Front Hall Overhaul – Part 4
Front Hall Overhaul – Part 4

Front Hall Overhaul – Part 4

On Wednesday after work I headed to Home Depot for some tiling supplies [including sealant, thin-set mortar, ¼” spacers, and light grey grout]:

205d

Then I smashed the rest of the first row of tiles out, as well as the row on the opposite side of the room:

205a        205b

205c

Smashing tiles is a HUGE stress reliever! I thoroughly enjoyed it *nods*.

Yesterday after work I smashed the hell out of the remaining tiles:

205f        205e

What a mess!!! My safety goggles, construction earmuffs, and dust mask were [literally] lifesavers! There was so much dust from all the smashing it was rolling out the door in big waves. However, when I first started I couldn’t find my work gloves so I used my motorcycle gloves instead. Mistake:

205g

They don’t have padding in the right places to avoid slices from wayward bits of flying tile. I also nicked my legs in a few spots. And without eye protection I could have seriously injured my eyes – shards of ceramic kept nailing me in the face and goggles!

I filled up 2 small boxes with all the chunks and debris I could, then ripped up the orange Schluter Ditra [SD] “uncoupling, waterproofing, and vapor pressure equalization” membrane. I decided to start fresh with a new one, which I picked up today at Home Depot when I got the tiles:

205l        205m

I’ve read a lot about it, it’s pretty impressive stuff! Not only does it keep moisture from getting under the tiles, it also acts as a buffer between pressure from above [like people walking & dropping stuff] and movement from below [like the gradual shifting of the ground/foundation/house]. Apparently our tiles should never crack or shift with an SD membrane under them.

Once that was gone I shop-vac’d the rest of the dust and debris from the front hall. All that’s left is the original blue linoleum with chunks of white fleece backing [from the original SD membrane] stuck to it:

205h

I’ve been working to remove the linoleum fuz from the front hall lines with a putty knife:

205i        removing the old mortar from the front hall entrance way

removing the leftover thinset mortar from the front hall        the front hall entrance way is now ready for new tile

My brother was visiting with his family so I was a bit delayed in starting, but for a very good reason 🙂  I also got some beautiful flowers from hubby:

my brother seth and me august 2015        flowers from hubby!

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4 Comments

  1. Anne

    omg Alison! I don’t think you plan to, but DON’T rip out the linoleum. I believe it (some of it?) has asbestos backing – and that’s nothing to mess with. Your new tiles look gorgeous and I like Torrey’s idea of matching the wall paint to the grout. It will be beautiful!

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