May 14, 2012

DIY - Bathroom Makeover

As I already mentioned during the kitchen makeover post, I have also worked a bit on my bathroom in these past weeks. My main issue was not that it wasn't a nice bathroom, but I couldn't use all the facilities properly. My apartment has nice tiling, a bathtub, sink and a toilet, but I couldn't use my tub as a shower like it was originally constructed. When standing in the tub, the final row of tiles ended at my shoulder and every time when I wanted to wash my hair, I had to be afraid that the walls would be soaking wet after the shower. I am just too tall for this world - just kiddin'!

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To avoid moldy walls and big problems with my landlord, I decided to add an extra row of tiles. My janitor did not have enough leftover tiles  to fill a whole new row in my bathroom. Therefore, I decided to go with something totally different to bring some color into my otherwise very white bathroom. I really like these blue mosaic tiles. They can be bought as a square net, which connects several rows of mosaic stones and makes it a lot easier to add them to the wall in a straight line.

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During the process, I had a lot of help from my father, who has tons of experience in the matter. I have to say that I was not aware of the long working process and would probably have freaked out without him. So my advice when you want to do something like this - do your research, prepare well, relax and take your time! If you are renting the place, please contact the owner before you do something major like this, as you might otherwise need to remove it when moving out.

What you need
  • tiles (measure and buy some extra in case you need to cut one)
  • marble & granite glue (with the mosaics you NEED white glue, as it will shimmer through and otherwise looks like the tiles are dirty)
  • sanitary silicon
  • coloured joint mortar (match it to the old one on the already existing tiles)
  • notched trowel 
  • sponge or other cleanser to wipe off leftover mortar
  • water level to make sure everything is straight
Bathroom makeover tools

First, you should take off any wallpaper so the wall is clean enough for the glue to stick properly. Then measure the area for the tiles and mark it down on the wall. Mix the marble glue like described in the instructions as they can vary for each manufacturer. Mine was slowly and steadily mixed with water. 


Tip: For mixing you might need a strong mixer. My dad used a percussion drill with a mixer cap. You can probably rent one of those or buy one at the hardware store.

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Add the mass to the wall and use notched trowel to even out the mass. it should look a bit like the above. Then add each of the mosaic nets to the wall. Use a water level to check that they are straight and cut off rows from the net if needed.

Tip: Watch out that you not only do this up/down, but also left/right! Add the tiles quickly, so the glue mass can't dry up.

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After you added the mosaic nets, let the glue dry out. Best do this project over several days and during that time, don't use the shower. So maybe do this during a weekend to avoid having to go to work dirty :)

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During the next step, you need to add the mortar into the seams. Mix the mortar like described on the package and then use a scraper to add the mortar to the tiles. Scrape the mass over them and scrape off the leftovers. Don't worry about making the tiles dirty, you can clean them afterwards. Fill all the seams with the mortar - this can take a while and a lot of scraping sessions. Be consistent and when you filled all seams, check for little bubbles in the mass. Take a bit of mortar on your finger and fill those holes. When you are done, let it dry for a bit - like half an hour. Then take the sponge with water and wipe off the dirt from the tiles. Then let the mortar dry for another day!

Tip: One wipe, then turn the sponge and after that quickly wash it. It takes some time, but you will only smear the mass otherwise.


The final look!!!
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For the final step add the silicon to the corners of the walls and at the bottom to close any holes between the new and old row of tiles. Then you should let it dry yet one more day and it is ready to use!

I hope this helped you and maybe you try it out yourself - let me know!

5 comments:

Anne G. said...

wow! looks perfect! :) (was man so alles rausholen kann.. respekt! sieht wirklich super aus!)

Leah said...

Love the colour! Way to go girl, you are doing a great job with the house projects!

Amber said...

my husband tends to do all the home projects but this looks like something that I might actually be able to do on my own.  Thanks for the idea!

Anja said...

man kann vieles noch viel schöner machen!!!

Anja said...

definitely try it out yourself. It feels amazing to work on a project by yourself and finish it even when you thought you wouldn't manage

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