Tiling the Master Bathroom

We’re finally laying tile! It’s one of my favorite stages of the remodel, because things suddenly feel a LOT more finished!

For the tile in the master bath we decided to go with something a little different than the other two bathrooms. In those rooms we chose this white marble-look tile from Lowes. We still wanted to go with something pretty high contrast, so we went the opposite direction with this slate tile from Home Depot.

As this is a natural stone tile, before we did anything we needed to seal it with a penetrating sealer. While Jordan was working on the drywall, I laid out our first few boxes of floor tile, wiped them down with water to clean them, and then applied the sealer so it could dry before we laid the tile.

I also laid out and sealed the penny rounds that we bought for our zero-entry shower. They are a slate to match the main floor tile, but have more texture for the shower and will also accommodate the grade in the shower easier than a large format tile will.

Jordan began by laying out a single row of floor tiles. He used his laser level to ensure that he had a perfectly straight line.

From there he was able to work in each direction to add more tiles.

We also pulled the new bath tub in to check out where we would need to re-route the plumbing.

Unfortunately the mud bed that we had poured for the shower pan didn’t adhere properly, so Jordan had to pull up a good portion of it to replace. He cut the liner down in case that was part of the problem.

He also used a jackhammer to remove concrete where the new plumbing will go for the freestanding bathtub and faucet.

Then he installed the new plumbing lines.

He then backfilled the area over the plumbing, and poured new concrete over the top.

He also poured new mud bed along the edge of the shower pan.

Here it is, nice and dry and ready to tile.

Jordan had to add some thinset and mud bed to bring the edge of the shower pan up so that the penny rounds we used in the shower would be level with the slate tile, which is significantly thicker.

Here it is, smoothed and ready to lay the penny rounds.

Then it was time to grout! We chose a charcoal grout from Home Depot.

We’ve started with the shower, and then will move on with the rest of the floor.

This was a pretty photo heavy update, so we’ll be back with more bathroom floor pictures soon! Hope everyone has a great week!