I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it. Other then the fact I know this is a half-arsed way to do a job,
does anybody see a problem with it? Remember, it only needs to last a
year (or less), and I have little time right now.

Thanks,
Jim

On 4 Aug 2006 08:09:51 -0700, "jtpr" wrote:

I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it. Other then the fact I know this is a half-arsed way to do a job,
does anybody see a problem with it? Remember, it only needs to last a
year (or less), and I have little time right now.

Thanks,
Jim

I wouldn't pull the baseboard or loosen the toilet. Both of those
could result in you having to do a lot more than you planned.

Just get within an 1/8 inch or so to the edges and then use the
bathroom caulk to lay down a small bead that covers the crack.

It will look professional and save you one heck of a lot of work.

If you have a vanity, it may be better to start at the outside corner
of the vanity. Use that corner point as the intersection of three tile
pieces. This way, your trimming will be under the base boards. Also,
any irregularity in angles is not as noticable. However, you may wind
up with a slight angle at the wall (if things are not "square").

Lay out as many tiles as you can before-hand to see where the trimming
will occur.

If you haven't got the tile yet, try to get (or encourage the "boss" to
get) a pattern with no lines to connect, etc.

Also, a hair-dryer will help heat the tile to make trimming easy -- get
plenty of extra blades.

Cheers,
Lee


jtpr wrote:
I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it. Other then the fact I know this is a half-arsed way to do a job,
does anybody see a problem with it? Remember, it only needs to last a
year (or less), and I have little time right now.

Thanks,
Jim

wrote:
If you have a vanity, it may be better to start at the outside corner
of the vanity. Use that corner point as the intersection of three tile
pieces. This way, your trimming will be under the base boards. Also,
any irregularity in angles is not as noticable. However, you may wind
up with a slight angle at the wall (if things are not "square").

Lay out as many tiles as you can before-hand to see where the trimming
will occur.

If you haven't got the tile yet, try to get (or encourage the "boss" to
get) a pattern with no lines to connect, etc.

Also, a hair-dryer will help heat the tile to make trimming easy -- get
plenty of extra blades.

Cheers,
Lee


jtpr wrote:

I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it. Other then the fact I know this is a half-arsed way to do a job,
does anybody see a problem with it? Remember, it only needs to last a
year (or less), and I have little time right now.

Thanks,
Jim


technically, shouldn't you start in the middle, averaging the cuts so
there are no tiny pieces on the ends? That's what I did in my own small
bath 10 years ago, and it looks good now. Mine was 3'9''x ~7, center
happened to be in front of the door.Set first tile in the middle with a
square and plunk em down

I bought a mid range tile and it is perfect with no lifting.

Bought a cheaper tile for the hallway outside the bath 5 years later and
it has several tiles pulling up.

I would not completely cheap out even if you plan renovations, cause
we all know what happens to plans.

On 4 Aug 2006 08:09:51 -0700, "jtpr" wrote:

I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it. Other then the fact I know this is a half-arsed way to do a job,
does anybody see a problem with it? Remember, it only needs to last a
year (or less), and I have little time right now.

Thanks,
Jim

A cheap remnant vinyl flooring for some bucks will last your year.
Trim and caulk. Even pick a pattern for the year.

Oren

"jtpr" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it.

loosening baseboard sounds like unnecesary work. Do Not
simply loosen toilet and stick tiles undr... This will leave an
air gap above the wax seat. If you insist in going under
toilet, remove toilet, replace wax seat, lay tile and replace
toilet. This will keep sewer gas outta your home.

lee h

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 19:40:44 GMT, yourname wrote:

wrote:
If you have a vanity, it may be better to start at the outside corner
of the vanity. Use that corner point as the intersection of three tile
pieces. This way, your trimming will be under the base boards. Also,
any irregularity in angles is not as noticable. However, you may wind
up with a slight angle at the wall (if things are not "square").

Lay out as many tiles as you can before-hand to see where the trimming
will occur.

If you haven't got the tile yet, try to get (or encourage the "boss" to
get) a pattern with no lines to connect, etc.

