Tile-o-rama

The tile is officially laid (lain? layed?) thanks to tons of help from my dad. He helped me work out the layout that had me completely frustrated, and made many cuts. If you look closely in this picture, you can see his head as he puts the tile down. We had some issues trying to figure out what kind of mortar to use, and finally wound up taking the advice of a guy at Home Despot who told us to not use the pre-mixed kind that I prefer. Apparently because of the size of the tiles (12 x 24), the pre-mixed goop doesn't dry correctly.

 

That meant we had to mix up our own mortar, which is thick and dusty and cementy and gross and I hate it. I hope to never use large-format tiles again ever. I was mostly on clean-up duty during the process, and here is how they look when still wet from me washing off mortar:

 

 

 

 

Overall, I'm happy with the way they match the walls, and the crazy-stripey texturing on them.  I also have glass tile that's going to fill the space that used to have ugly moulding at the bottom of the wall. That'll go on once the floor is completely done. Next up though: the grout! Which may give my mother a heart attack, because its BLACK!