A tile a day keeps the movers away, at least that is the way its working out. Still cutting and laying tile in the shower, but I've got the hard parts done with the drilling of holes for the shower valves. Porcelain tile is hard and brittle, so you have to be pretty careful.
I made a cardboard template for the valve placements, traced them on a tile and went at it. The bottom (temp) valve needed a triangular hole about 4" in diameter, and the top (on/off) valve needed a simple 1 1/2" hole. I bought a diamond core bit for the drill, set it up on the tile saw (as a water source) and drilled away. As long as the bit is wet it will cut like its in frozen butter. A drill press would be best in order to keep the bit from skipping across the tile, which ruined my first attempt. After I got the technique down, it was pretty straight forward. Once the corner holes were in place, I used the tile saw to cut out between the holes. To do this you lower the running saw down into the tile and cut the face side. Then turn the tile over, and do the same. If everything connects, the center part will drop out. Bingo. The single holes for the on/off valve and shower head (later) are a piece of cake.Once these custom pieces were done, its strictly a matter of
cutting and laying the remaining tile. I have about 20 (of 70) tiles to go, the upper part of the inset box, and the sill at the front. The sill will be a bit tricky in that narrow pieces are used to face the front and back, and two bull nose pieces will face the top. The seam down the middle will be hidden by the shower door, which is scheduled to go in around May 20th. So it looks like we'll be using the shower with a curtain, not door for a week, but that is no big deal. Beats showing in the sink, which Jefferson County allows by code (go figure).Nancy caulked and grouted the marble back splash in the pantry yesterday, so that room is COMPLETELY FINISHED. That is the first room that is all done. She's already shelved about 200 of her cookbooks, with another couple hundred to go. Biggest decision here is which make the pantry list, and which get delegated to the basement.
Its Mothers Day, so we're heading out to brunch at Nemos, then up to the house in the afternoon for more tiling. Jim Quandt (Jim's Tool Time) wants his saw back, so I need to layout and cut all the remaining tile. I don't know why he needs it now, I only borrowed it in late January.
