General Tile Discussion

In October of 2022, my wife and I decided our master bathroom needed a makeover. Me, being a handy guy, thought to myself, "Self, you can do this!" and I jumped into this project head first. I completed the project 7 months later in June of 2023... was it worth it? Absolutely! I learned so much and had a blast doing it. This project also gave me a healthy respect for the men and women in these trades that do this every day. Working with your hands is very satisfying and it's really cool to step back at the end of a work day look at the work you have accomplished. I would also like to express my gratitude for the educational content that Isaac and others like him put out. I spent, what felt like, hundreds of hours reviewing video and reading articles, this content helped me solve problems and avoid pitfalls; without it, I would have been lost. Thank you Isaac, for putting yourself out there and imparting your knowledge to DIY schmucks like myself.

Lessons learned:

1. Level and square EVERYTHING!! I spent a LOT of time obsessing over getting the shower walls and opening perfectly plumb, level and square. It made setting the tile much easier, especially for those last lines you have to cut.

2. Pouring concrete self leveling floor is hard... if you do it wrong. I made several rookie mistakes here that cost me time and money. Things like, plugging all the holes in your floor BEFORE you pour the floor... Also, I didn't properly consider how much moisture the underlay would absorb, so it caused the self leveler not to flow everywhere I needed. In the end, I was able to correct this but it was a pain in the butt.

3. Doing is the best way to learn. I was not confident when I started the project, but as I moved through it, I learn and improved.

4. Hydro Ban on top of the RSS wall board is obviously overkill... however, I had already purchased it and was like, what the heck, it can't hurt right??? :)

5. Cedar is probably not a great counter top choice... I will be changing this to a stone or other more water friendly material. I thought I could get away with using an oil finish like teak, but, while the wood looks great at first, the water does stain even with the teak oil finish.

6. Read the instructions!! They are there for a reason. :)

Some of the materials I used:

• RSS Pro Custom shower pan with FloFX drain cutout

• RSS Pro Custom tile ready curb

• RSS Wall Board

• FloFX Square Bonding Flange drain

• Laticrete Hydro Ban

• Custom ProLite Thinset

• Kohler fixtures

• Red Cedar on Ceiling, window trim and floating counter top.

Overall I am really happy with the results and I feel like I have installed a shower that will last decades. I'm including some of the materials I used and pics (of course). Thanks again Isaac and keep doing what your doing, it has an impact!