How To Tile A Herringbone Floor | Part II

If you missed part I you can find it here.
Once you've let it dry for 24-48 hours its time to pull your spacers out. Pull out all the spacers and start cleaning up all the thinset between the grout lines. We found what works well is using a standard screwdriver and a wet rag to make sure you don't have any thinset that's going to poke through your grout. If you do have any left and don't get it all you will see it through your grout! This part I think is the biggest pain but it's well worth it if done right. Just make sure to use light pressure as you do not want to chip the tile.

Now grab your putty knife and slap on the grout in the grout lines. You can press a little but not hard enough you will scrape your tile.

Next take your rubber float and press the grout down firmly. If you have any spots that aren't all the way filled just add a little more grout and go over it again.

Then grab a sponge and dip it in a bucket of clean water. Ring out most of the water and run along the top of the grout. You'll want to do this step about three times or more until you have any excess grout cleaned up on the tile.

 Now there is a lot of different times out there on how long to wait before sealing grout. I've heard anything from 24 hrs to a week. We usually stick with about 72 hours but just go off of what the manufacture says on your bag of thin set and the sealant you're using. (Mine says wait at least 48 hours) When you apply the sealant apply it to the grout only. If you get it on the tile you will have a hard time getting it off and it can stain your tile.

Whew! That was a long post! I hope I answered all your questions let me know if you need any further explanations.

How To Tile A Herringbone Floor | Part I

We tiled this herringbone floor ourselves, and it has a big impact on a tight budget. Now we are NOT professional tilers so take all this advice at your own risk. This is just what we did, and what we have found works for us. This is about our 5th floor that we have tiled ourselves. Doing projects like this yourself can save you a boatload of money!

We started out on a cement floor. If your tiling over cement floor you do not need to put cement board down. If you are tiling on wood, you must put cement board down first before you begin these steps.

To create this pattern you must start at an angle. It is very helpful to open a few boxes and lay the tile out and make sure it will work. For us it was the entryway into the Family Room. It reduced the number of cuts that needed to be made and helped us start with a straight line. A helpful tip is to use a laser level to make sure you have a straight edge. Don't go off the wall lines, walls are almost never straight!

Once you figure out where your starting lay your Thinset down. We found it easiest to use a putty knife to put it down then use the trowel to go over it. The trowel will insure that you have the same thickness all over. Make sure that your thinset goes up to fill all the holes in the trowel. Only work in small sections, you don't want the thinset to dry before you can lay the tile down. We do a little section, lay the tile, then move on.

(Using the putty knife to put the thinset down.)

Once you have the thinset evenly placed down, lay down a piece of tile. Just move it a little back and forth while pressing down firmly. The Herringbone pattern is simple to create, the trick is to make sure you keep the pattern consistent when making your cuts. Having a reference picture on hand can help to lay the pattern. Try to lay your tile so you never have to step on it again, the last thing you want is to tile yourself into a corner! So it's always good to plan it out ahead of time! =)
We chose to lay down all of the solid pieces first and let them dry in place. Coming back another day we did all of the edge pieces that needed to be cut. This allows you to pre-cut the tile before you mix the thinset instead of cutting the tile as you go and battling thinset that is drying up.

(Scraping the thinset with the trowel)

 Before you put your spacers in, run it along the grout lines to remove any extra thinset. This will help prepare the tile for grout. We used to always put our spacers in the four corners where the tile meets. But we found they are really hard to get out when it's dry. So now we place them like this, on there side and about 4-6 per side.

 

Then you're just going to let it dry once it's all done for 24-48 hours or follow the manufactures instructions on your bag.

Part II coming tomorrow!

Monday:

Skip to my Lou, Sumos Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, Org Junkie, Creating My Way To Success

Craft-O-Maniac , DIY Show Off, Colours Dekor

Tuesday:

Home Stories A to Z, Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie, Not Just A Housewife, The Blackberry Vine, Today's Creative Blog ,
Vintage Wanna Bee, Uncommon Designs, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funny Polka Dot Giraffe, j

Wednesday:

Fabric Bows and More , Ginger Snap Craft, Primp, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, Southern Lovely, Creations Of Kara, Rae Gun Ramblings,

Lil Luna, Savy Southern Style 36th avenue, 

Thursday:

Delightful Order, 

Shabby Creek Cottage, House of Hepworths, Beyond the Picket Fence

Friday:

The Shabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, French Country Cottage, Chic On A Shoestring, Simply Designing, Simple Home Life, Thirty handmade Days, Delicate Construction, Five Days Five Ways, Truly Lovely,At The Picket Fence, Sassy Sites , 
Whipper Berry, Tidy Mom, d

Saturday:

Remodelaholic, Positively Splendid, Tater tots and Jello,

Sunday:

It's overflowing, Nifty Thrifty Things,, Under The Table And Dreaming 
Sew Chatty, 
,I heart Naptime

Girly Glam Office Reveal

*Update*

I've had so many people ask about sources for this office. So I'm here to spill the beans.....

The desk was a thrift store find.
You can find the mirror here.
The stencil was bought from cutting edge stencils, you can find it here. Paint color is RH silver sage.
The pillow is from caitlin wilson textiles in Navy Fleur Chinoise Pillow.
The tile was found at Home Depot. The brand is Daltile the size of the tile was 10" x 14" I had them cut them in half so they were 5" x 14". It's a ceramic tile made to look like carrara marble. Super durable and easy to work with.


Monday:

Skip to my Lou,

Craft-O-Maniac , DIY Show Off, Colours Dekor

Tuesday:

Home Stories A to Z, Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie, Not Just A Housewife, The Blackberry Vine, Today's Creative Blog

Wednesday:

Fabric Bows and More , Ginger Snap Craft, Primp, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, Southern Lovely, Creations Of Kara, Rae Gun Ramblings,

Lil Luna, Savy Southern Style 36th avenue, Vintage Gwen

Thursday:

Delightful Order, 

Shabby Creek Cottage, House of Hepworths, Beyond the Picket Fence

Friday:

The Shabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, French Country Cottage, Chic On A Shoestring, Simply Designing, Simple Home Life, Thirty handmade Days, Delicate Construction, Five Days Five Ways, Truly Lovely,At The Picket Fence, Sassy Sites

Saturday:

Remodelaholic, Positively Splendid, Tater tots and Jello,

Sunday:

It's overflowing, Nifty Thrifty Things,, Under The Table And Dreaming

BLACK + WHITE + PINK

I see this little vignette for an entryway. The table is front and center, and topped with pink peonies. (nothing could be better then pink peonies) The gold lantern light is hung above. As you can tell this is slowly becoming one of my favorite color combos. 

AllSaints vest / 1STDIBS.COM - Soniat House Antiques - * 6251 PAINTED GUSTAVIAN CHAIR / Sophia Round Dining Table in Three Sizes NEW / Troy Lighting F9994GSL 4 Light Morgan Chandelier, Gold and Silver Leaf / Peony Faux Flower Arrangement