Upstairs Downstairs

   Ed dislikes jumping from one project to another. If he's working on trim, he wants to complete all the trim before going to something else. Unfortunately, on a project this size that's nearly impossible to do. Before he could install the downstairs door trim, he had to tile the powder room. I originally ordered four boxes of tile instead of six, so we had to wait until the two extra boxes arrived.
   These mosaic tiles have woven mat backing and are a little different than working with larger tiles. The mat is water soluble so that it dissolves in the thin set to firmly set the little pieces. Unfortunately that also means if you use a wet saw to cut to fit, the backing immediately begins to dissolve, and you're left with a fist full of little tiles. I had bought a dry saw with a diamond blade that looks like an itty bitty skil saw. It works like a champ.

 
 Setting the mosaic tiles was different than setting regular tiles. The thin set squishes up between the tiles if you set them too deeply, leaving no room for grout. It's not grouted yet, but it's beautiful. I think it would tend to make me dizzy in a larger room, but it's perfect for this tiny powder room.  This room will have a pedestal sink, toilet and a little pine antique cabinet.

   Once that was done Ed returned to trimming out the downstairs windows and doors. He sorted through the finished lumber (remember the dungeon?) and decided which pieces he wanted on each window or door, made a cut list and set to it. I would have measured one door, cut and installed the pieces. Ed says it's much more efficient to measure all the doors, cut all the wood, then install. He's right, of course. I'm just not that organized. By last night he had the craftroom, back bathroom, and hallway doors completely done, all of the windows trimmed, and everything but some of the crown molding over a few doors completed.

   We need to get the fireplaces tiled before the granite hearths come, and that's my project. I told Ed I'd like to do this by myself, knowing full well it'll take me a lot longer than if he did it. He has more than enough to do himself so he gladly agreed. I had to stop and ask him a question or two but he has been very patient and supportive, to the point of very diplomatically not pointing out my mistakes, and there are plenty. I did the upstairs fireplace first, hoping to iron out any difficulties there.
    I love the look of the old Rookwood keystone fireplace tiles, but since I haven't won a lottery, I decided to use slate tiles instead. I used some stained glass techniques to make a pattern for the keystone pieces. Using the wet saw, I cut those pieces out of 12"x12" slate tiles. Slate is essentially compressed mud, and is really easy to cut. With a marking pen, I numbered the backs, drew an arrow indicating which direction was up (really...I have to) and set them aside.
Every piece that had to be cut was a trip up and down the stairs. Mark the piece, go down the stairs, change into outside shoes, cut the piece, change into inside shoes, up the stairs. Check the piece for fit, repeat.
   When I bought the pieces for the hearth sides, I assumed they were 18"x18". They aren't....and this was the second time I've assumed I knew the size of tile. My mantra is now "Assume makes an ass out of you and me". So I took the 16" tiles, cut the height to match the hearth, and just worked with what I had. I'll do it differently downstairs.
    I had a few problems with the first row of mosaic, and the pattern is off a bit, but I'll do it differently downstairs.
   I mismeasured the cheaterboard that represents the height of the granite piece, but I'll do it differently downstairs.
   Today we're off to Home Depot to pick up some more mosaic pieces and 3"x6" slate for downstairs. That little adventure will be next week. At least I won't have to go up and down the stairs.