Upgrade Your Builder Grade Laundry Room: Flooring
Tools:
Angle Gringer
Miter Saw
Table/Circular/Track Saw
Caulk Gun
Drill
Finish Nailer
Traugh
Grout Float
Hammer Drill or Sledge & Chisel
Home Depot Bucket
Tape Measure
Mixing Paddle
Mini Level
Products:
AcrylPro 1 Gal. Ceramic Tile Adhesive: $15.97
Polyblend Plus #640 Arctic White 10 lb. Non-Sanded Grout: $15.98
MSI Georama Nero 13 in. x 11 in. x 10 mm Polished Marble Mosaic Tile (0.99 sq. ft.): $10.99
When we built our semi-custom home three years ago one of the options for our laundry room was to add cabinets for a $1500 upgrade fee. We decided not to spend the money and I’ve been wanting cupboards ever since! With the help of Home Depot I was able to do a complete laundry overhaul and give a custom look for the upgrade fee! Transform your own laundry room for the same cost.
See the entire project over at Homedepot.com HERE.
The before situation below was pretty bleak. Basically a room with a washer and dryer. Nothing extra and noting to ultilize the space.
I started with removing everything from the room and demoing the tile. There’s 2 options to remove tile from the floor. I used both, but I primarily used a Demolition Hammer. I borrowed by Dad’s Dewalt Demo Hammer. If this is a one time project I recommend using Home Depot Rental. These are available for rent from the Home Depot Rental center for about $47.00.
The second option is using a Pry Bar, Drilling Hammer, and Floor Chisel. These three tools are also available at any Home Depot as well.
Once I finished removing the tile, the next step is removing the thinset. When you lay tile you use a thinset or tile adhesive to attach the tile to your subfloor or cement. This has to be completely removed before you can lay the new tile! Now that we removed the tile, here’s what the space looks like:
Again, here’s two ways to remove thinset! The first is with a floor scraper. It can be easier to remove the thinset by hand if you wet it first, let it sit for about five minutes and then scrape.
The easiest way is the second way! I used an angle grinder and a Diamond Cup wheel. It’s absolutely worth purchasing a dust shroud for this step. It makes sanding off the thinset virtually dust free.
Once we’ve removed all the thinset, here’s what it looks like:
It’s now time to lay tile! I wanted to spend a little bit of the budget on the tile because I really felt like I could pick something fun since this was a small space. I purchased a Polished Marble Moasic Tile. Using the tile calculator on the homedepot.com website, all I had to do was enter the room measurements and it calculated I needed to order 48 sheets.
I started on one side and made sure the my tile stayed even the whole way up to give myself an even pattern throughout the room. I used a pre-mixed tile adhesive, buying it non pre-mixed is also an option and costs a little less if you need to save on budget, and because this tile is so close together it really didn’t need spacers. I used them for the first row and once I had the hang on my distance when laying the tiles I didn’t use them.
It’s so pretty and it was so easy to lay this tile. The pattern made laying it a piece of cake and it went very quickly. I’m in LOVE.
Its time to grout! With this type of tile and how close it is laid you have to use a non-sanded grout. Home Depot didn’t carry a non-sanded pre-mixed in the store or I would’ve purchased it! But this grout was just as amazing and cheaper than pre-mixed. I went with Arctic White. There’s awesome directions on the back that show you exactly how to mix grout together (so easy, just add water!)
Once it was mixed I laid the grout and after it dried I washed off the grout with a sponge and then about an hour later I did another wash with a cloth. It’s important not to let the grout sit for too long on the marble or you can get a “grout haze” . If this happens, Home Depot also makes a product that removes grout haze from the marble!
Next up, I’ll be installing the cabinets which I ordered online and did curbside pick up for!
Or see the full reveal HERE.
