Let's Talk Remodeling

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I love that granite! That's the look I want for my bathroom. I'm going to have to check it out in person. Thanks!

 

[SplshMtn99]

QUESTION ABOUT TUMBLED MARBLE TILE
Lowes & Home Depot both carry & have large displays of tumbled marble backsplashes. The color of the tile on the display is much more consistant from tile to tile than it comes in the box. The boxes of tile vary greatly. And the boxes of tile are much lighter (could be stone dust) than the display.

I took home 2 boxes.....2 different colors to try to see which one i liked. I thought I once read to wet the stone to see its true color after sealing it. I did that. One was WAY darker than it looked at the store but went back to its box color when it dried. One didn't really change at all when wet.

So......HOW TO YOU PICK TILE COLOR? Dry or wet? And what do you do, buy twice as much as you need, pick out the tones that you wanted from the mixed boxes (to match the consistant look they display) & return the rest?

 

[DisneyPhD]

QUESTION ABOUT TUMBLED MARBLE TILE
Lowes & Home Depot both carry & have large displays of tumbled marble backsplashes. The color of the tile on the display is much more consistant from tile to tile than it comes in the box. The boxes of tile vary greatly. And the boxes of tile are much lighter (could be stone dust) than the display.

I took home 2 boxes.....2 different colors to try to see which one i liked. I thought I once read to wet the stone to see its true color after sealing it. I did that. One was WAY darker than it looked at the store but went back to its box color when it dried. One didn't really change at all when wet.

So......HOW TO YOU PICK TILE COLOR? Dry or wet? And what do you do, buy twice as much as you need, pick out the tones that you wanted from the mixed boxes (to match the consistant look they display) & return the rest?

Good questions! I was wondering the same thing. I think I know just the tile you are talking about too. We were really considering it, but now are leaning more towards using plan white ones with a decorative tile every so often (this is what we used on the fireplace and it would tie the 2 rooms together.) It isn't nearly as nice of a look, but less trendy so it would not look dated. Oh cheaper too. DH likes that.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

QUESTION ABOUT TUMBLED MARBLE TILE
Lowes & Home Depot both carry & have large displays of tumbled marble backsplashes. The color of the tile on the display is much more consistant from tile to tile than it comes in the box. The boxes of tile vary greatly. And the boxes of tile are much lighter (could be stone dust) than the display.

I took home 2 boxes.....2 different colors to try to see which one i liked. I thought I once read to wet the stone to see its true color after sealing it. I did that. One was WAY darker than it looked at the store but went back to its box color when it dried. One didn't really change at all when wet.

So......HOW TO YOU PICK TILE COLOR? Dry or wet? And what do you do, buy twice as much as you need, pick out the tones that you wanted from the mixed boxes (to match the consistant look they display) & return the rest?

I purchased my tumbled marble from Lowe's. It could be the same tile that you're looking at. Honestly, I didn't notice much of a difference once it was sealed.

You can go through my photos and see if when they were installing it, and then towards the end with the window treatments up, after it was sealed.

Picture 29 shows it close-up during the install, and 33 is after it was sealed.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smbno...://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smbnobles/my_photos

 

[SplshMtn99]

AMITY, what color tile was that? Noce (darker) or Chiaro (lighter)? I'm also looking at DalTile's Natural Tumbled Stone line because they have more color choices & a few of them just seem to go better with the specs in the Silestone & the older oak. There is a DalTile showroom just 2 towns away & we went to see their displays. But they only sell to contractors. It is available at Home Depot & I do still have another 20% off Home Depot coupon from ebay. That $7 ebay purchase has saved me ALOT! And I got a $50 gallon of Benjamin Moore paint (new line) for free using a coupon I got from BuzzAgent.

 

[mickeysgal]

So......HOW TO YOU PICK TILE COLOR? Dry or wet? And what do you do, buy twice as much as you need, pick out the tones that you wanted from the mixed boxes (to match the consistant look they display) & return the rest?

