Tile Floors ยท Biltmore Forest
How an Old Garage Workshop Became a Bedroom Worth Staying In
The Real Work Started With the Floor You Can't See Anymore
Cindy and her sister Linda had a dear friend staying with them to help out around the house, and the room she'd be sleeping in was their father's old basement workshop, built years ago in what used to be the garage. They wanted a clean, finished tile floor laid over that old concrete slab and carried right through the closet and into the bathroom, so I patched and leveled the slab first and then set the tile one room at a time until the whole space felt like a real bedroom.
Tile floor ยท Biltmore Forest ยท About 6 days ยท Slab repair and leveling, bedroom, closet and bathroom
Free in-home estimate ยท Written, detailed pricing ยท No obligation
The outside edge of the old garage slab, cracked and sloping toward the wall.
The Old Slab Was Cracked and Sloping Away at the Edges
The first time I walked the floor, I could see the old garage slab had real problems around the outside edges, where the concrete was cracked into pieces and sloping slightly outward toward the wall. Tile won't lie flat or hold up over a floor like that, so fixing the slab had to come before anything else, starting with a thorough cleaning so I could see exactly how far the damage ran.
Old Sticky Tile Had to Come Up Before Anything Went Down
The bathroom floor was covered in old sticky tile laid right over the slab, and the concrete edge at the doorway was crumbling where it met the trim. I pulled up every piece of that old tile and scraped the floor down nice and clean, because new tile needs to bond to solid concrete and not to whatever glue was left behind.
The crumbling edge at the doorway, with the old sticky tile still down in the next room.
The first rows going down along the wall, right over the repaired edge of the slab.
Patched, Leveled, and Laid Out Before the First Tile Went Down
Once the floor was clean, I patched the cracked edges and leveled the slab so it would give the new tile a flat, solid base to sit on, which is where at least a third of any good tile job really happens. Then I laid out the whole floor before setting a single piece, so the rows would run straight along the walls and the installation would go nice and smooth from one end of the room to the other.
A Floor This Size Takes a Little Strategy
My arms only reach so far, and fresh tile has to set up overnight before you can kneel on it again, so each day I set as much tile as I could and left a clean starting point for the next morning. That planning matters most where the floor turns into another room or a closet, because a bad stopping point one evening can cost an extra day's work on a job this size.
About one-third of the room set, with a clean edge left to pick up from the next morning.
The closet floor set and lined up with the bedroom, waiting to cure overnight.
The Closet Got the Same Care as the Rest of the Room
I don't like the rush the slow steps, especially in a closet. Straight tile seams is one of those small details you notice every time you open the door. It's also one of the places where the day's stopping point mattered. I ran the floor tile as far as I could on the first day, then finished the closet the moring of day 2.
One Floor Running From the Bedroom Into the Bathroom
Once the old sticky tile was gone and the bathroom floor was scraped clean, I carried the same tile right through the doorway so the bedroom and bathroom read as one finished space instead of two patched-together rooms. The bedroom floor was already grouted by then, and the bathroom was the last stretch to set before everything got its final grout and cleanup.
The bedroom grouted and finished, with the bathroom tile set and waiting for grout.
The finished floor, grouted and cleaned, with the last of my tools on their way out.
Grouted, Cleaned Up, and Ready for Someone to Move In
With the tile set and the grout in, the floor that used to be a cracked garage slab is now flat, solid and easy to keep clean, which was exactly what the ladies wanted for their friend. After about six days start to finish, the old workshop is finally ready for an area rug and some furniture.
At a Glance
- Turned an old garage workshop into a finished basement bedroom
- Cleaned, patched and leveled a slab that was cracked and sloping at the edges
- Pulled up the old sticky tile and scraped the bathroom floor clean
- Laid out the whole floor first so the lines run straight through every doorway
- Set the tile room by room, leaving a clean starting point each day
- Carried one tile floor through the bedroom, closet and bathroom
- About 6 days, start to finish
In Their Own Words:
"I really like the way the tile turned out. I wasn't sure if you could fix the edge of the floor where it was cracked so badly, so it went a lot better than I expected. Good job!"
Linda S., Biltmore Forest
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Free in-home estimate ยท Written, detailed pricing ยท No obligation
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Remodel Asheville ยท John McMullen ยท (828) 761-6760
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