When I posted about getting new carpet and tiling the bathroom, I mentioned that there were going to be TWO changes to the basement. The bathroom floor was the first. The second was being worked on simultaneously as I was working on the bathroom.
Our basement has a door that goes out to our back patio. The old carpet went right up to the door. We have an area rug in front of the door, but dirt and mud just can't seem to stay away. To fix this, I wanted to put tile in front of the door. My parents did this in their house (tile in front of garage door and back door to patio) and it works so well. They don't have to worry about getting the carpet wet or mud soaking in. If mud gets on the tile,they just wipe it up. SO easy !
So before the carpet guys came to give us new carpet, I pulled up the carpet around the door and laid some tile down. I just found a corner of the carpet and lifted. It came right up. Then I took a screw driver and pried off the tack boards. Be careful if you ever have to do this. There are nails everywhere!
Tiling this area was MUCH easier than the bathroom. I purchased 15 12 x 12 in. tiles and used the same mortar and grout that I used for the bathroom.
I laid out the tiles on the floor to see how exactly to put them before I put the mortar on the floor. I used different spacers this time. I needed the spaces to be slightly bigger (1/4 inch this time around) in order for the tiles to cover the whole area. Then I mixed the mortar and spread it on the floor using the flat side of the trowel. Then I used the grooved side, and then laid down the tiles, placing spacers in between each one. I prefer the circular ones I used for the bathroom over the cross shaped ones I used for this project, but both got the job done.
I made sure to add spacers in between the tiles and the frame of the door (Grout will go in there). I didn't want the tile to go straight up against the frame.
I waited a weekend to let the mortar dry completely. Then my friend who helped with the bathroom, also helped me grout this as well. We used a spackle knife to spread the grout into the cracks.
After all the cracks were filled, we waited a few minutes before wiping away the excess grout. We used a grout sponge and wiped at an angle.
We wiped down the tile numerous times. Each time it started to dry, you could see a film of grout over the tile. I probably wiped it at least 10 times before I felt all the grout was off the tiles.
Then, the grout just needed to dry and that was it. Once the grout was dry, I sealed it using the same sealer process that I did when I tiled my fireplace.
The carpet men came the next day and installed our new carpet. Which, by the way, we saved some cash by removing the furniture ourselves. That knocked off about $100. Any little savings helps! They installed the carpet right up to the tile, so I didn't need a transition piece.
I LOVE having the tile in front of the door. The tile + the new carpet = an awesome basement floor. Here's a before and after picture:
Any new additions to your house?
Now you can Do It Yourself Too !
~Stephanie
Our basement has a door that goes out to our back patio. The old carpet went right up to the door. We have an area rug in front of the door, but dirt and mud just can't seem to stay away. To fix this, I wanted to put tile in front of the door. My parents did this in their house (tile in front of garage door and back door to patio) and it works so well. They don't have to worry about getting the carpet wet or mud soaking in. If mud gets on the tile,they just wipe it up. SO easy !
So before the carpet guys came to give us new carpet, I pulled up the carpet around the door and laid some tile down. I just found a corner of the carpet and lifted. It came right up. Then I took a screw driver and pried off the tack boards. Be careful if you ever have to do this. There are nails everywhere!
Tiling this area was MUCH easier than the bathroom. I purchased 15 12 x 12 in. tiles and used the same mortar and grout that I used for the bathroom.
I laid out the tiles on the floor to see how exactly to put them before I put the mortar on the floor. I used different spacers this time. I needed the spaces to be slightly bigger (1/4 inch this time around) in order for the tiles to cover the whole area. Then I mixed the mortar and spread it on the floor using the flat side of the trowel. Then I used the grooved side, and then laid down the tiles, placing spacers in between each one. I prefer the circular ones I used for the bathroom over the cross shaped ones I used for this project, but both got the job done.
I made sure to add spacers in between the tiles and the frame of the door (Grout will go in there). I didn't want the tile to go straight up against the frame.
I waited a weekend to let the mortar dry completely. Then my friend who helped with the bathroom, also helped me grout this as well. We used a spackle knife to spread the grout into the cracks.
After all the cracks were filled, we waited a few minutes before wiping away the excess grout. We used a grout sponge and wiped at an angle.
We wiped down the tile numerous times. Each time it started to dry, you could see a film of grout over the tile. I probably wiped it at least 10 times before I felt all the grout was off the tiles.
Then, the grout just needed to dry and that was it. Once the grout was dry, I sealed it using the same sealer process that I did when I tiled my fireplace.
The carpet men came the next day and installed our new carpet. Which, by the way, we saved some cash by removing the furniture ourselves. That knocked off about $100. Any little savings helps! They installed the carpet right up to the tile, so I didn't need a transition piece.
I LOVE having the tile in front of the door. The tile + the new carpet = an awesome basement floor. Here's a before and after picture:
Any new additions to your house?
Now you can Do It Yourself Too !
~Stephanie
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