Repenting With Tile

So I had a little trouble the other night, resulting in a damaged wall and a tough predicament.

The holes in the wall needed to be repaired, because if left open the chemicals in the attic insulation would come down into the house even more readily than they are now. Plus a wall with holes in it just looks bad.

Patching the holes was easy - just cut out the damaged drywall and replace it with a new piece. However, finishing the patch to match the rest of the wall was out of the question. It took nearly a month for the "safe" VOC-free paint we used last year to off-gas enough that Kara could be in the house, even for a little bit. And things are in enough disarray here that I can't stand having yet another half-way finished project around.

I pondered and prayed, and was inspired to hang ceramic tile on the wall. Most walls in the Dallas condos where Kara stays are floor to ceiling tile, and it works well. Installing tile is messy, but the materials are all chemically inert, so there is no off-gas time needed.

When we laid tile in our house in Lehi, we were blessed with nice, straight walls. In this house, not so much. The wall in question here bowed so badly that the patch stuck up over 1/4 inch above the rest of the wall. Not so good for tile.

This problem was fixed with thin metal mending brackets. The tile doesn't lay completely flat over them, but they are nowhere near 1/4 inch thick.

The tile all went up Monday and yesterday. I started cleaning it off today, but only got about a third of the way done. I'll finish up tomorrow, and maybe - just maybe - I'll grout on Friday and be finished.

I've never tried to do grout while standing on a ladder before. Should be fun.

Comments

Anna said…
Looks like it's going to look pretty nice. If the wall ever gets hit again, I'm guessing the wall will win.

:)
11/29/07, 9:09 AM
Julie Wright said…
that's going to look totally cool when you're done! I drywalled the dining room once. I will never ever do it again. It looks wretched, proving I should stick to the saws and wood and leave the mud to the professionals.
11/29/07, 3:58 PM
Tristi Pinkston said…
This is going to look really gorgeous. And I have to agree with A.Riley -- you've just built yourself a formidable opponent. :)
11/30/07, 12:43 AM
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