Also, a hair-dryer will help heat the tile to make trimming easy -- get
plenty of extra blades.

Cheers,
Lee


jtpr wrote:

I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it. Other then the fact I know this is a half-arsed way to do a job,
does anybody see a problem with it? Remember, it only needs to last a
year (or less), and I have little time right now.

Thanks,
Jim


technically, shouldn't you start in the middle, averaging the cuts so
there are no tiny pieces on the ends? That's what I did in my own small
bath 10 years ago, and it looks good now. Mine was 3'9''x ~7, center
happened to be in front of the door.Set first tile in the middle with a
square and plunk em down

I bought a mid range tile and it is perfect with no lifting.

Bought a cheaper tile for the hallway outside the bath 5 years later and
it has several tiles pulling up.

I would not completely cheap out even if you plan renovations, cause
we all know what happens to plans.

You are correct. Actually, you measure the room and find the center
from both directions. The tiles are 12x12. You DO NOT want to mess
with thin strips along walls or cabinets. You are better placing a
half (or almost half) tile all the way around the border than having
to fill in with a 1 inch strip someplace. Once you find the center,
measure in 12 inch increments and determine if you will have any thin
pieces. If so, go "x" amount of inches away from that center mark
(either direction). Once you determine the actual "center of the
tiles" (not of the room), run a chalkline in both directions. Use the
straigetest wall or cabinet base (usually exterior walls). Be sure
your chalkline is the same measurement to that wall on both ends.
Then start to lay the tiles from the center marks, and be sure the
first tiles are precisely aligned with those chalk lines. This way
you will have a straight floor.

Whoever said not to mess with the baseboard is not making any sense.
You dont need to remove the whole baseboard, just the quarter round
(unless you dont have any). Under normal circumstances, it has a 4
penny finishing nail every foot or 16". Use a small pry bar and lift
them, and remove. Label them so you know what wall they came off.
I'd sure rather remove the quarter round than have to precisely cut
each tile around the walls. Once removed, you can rough cut each
time, and know that the edges will be covered with the trim. Dont
remove the door casings though. Those you have to spend some time
fitting the tiles.

Finally the toilet. I am sorry to say that you will have to remove
it. If the tiles are 1/16 inch thick, you will end up with a 1/16" gap
in your wax ring. A leaking toilet will cause you much more work in
the future than is the extra effort to remove the toilet and install a
new $3 wax ring, and maybe some new bolts too. Dont chance it. Do it
right. In a year from now that leaking toilet can do a lot of damage.
And if you think that cutting all the tiles to fit around the toilet
is the solution, I personally think the time it takes to cut all those
tiles is far more than just taking the toilet out.

One last comment. If by some chance you think you may end up leaving
these tiles for more than a year, I'd highly recommend coating fresh
plywood or other underlayment with a coat of varnish, oil based paint,
or just a thin coat of multipurpose flooring adhesive. Those self
adhesive tiles are notorious for not sticking well to porous materials
especially if water gets on them. Why not just spend an extra hour
and a few more dollars and do the job right. Plans dont always work as
planned, and that floor may as well look nice in 3 years if you dont
get to your complete remodel before then. Besides that, you may want
to place another floor over that, and wont be able to do so if they
are loose.

Mark

jtpr wrote:

I'm going to put some of these down in a small bathroom this weekend.
This is a quick cheap fix for a year or so as the whole room will be
gutted and redone then. That being said, I want to do this as simply
as possible. I am thinking I can pull the baseboard and start by
putting them right against the wall, working out to the door. The
toilet I'll loosen and just tuck the edges under it, then re-tighten
it. Other then the fact I know this is a half-arsed way to do a job,
does anybody see a problem with it? Remember, it only needs to last a
year (or less), and I have little time right now.

Thanks,
Jim

A year or less? Buy some cheap indoor/outdoor carpet and glue it down
without moving toilet or baseboards.

Norminn wrote:

A year or less? Buy some cheap indoor/outdoor carpet and glue it down
without moving toilet or baseboards.

We did that in the kitchen. Been there SIXTEEN years. Still looks good.