For what it's worth, when we picked out our travertine rope molding, the lady at the Daltile design center showed it to us wet. She said looking at it wet simulates how it will look sealed.

I'm not sure about mixing and matching the boxes of tile. I would make sure that it came from the same "lot", but other than that, tumbled stone has a lot of natural variance to it. That the natural part of it.

 

[mickeysgal]

It's better than my system too, which entails me standing at the closet door and kicking my shoes off, shooting them towards a pile in the corner. If I'm good, they actually land right side up.

Hey! This is what we do in our utility room under the utility tub!! The pile is huge.

We just replaced the wire shelf over the washer and dryer with cabinets and the designer at Lowes was trying to talk us into a utility sink base. We told her - no way - where would we put the shoes?

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

AMITY, what color tile was that? Noce (darker) or Chiaro (lighter)? I'm also looking at DalTile's Natural Tumbled Stone line because they have more color choices & a few of them just seem to go better with the specs in the Silestone & the older oak. There is a DalTile showroom just 2 towns away & we went to see their displays. But they only sell to contractors. It is available at Home Depot & I do still have another 20% off Home Depot coupon from ebay. That $7 ebay purchase has saved me ALOT! And I got a $50 gallon of Benjamin Moore paint (new line) for free using a coupon I got from BuzzAgent.

I want to say that it was Chiaro, but I'm not 100% sure. I'd have to go up in my attic to make sure - and with it still being 95 degrees here, that won't be happening soon.

I did make sure all boxes were from the same lot, and the guys that installed it, did mix them up.

You know, the place that we purchased our travertine from has displays of tumbled marble, and they do show it side by side, sealed and unsealed, and the sealed is darker, but I just didn't notice it much with mine.

Now you've got me wondering if mine is sealed with that right stuff!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Hey! This is what we do in our utility room under the utility tub!! The pile is huge.

We just replaced the wire shelf over the washer and dryer with cabinets and the designer at Lowes was trying to talk us into a utility sink base. We told her - no way - where would we put the shoes?

Oh, too funny!

 

[SplshMtn99]

I want to say that it was Chiaro, but I'm not 100% sure. I'd have to go up in my attic to make sure - and with it still being 95 degrees here, that won't be happening soon.

I did make sure all boxes were from the same lot, and the guys that installed it, did mix them up.

You know, the place that we purchased our travertine from has displays of tumbled marble, and they do show it side by side, sealed and unsealed, and the sealed is darker, but I just didn't notice it much with mine.

Now you've got me wondering if mine is sealed with that right stuff!

Well I think I read that SEALER won't change the color too much, but STONE ENHANCER will bring out the color & highlights more. lol Whatever that means. All I know is water makes the dark one DARKER. And doesn't change the light one which is already too light.

 

[mickeysgal]

Well I think I read that SEALER won't change the color too much, but STONE ENHANCER will bring out the color & highlights more. lol Whatever that means. All I know is water makes the dark one DARKER. And doesn't change the light one which is already too light.

Now that you mention it, you're right! The Daltile lady told me to use a certain type of enhancer on the stone, not a sealer. We have a light colored goldish rope molding and it did change the color to a deeper, richer version when she wet it with just water.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Well I think I read that SEALER won't change the color too much, but STONE ENHANCER will bring out the color & highlights more. lol Whatever that means. All I know is water makes the dark one DARKER. And doesn't change the light one which is already too light.

Whew! You scared me!

Maybe what I was seeing at the tile place, were tiles with enhancer then.

 

[shovan]

Our HA bathroom remodel has been approved!!! They threw out the low bidder that had gone bankrupt, so that's good. They contractor we wanted is all approved & we might get going next week!!


AAAAhhhh! I've still got to get the bathroom closet, the den closet cleaned out. The dresser drawers emptied out. Aaack, I've got to get busy!!!

 

[Syrreal]

Congrats on getting the approval Shovan That's awesome!

I've been kinda quiet around here lately cause I've just been so pooped by the time I can get on that I've been lurking away. I'm glad everyone is getting on i everything.

