Mandatory "I'm Done" Pictures!

[illini]

I am finally done with all the tile jobs at my new house. Thanks to all the advice from the pros here and extensive searching of old threads, I somehow managed to muddle through. I have vowed to never do another tile job without getting paid for it. Anyway, here are a few pics showing the different projects. The first is the master bath showing the tub area and floor.

[illini]

Here is the finished shower. We've been using it for weeks without any trouble. I used Spectralok grout throughout the bathroom, so I'm hoping spending the extra $$ pays off. As you can tell, we don't have matching towels yet! I'm trying to stay in the habit of drying out the shower after every use per John's instructions. My floor slope wasn't perfect, but it drains well enough that I'm not sweating it too much.

I feel kinda bad about not putting a Miller High Life can on the niche shelf for the picture. God knows I went through plenty while building this shower.

[Davy]

Great job Greg, I noticed the joints line up from the floor up the tub skirt, nice.

[davem]

Bows aren't mandatory, but here they are.
Great work! Gotto go in the alumni album.

[illini]

I decided on the Benissimo system modular style granite countertop in Black Empress color. It has a nice rounded edge so I didn't have to come up with someplace to get the edge finished. The stone's got some nice emerald green shades in it, although it looks like absolute black in the picture. I'm happy with the look, but the groutlines don't blend in enough for my liking. I wish I would have picked a more "busy" granite color so that the groutlines would not stand out so much.

I am very happy with the tumbled marble backsplash. The 4x4s came from Lowes and were pretty decent quality. I laid them in a brickwork pattern which worked out fairly well. I used antique white spectralock for the backsplash hoping it won't stain as easily as regular grout. Of course, I sealed the marble with the TYW stone sealer!

[illini]

Well, I picked the world's most difficult to cut marble for this fireplace, but I like the look. The Pope would have been cussing trying not to break pieces of this stuff at the veins in the stone.

I think I broke about 1 of every 3 tiles I tried to cut. In the end though, it is a nice look with all the veins. It actually turned out much better than I expected and looks nice with the simple oak mantle.

[illini]

After the marble cutting fiasco, I decided on a nice granite for the other side of the fireplace. Notice on the "thank you" note, it was written on "Prozac" stationary. I needed it after all this work (actually, my wife's mom works at a doctor's office and gets stuff from drug reps-- that's another reason nobody can afford prescriptions)

edited to add I still have to build a shelf for trimming out the backside of the fireplace.

Again, thank you all for the help along the way!

[tileguytodd]

Very Nice work Greg.
Isnt the marble fireplace look worth tearing out a few hairs.An excellant job and any Pro would be happy to be able to say he had done that fireplace.Its a masterpiece
Thanks for sharing........Dont be a stranger OK

[cx]

Not a bad job on the mantle, either, if you made that, too.

Nice work all around, Greg.

[John Bridge]

Greg,

You'd have to build another niche to get a can of beer in that shower. Poor planning, I'd say.

Nah, it looks dynamite. Just a super looking job.

[doitright]

Hi Greg!

Nice, very nice!

[Steven Hauser]

Great to be finished and have it look good as well.

Thanks for remembering to send pichers.

Steven

[John Bridge]

Greg,

Send me your last name. I'll put a couple of your pictures in our album.

[opiethetileman]

SWEET BATHROOM I bet u got a woody when you were done. NIce rolling joints from the floor to the tub. Maybe put a tap in the shower instead of just one beer. Nice job

[illini]

Thanks for the compliments everybody. Feels good to be done.

John- email sent with last name.

Thank a bunch.

Oh, I almost forgot, I got the fiercest rash from Spectralok grout. I found out the hard way it's best to heed their advice about wearing long sleeves and avoiding contact with skin. I was out deer hunting before using it the first time, so I thought it was poison ivy. Then after the second time I used it, I got "Spectalok poison ivy" again. Third time I used it, I made sure not to touch the stuff. Anybody else have this problem?