Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!  

So the Nugs, the Nugs has been a little MIA lately. It needed a good long time out before things got more out of control than they already were. Remember this post about the creative conundrum I was in? Well I was in deep. It is really easy for me to rip something out if I don’t like it (a little too easy) and I didn’t want to make any rash decisions because I was a ball of frustration over the design. So the trailer and I had to take a break for a minute.

I came back after a few weeks with a clear vision of what I wanted to do. The first part of said vision, was changing the tile. I LOVE the green penny tile.  Like so much. But with the other elements in the trailer it was starting to feel really Easter egg-y. Sometimes living with unfavorable choices is just the reality, but in the case of our backsplash, it was less than $80 to fix it, and we were able to bust it out really quick like because we actually knew what we were doing this time (the tile job looks SO much better!)

We used Merola’s White Ceramic penny tile in gloss with Bright White grout. While it might not be the most cutting edge choice in blogland, I love the nod to retro and that it is adding texture vs.. the color/pattern/texture that was happening before.

Instead of saying “Here is the new tile. Bye!” I wanted to share a few things that we learned the second go around. (because there is ALWAYS something new to learn, am I right?!)

With the first job, we mistakenly used a floor trowel for the walls. Which wasn’t a huge problem because the thinset and the grout were nearly identical in color. But we had to be extra careful this go round because we were using Bright White grout and any bit of thinset that poked through would have to be scraped out. So to combat this we used a wall trowel (novel idea!) it leaves a much smaller ridge and a lot less thinset, so you have less of a chance for ooze that is taller than your tile.

The second thing that we did was flip the direction of the mat. Before, we started by laying the full row of un-staggered tiles horizontally (to accommodate for the countertops) and filled in 1/2 tiles along the vertical edge. This this time we decided to put it against the transition trim and used 1/2 tiles along the countertop edge. The whole thing worked SO much better.

The last thing is something that you sort of cant control, but really made all the difference in the world. The weather. We installed the green tile, mid afternoon in the dead of summer in Southern Utah. The thinset started to dry instantly and we had a very short window of time to work with it. The weather this time was much more forgiving and made the whole process significantly smoother.

So there you go! A few more tips that you can add to your tile laying arsenal!

The post The Nugget: Tile Round 2 appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!

*This Nugget project is sponsored by The Home Depot (thanks guys!)

Now that we have gotten the semi-boring out of the way (demo, rebuilding, prepping for paint) we can start work on the fun stuff! The stuff that you can actually see!!

Up first is tile. Backsplash penny tile to be exact. I am completely obsessed with this line of colorful penny tile that HomeDepot.com sells. (Sometimes I forget that they have so many amazing things online!)

I spent hours trying to pick my favorite, and ultimately ended up with Merola Tile’s Penny Round Light Green.

I love how they have a little ring on the outside that the color doesn’t cover, it gives it some really cool dimension.

We ordered 2 boxes, but, I think could have gotten away with one if we would have applied the Oregon Trail method of rationing.

I researched the crap out of installing tile in a trailer and the majority of the info that I could find said that it would be fine. But I was still a little nervous, so I called my friends over at Jim’s RV and asked them 1. if it was possible and 2. if they had ever done it. The answer was yes on both counts. (Insert happy dance…but not to Happy, because that song makes me stabby.)

The most important info that I gathered was to make sure that the surface that you are installing the tile onto is solid. The paneling that made up the interior walls? Not solid. It was like 3/16 of an inch thick. Definitely not sturdy enough to hold the weight of the tile.

Off to Home Depot I went to pick the brains of the guys who know best. They recommended installing cement board onto the walls and using thinset and grout that had flex in it (we will get into product specifics in a bit)

We measured and cut the cement board to fit the walls.

To make sure that it was nice and secured to the wall paneling, we put down Liquid Nails before we put the cement board up.

Then we screwed it onto the studs.

The biggest concern with tiling a trailer is obviously the movement that happens. No one wants to get to their destination and open the door to find their backsplash hanging out on the countertop. The guys at Home Depot recommended FlexBond Crack Prevention Mortar,  it is rated with thumbs up for use in areas that have a lot of earthquake activity and ground movement. It is a little more expensive than regular thinset, but totally worth it. It was pretty crazy to see how much flex it had when we were cleaning up,  It was most definitely the right choice.

This is the first time that I have ever laid tile, and I must say, I sort of loved it!

Step 1: Spread the FlexBond (not pictured, the moment I had to take over because Court was trying to make it perfect and I just couldn’t deal.)

Step 2:  Place your tile. I used a box cutter to trim the excess.

Step 3:  Snip and fill in all of the little pieces.

So here is the deal. Cutting Penny Tile is not hard, but it is a little confusing. It is too teeny to use a tile saw, that basically leaves you with the option of Tile Nippers. I cant even begin to tell you how many tiles we broke before we figured out a method to the madness (we tried a few techniques like this one from YHL, and this one that recommends using a grinder). The gist of it is, there are a lot of complicated ways to cut penny tile, but I think we found the easiest way EVER.

Place your nippers so that they cover 1/3 of your tile. No more than 1/3.

Squeeze.

That is it. Its all about the nipper placement.

Also? A video for those that like to see things in action!

Around the window we left the tiles on the sheets and nipped them while they were attached.

After we filled in all the little spots with our 1/2 tiles we let it set for 24 hours.

Then it was time to grout! The grout that I chose was premixed Simple Grout in Natural Gray.  Its a really good medium concrete gray color.

Using a foam float (like this one) spread the grout onto the tile. I will admit, this part had a little bit of self talk that went something like this “Mand. Don’t screw this up. Seriously. Court will never forgive you.”

The technique is simple. Glob and spread. Make sure that you are getting in every crack, taking off as much excess as you can.

Then really quickly use a damp sponge to gently wipe off all of the extra. There will be lots of rinsing involved!

PSA: I learned the hard way was that you need to wipe off every.thing. Don’t leave any water spots behind, because they are really hard to get off after they dry.

I am so in love with this green tile. It adds the perfect updated retro vibe to the little kitchen! Makes me want to penny tile bomb the entire city of St. George.

I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in the vintage trailer overhaul (the “Program”). As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
 

The post The Nugget: Installing a Tile Backsplash and How to Perfectly Cut Penny Tile appeared first on Vintage Revivals.