Progress on the house is going well. The dining room and 2nd bath are almost finished. They just need to put in the vents and the toilet. We are getting an estimate for the basement now. We were just going to have them put in carpet and put up a small wall to separate an open work area into a closed off storage area. Now we are going to have them take up the raised flooring and metal tracks that are under it (stuff the previous owner put in so that the cooler air would sink below the boards). DH was going to do all that stuff but he has busted up his knee pretty badly. He still can't put any direct weight on it and has a hard time going up and down stairs so it's off to the orthopedist on Tuesday (this after weeks of me trying to get him to admit that he needed to go).

Our bathroom is starting to look nice. We are just waiting right now for the vanities to come in and the glass. Here are a few pics of the progress. The slate isn't sealed yet. I think they are doing that tomorrow or Monday.

From the bathroom door

from the tub

looking into the shower

Here are a few close ups of the slate tiles. The pink and yellow one we found in one of the open boxes at HD when we were looking at some of the variations in the stone and I fell in love with it. DH and I decided to buy it so that we could make sure it would be put in. It's lucky we did too because there isn't another one like it.

 

[BillSears]

I'm bored so I thought I'd post a teaser...

I'm almost done! They did the countertops Thursday and some finish up work yesterday. The plumber is here right now, yes 9:00 on a Sunday morning, finishing up the sink/dishwasher/icemaker plumbing. My Mom, my Aunt and I will be hanging blinds today. Tomorrow the contractor will be over tomorrow to put one more coat of paint in the dining room. I have a small modification on the dining room light fixture still to get done but after that it'll be finished!!!!

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post a big update.

 

[mickeysgal]

I'm bored so I thought I'd post a teaser...

I'm almost done! They did the countertops Thursday and some finish up work yesterday. The plumber is here right now, yes 9:00 on a Sunday morning, finishing up the sink/dishwasher/icemaker plumbing. My Mom, my Aunt and I will be hanging blinds today. Tomorrow the contractor will be over tomorrow to put one more coat of paint in the dining room. I have a small modification on the dining room light fixture still to get done but after that it'll be finished!!!!

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post a big update.

That was a fast remodel - or at least it seemed that way to me. Looking forward to seeing your end result.

 

[mickeysgal]

Here are a few close ups of the slate tiles. The pink and yellow one we found in one of the open boxes at HD when we were looking at some of the variations in the stone and I fell in love with it. DH and I decided to buy it so that we could make sure it would be put in. It's lucky we did too because there isn't another one like it.

Those are pretty variations!It gives it a nice touch. You are moving along quite nicely!

Good luck on that basement. You're obviously pleased with the contractors work and a good contractor is worth his/her weight in gold.

 

[binny]

Hey all well we are into the next phase. Next on the list is to remove and replace the front door and the 2 side lights. has anyone done this? Is it really hard?

 

[SplshMtn99]

I'm bored so I thought I'd post a teaser...

I'm almost done! They did the countertops Thursday and some finish up work yesterday. The plumber is here right now, yes 9:00 on a Sunday morning, finishing up the sink/dishwasher/icemaker plumbing. My Mom, my Aunt and I will be hanging blinds today. Tomorrow the contractor will be over tomorrow to put one more coat of paint in the dining room. I have a small modification on the dining room light fixture still to get done but after that it'll be finished!!!!

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post a big update.

I've been anxiously waiting.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Hey all well we are into the next phase. Next on the list is to remove and replace the front door and the 2 side lights. has anyone done this? Is it really hard?

This is something that I want to do too. I don't have side lights though. My issue is the threshold. It's brass, like the original hardware in the house.

We've been switching out all the brass to brushed nickel and I think it's going to look tacky if we have brushed nickel hardware, and then the brass. It doesn't look like it's something that will come up easily without damaging the travertine in the entryway.

So... due to this, we have all brushed nickel hardware in the interior, and brass still on all exterior doors. We're styling.