Friday February 2, Saturday February 3, Wednesday February 7
Third time lucky
60k House was always intended to be somewhat experimental, a testing ground for ideas, trying things that I haven’t seen or done before. Being my own house I had the freedom to trial different materials and techniques – without complaints from a client or builder. Most experiments have worked well, but there have been a couple of failures. Using cement sheet for the wet area around the shower has probably been the biggest mistake. If considered and detailed better (no nail heads, only adhesive fix) it might have worked satisfactorily. But over time, even after punching and filling the nail heads, water began to seep in and something had to be done. I had wanted to take a leaf out of the ‘Nightingale’ project in Melbourne – seeking to minimise trades when not entirely necessary. I considered tiles to be a luxury I could do without. Now I can’t imagine the bathroom without them.
Rough it up: sanding the previous polyurethane off to prepare for waterproofing
To get the bathroom ready to tile I had to prepare the surface and make it waterproof. The first step was to sand off the polyurethane coating and rough up the cement sheet so the waterproofing would stick. Once this was done the joints and the corners were taped as the first coast was applied, painted on nice and thick with a brush at 45 degrees. I was determined this third time waterproofing the bathroom would be the last! The next night I applied a second coat of waterproofing, at 90 degrees to the first coat. After leaving it to dry for a couple of days I splashed some water on to test the waterproofing – it was ready for tiles.
On the angle: applying the second coat, at 90 degrees to the first
On your marks
Wanting to loosely bring the apple crate cladding reference into the bathroom I decided to use long, thin, rectangular tiles laid on their side that would mimic the weatherboards outside. I picked up a couple of different tile samples from a couple of shops: all the same size but some gloss and some matt, from different manufacturers (slightly different shade of white). For a while I considered alternating the runs of the tiles – between gloss and matt – to possibly save some money by using end-of-run tiles while adding more texture to the bathroom walls (like the weatherboards outside) but decided it would either be too stripy, too subtle, or too wanky. Eventually I chose the whitest matt finish 300x100mm tile. I calculated how many tiles I needed, added a few extra for good measure, then ended up taking the extras back after.
Ready, steady, go: all set
Get set
I arranged for Greg’s usual tiler Renee to squeeze in the job next time he was ‘down the Channel’ (in the area). This coincided with Greg and I putting on the remaining weatherboards (next blog post). While we were working away outside, Renee was diligently tiling in the bathroom. We had agreed on a tile setout that required minimal cutting (using full tiles), starting from the end of the vanity bench. The cut edges of the tiles (slightly sharp and rough) are up against edges, such as the mirror. However around the bathroom door there was nothing to butt up against (and some timber was exposed), so I arranged some custom-made flashings that Greg fitted later.
Stick it to the man: Renee applying the glue
Wait on
At morning tea break I was excited to look in to see how the tiling was going. I was shocked to see Renee wasn’t using plastic spacers to evenly space out the tiles – and they didn’t look level! I quietly mentioned this to Greg, which prompted him to ask: are we on the level Renee? Yeah, no worries. I had my doubts but there’s nothing I could do now – the glue had already set. This became a valuable lesson in trust – let the professional do their thing. I went back to working on the weatherboards with Greg…
Edge details: Renee finishing to the edge around the door
By the end of the day, after Renee had caulked all the gaps between the tiles (using a powder made into a paste), the tiles looked excellent! There were subtle variations, but nothing like before. The white tiles make the bathroom lighter, breaks up the expanse of cement sheet, and means guests can shower inside without me worrying about water seeping into the lining. Meanwhile I’ll continue to enjoy a shower outside under the stars…
Finishing touches: Renee wiping off any excess caulking
All done: tiling complete and looking good
Costs: waterproofing – $84; tiles – $175; tiler – $500
Disclaimer: Any advice contained within this blog is of a general nature only and cannot be relied upon. Details provided are in good faith and relate specifically to this project. Any author will not be held responsible for advice or information presented.