Remodeling: 1 room down, 2 left to go(Kitchen Started)

[Humpy]

The argument about cabinets or flooring first is silly. Either way can be the correct way depending on the situation. Finish in place wood flooring is often installed before cabinets. Floating floors should be after. For every problem there is a solution. It's nothing to get excited about.

 

[Codewiz]

Updated above.

As to the discussion about the floor. I ended up using 5 bags of self leveling underlayment. Still didn't solve all my flatness issues. I used granite and marble mortar instead of thinset so I could put it down thicker. Still ended up with two spots where I just couldn't do anything about a corner not being flat with the other three corners. It isn't too bad and certainly isn't going to be an issue in the future. No one would probably notice unless I showed them.

I am also waiting for the tile to be delivered for the backsplash.

 

[edro]

No one would probably notice unless I showed them.

That pretty much sums up the worst thing about diy.
You put in all of the work and it looks like crap to you, but looks great to everyone else.

 

[Zargon]

very nice job! how bad was it doing the diagonal tile job?

Im interested how EZ Level works out, I will be doing a ktichen remodel in the next 18 months or so

heh.

here I am what, just over 4 months later.....in the middle of the same process. did tear out Thursday the 16th and some of Friday the 17th. Worked all weekend and working everynight since. grouting tile tonight.

so tired. so sore!

 

[Codewiz]

very nice job! how bad was it doing the diagonal tile job?




heh.

here I am what, just over 4 months later.....in the middle of the same process. did tear out Thursday the 16th and some of Friday the 17th. Worked all weekend and working everynight since. grouting tile tonight.

so tired. so sore!

Yeah, I liked the ez level system and would use it again.

As for the diagonal tile, it wasn't too bad until the end. It took me two weekends to do about 230 square feet.

When I got to the edges, I again cheated using a measureright pro 30 from http://www.tileright.com/

That made measuring easy but the crappy wet saw I got required multiple redos on cutting.

I will say the worst part of diagonal tile is that if you are doing it by yourself, you are going to get all the full pieces laid and do the edges later. Putting thinset or mortar down for just the edges sucked. You have every little room to trowel and it takes forever. It took me about the same amount of time to do the edges as it did to tile the rest of the room.

My best advice on diagonal or regular is to use chalk grids and do a dry run. I was especially nervous due to the fact that my kitchen is basically split in half so making sure I had no extremely tiny cuts was difficult to ensure.

Post some pictures of your progress when you have a chance.

That pretty much sums up the worst thing about diy.
You put in all of the work and it looks like crap to you, but looks great to everyone else.

Yeah but if I paid someone to put my tile down and they had the two spots I have, I would be extremely pissed. I can learn to live with my shortcomings on the install but if I pay someone, I expect a better job. After seeing one of my friend's kitchen tile jobs, his "professional" sucked compared to me.

 

[Zargon]

nice

I was lucky enough to borrow a 10' dewalt tile saw from a guy. did a standard patter, and did a dry run of the middle row and edges first. took most of the day for 130 sq ft :/

 

[Zargon]

hows it going?

 

[twinrider1]

I am not in the industry and I am not an expert.

But I'm in the cabinets-go-on-the-subfloor camp. Why pay for flooring that will never see the light of day? Maybe it's small money if you're redoing an entire kitchen, but still, why not just put down plywood to bring it level with the finished floor?

So in a remodel where the cabinets are kept...is anyone really going to remove them, lay the floor wall-to-wall, and then reinstall the cabinets on top? Really?

I can see it being easier in a new build, floor guys just go wall to wall, and have fewer measurements/cuts. And maybe it allows for any last minute design changes.

 

[Codewiz]

hows it going?

Not much more has been done. My tile for the backsplash just came in a little over a week ago. So the major work I have to left in the kitchen is just the backsplash.

I still have a little bit of caulking left and I am just being lazy at this point.

 

[Zargon]

hey man you never posted finished pics

of couse, I havent finished the kitchen I started in june of 2011 yet....