers on the first two walls, but on the final wall (the one with the shower fixtures), we used just one type. We didn’t notice the misalignment until the first section had already begun curing, so this is how it’s going to look. The average person who might take a shower in here wouldn’t notice, so it’s really just one of those things that’s going to bother the person who did the installing. So, lesson learned: use the same kind of tile spacers consistently. Or don’t drink and tile. Or just pay more attention to your work. Or some combination of those things… I won’t judge.
BUT WE (NEARLY?) FINISHED IT, which means that Kit is one large step closer to having a nice, cozy bath upstairs this winter. I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed working on it!
The post Tiling Kit’s Bathroom at Black Feather Farm appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.
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