This project was started two years ago. I know, right? We realized then that we needed a new toilet, and one thing lead to another. We ended up upgrading, and with that came a need for some new flooring. However, we never actually got around to finishing the job. Whoops! And so for two years our new toilet has looked like this. We have 12 out of town family members coming for Thanksgiving, and most of them haven’t been here for two years. We absolutely can’t have them seeing the toilet look just like it did when they were here way back then.
As I said, to make things work, we had to rip out part of the tile. We were in crunch time because we were hosting Thanksgiving circa 2012, and we needed the bathroom up and running. Fast forward two years, and we are still where we started. Plus, it’s crunch time again because our company will start arriving next Monday. Yikes!!!
In addition to adding new tile, we are also adding heating elements to the floor. I am ready to have a winter without cold toes. Yankee is doing the work, and since he does have a full-time job, he is doing the construction in the evenings.
Here you can see the tile and toilet setup? The tile wasn’t bad, but we just loved the original tile look we saw in so many houses when we were house hunting. We didn’t feel this tile was accurate for our house which was built in 1928.
Gracie, came in when I was taking before pictures, and she even looks worried we are not going to finish in time. Is she doubting our skills?
This is a small bathroom, and there is really only room for one of us to be working in there at a time. Yankee is doing such a good job, so I’ll let him stick with it.
Here you can see we discovered that we have two layers of tile. The little white tile must be original to the house, but we are unable to save it which is a bummer. It turns out that the demo is a little more involved than we originally thought. Yankee had to rip up the first level of tile and then a whole section of concrete and then the original tile.
He was able to get some chunks out, and here you can see the thickness of the concrete under and on top of the tile.
Under the tile was chicken wire, and then finally, he made it down to the paper and subfloor! If we had the original floor, we would not have changed it despite the cold toes.
Yankee continues to be hard at work. As of last night it looked as if he is ready to start putting down some plywood before he adds self leveling concrete. We need to build the floor back up to get it even with the tub. So, once again we are now officially in crunch time since we have to deal with drying times.
Meanwhile, this is the new tile we ordered. It is here and ready to be installed. We opted for a basket weave, and this one was our favorite. It was available at Amazon.com which made it so easy to order. Here you can see more information about the tile.
We have also decided to add floor heat to help make our one full bath feel fancier, and here in Syracuse it will be used a lot. We lucked out and found this heating system on Amazon as well, and it had good reviews. If you want to read more about this product, you can go here.
Wish us luck! I’ll be updating our progress on Instagram, so be sure to follow us!
Cheers
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I put mats like this under our tile in our Master bath tile, and went cheap with the regular thermostat/on/off unit instead of the programmable one. BIG mistake. If you turn it on when you get up, it takes quite a while for the floor to feel ‘warm’ and honestly I think I’ve had them on 2 or 3 times total in the 5 years we’ve been here because of the time it takes to warm up.
Ang,
This makes me glad we went with the programmable ones. We have read reviews that it does take a long time to heat up. I just hope it will click on in the early morning hours so by the time we get up our toes will be warm. Bummer you have not used yours that much.
Cheers!
I completely gutted and reconfigured my small downstairs bath a couple of years ago and in the process had to remove the baseboard hot water heating unit. My contractor installed that radiant floor mat and it’s the only heat in the room. I’m located in Massachusetts, so it’s definitely needed. Even on the coldest of days last winter the room was toasty and there was only a negligible increase in my electric bill. I’m selling the house now and my toasty floor is one of the things I will miss most!
Mary Ann,
I am glad to hear you love your heated floor sounds like you might have to add it to your next place!
Cheers!
It’s too bad you couldn’t save the original tile…but that basket weave is stunning! Hope you finish in time! 😉
Donnamae,
We really liked the original and were so bummed we couldn’t save it, however we are thrilled with the basket weave because we did see that tile in many houses that are the same age as our house.
Cheers!
We just installed this same programmable radiant here in our master bath: yes, even in North Carolina in a north facing bathroom it was freezing! And it’s heavenly now.Not to mention how nice it was to trash the old linoleum for gorgeous tile. Good luck with the deadline!
Libby,
I am hearing such great things about the floor heat I am counting the days.
Cheers!
Recently semi-gutted my daughter’s vintage bathroom and existing floor is still viable with just a few broken/damaged tiles (1928). If you were able to salvage any loose ones, I would be interested in purchasing them! Let me know! I suspected the concrete underneath was quite thick and now I know for sure! I enjoy your blog.
Judy,
That is great the existing floor is still viable. The original tile is just packed in the concrete so we don’t really have any loose pieces. If something comes up I will let you know. Good Luck!
Cheers!
I love the new tile…can’t wait to see the reveal!!
Shirley,
I can’t wait to see the tile in as well. I’ll just say we will be cutting it very close if all goes the way we plan. Have a great weekend.
Cheers!