Tim first laid out all of the tiles to see how many cuts he needed to make. You can see the spacers in between the tile. We opted for a 1/4 inch grout line. Our friend, Jeremy, was once a professional tiler. He advised us not to make the grout line too small because you will notice slight imperfections more.
Jeremy also urged us to consider 8 inch tiles in a small space like this. We opted for 12 inch tiles from Home Depot called Golden Sand (mostly because we are cheap). We scored them on clearance for $1 a piece! Sorry, don't go looking for them because they are no longer available. We went this route mostly because we are cheap. We initially planned for grey tiles, but found nothing to our liking despite an extensive search. We chose these tiles because they have small flecks of grey/silver in them.
Tim spent his entire Saturday cutting 23 tiles. That's roughly 1/3 of the tiles in this space had cuts.
We also purchased a wet saw from Home Depot. It was only $88, so no this isn't the Rolls Royce of wet saws. They offer the Ford Pinto of tile "saws" if you will-- the kind that score the tile for you to snap. We thought it was worth the expense since we're re-tiling two bathrooms in a few short months. We also purchased the warranty for around $10 which includes repair or replacement for three years. Worth the cost with two majors projects utilizing this guy.
Here's the bathroom with all of the cut pieces included. You can also see the wall color in the back and to the left.
The most tricky cut was a U-shaped cut beside the shower. It took Tim 3 tries before he finally got this cut right. The others were not so tricky. When he installed it, the tile accidentally snapped. Tim had the quick thought to super glue it back together.
And now, a related story:
I laid out some newspaper on our dining room table and carefully super glued it back together. You can't even tell! Then, I walked downstairs to grab the laundry. Upon my return to the dining room just minutes later, I can't find the super glue. I forgot to push my chair in. Panic ensues. I set the laundry down and crawl on the floor in search of the elusive super glue. Meanwhile, I'm shouting "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no." I get louder and louder with increasing distress in my voice.
Tim, "What's wrong?"
Chanelle, "I can't find the super glue. I think Monkey ate it."
Tim "Oh no."
Chanelle "Go open her mouth. Can she open her mouth?"
Tim to Monkey "Open your mouth!" Obviously very effective since she doesn't know this command.
Panic ensues. He does get her mouth open, but we both see white residue. Still no super glue in sight. I quickly call our vet (keep in mind this is actually the Saturday before MLK Jr. day, a holiday) while hopping around grabbing a coat, keys, and putting my shoes on while juggling in the phone, a bowl of water I'm trying to coax Monkey into drinking, and a leash. The entire time I'm shouting, "Get in the car! Get in the car!"
Sigrid from our vet's office answers the phone. "This is Chanelle White. My dog, Monkey, just ate a tube of super glue. What should I do?" I speak so quickly she can't understand me. I repeat myself and she immediately gets Dr. Reagh. Please keep in mind that a) this is a holiday b) this is not the first time I've called Dr. Reagh (the last time he was on call and I called because Monkey was foaming at the mouth because she had licked a toad-- we later learned).
Tim runs out to the car with Monkey. Sullivan follows. He accidentally kicks (not hard) Sullivan in the head in his haste. He puts Monkey down, picks Sullivan up, and puts him in the kennel. We run to the car and get in. I pull out of the garage and we're racing to the 24 hour animal hospital close to our house (closer than the sweet vet who we normally take them to who I'm on the phone with).
Sigrid calmly interprets what Dr. Reagh is saying in the background and tells me not to worry. He's checking. What do you check? Do you check the book of dumb sh*t my dog ate? Dr. Reagh asks me if she ate Gorilla Glue. No, regular super glue.
Tim has been holding his hand inside Monkey's mouth to make sure she doesn't glue her mouth shut. I've been thinking her mouth is glued shut, she'll never eat, she's going to die! Of course I'm distressed. Did I mention that it's around 8 am on a holiday weekend? I haven't showered, I've been cleaning the house, Tim has been tiling, and I'm a disheveled mess.
Dr. Reagh tells Sigrid who tells me, Monkey will be fine. Apparently, the super glue balls up into small pieces and passes normally through the digestive track. As long as she is eating, drinking, and pottying normally, she'll be fine. If not, I should bring her in. I ask about her teeth- her entire mouth is covered in super glue. Her muzzle/lips, tongue, and teeth. Should I have them cleaned? No, it will come off naturally when she eats dog food. You can see a little bit of the super glue on her lips in the photo below:
Oh. My. Thank you God. We (and Monkey) dodged a bullet on that one. Thank God she'll be okay. She licked us apologetically with her super glue covered tongue. We return home and I walk upstairs to put the laundry away. I find the bottle of super glue upstairs, so she didn't eat it. She did bite it though. Apparently, super glue doesn't taste that good, so she decided not to eat it after she got the nasty taste in her mouth. It did take around 2 weeks for the super glue to come off of her muzzle completely. I am happy to report that she is doing fine. Our little mischief maker!
Back to tiling:
Tim did finish the tile that day and he grouted the next day. It took him the entire weekend to finish this project.
Check out how great it looks! Tim worked in small sections to grout, then clean as he went. Notice the baby gate behind him. We are a fan of those in this house because of our two very curious dogs. Monkey especially likes to be a helping girl.
And a picture of our Sully man for good measure. :)
I would have cried hysterically and sped to the animal hospital! You are such a great puppy parent, so calm! :)
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