Rolling Stone Tile

Did I mention that I do Wood floors?

2009-11-03T15:57:00.000-08:00

5/8" Bamboo, Installed using cleat nails

Koil Master Bath Remodel(before and afters)

2009-07-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

Custom bathroom vanity- Craig Sowers Cabinets
Granite Countertop- MG Stone

Sowers Guest Bathroom

2009-06-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

2009-06-06T09:58:00.001-07:00

Fireplace

2009-05-22T15:53:00.001-07:00

Split face stone on vertical surfaces. Travertine on seat with front edge polished to match top.

the margrave shower

2009-03-02T17:00:00.001-08:00

Untitled from Ian Byrd on Vimeo.

Recent Shower

2009-03-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

The Clark Bathroom

2008-11-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a recent guest bathroom remodel I just completed. The before picture really doesn't do it justice. What the picture can't show you is that many of the old tiles were coming off the wall which led to quite a bit of mold and mildew behind the wall on the studs. Apparently the Clark's stopped using this bathroom some time ago, leaving only one other bathroom in the house(that one 's getting the Rolling Stone treatment next). Nothing a good bleaching can't take care of though. With a new tub, new faucet, new cabinet and new tile, this once average bathroom received a well deserved face lift.

Photo Album

2008-10-11T17:04:00.001-07:00

If you are a potential client or don't care to scroll through all the blog posts to view my work, please click HERE. This should make things a bit easier for folks to check out my past projects without all my rambling. I will continue to post day to day pictures of progress on current jobs.

Master Bath Remodel

2008-10-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Here's some final pictures of the remodel. I'll take some better pictures after the painting has taken place.

Remodel Day 6 or something

2008-10-05T10:06:00.001-07:00

Remodel Day 5

2008-09-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

The tube area is mostly done and ready for the new tub which should happen today, we hope so that I can finish up the front of the tub deck. The shower pan and floor tile were installed over the weekend. There's lots of pictures so I'll just let them do the talking.

Remodel Day 4 and REDGARD 'o rama

2008-09-26T06:59:00.001-07:00

Today I began cutting some actual tile. I wanted to get the two center pieces of the bathroom out of the way. This also makes it easier for me to lay the field tile around the niches rather than having to stop and complete the niches all in one. I chose to use flagstone as the sill or shelf piece of the niche to go with the rustic look of the tile (which you shall see tomorrow) as well as the natural tumbled stone border. The flagstone looks a bit pinkish and light in color now, but after I seal it the stone will blend a bit better as the particular sealer I will use enhances the color of natural stone. The crazy red stuff you see on the floor is the shower pan liner. Most tile guys and plumbers will use the blue vinyl PVC liner which work pretty well but I've never understood the engineering behind them. I use a product called REDGARD.(Available at Home Depot) Another version is PRORED(available at lots of tile stores). It's bascially liquid rubber. It paints on pink and dries red. With the blue vinyl liner you have to lay it in the pan and wrap it 8-10 inches up the wall and nail or tack it to the studs. And then place your backerboard on top of it. Problem number 1: Unless you caulk the bottom or seal it up some how this is a point that moisture can get behind the wall. With REDGARD I install my backerboard first all the way to the floor and then paint on REDGARD 8-10 inches up the wall and into the seam and onto the floor. With PVC liner most times you have to use corner pieces and glue them into the corners not to mention in order to get the large piece of liner to turn the corner as well as go up the wall this usually means cutting the liner at the corner. This is problem number 2: this leaves yet another point for leakage. Even with the glue it's very hard to get it right. With REDGARD you simply paint it on and since it's liquid to begin with it gets into any and every crack and crevice. And when it dries it stays flexible for any shifting or movement. With REDGARD the way I do it at least, even if there was a crack in the tile or grout or anywhere in the shower, the water will not have anywhere to go but to stay inside the shower pan. With the vinyl PVC liner it seams that there are just too many problems that can occur. Alright that's my soapbox, I'm done.

Master Bath Remodel Day 3

2008-09-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

So today I installed the glass block wall. When framing the new area for block, I constructed it according to where the shower stall was going to line up. I didn't really consider the dimensions of the glass block, instead just went ahead and framed it out with the intentions of adding either lumber or strips of hardibacker on the inside to acomodate the block. As is turns out, I only needed to add two strips of 1/2 hardibacker to bring everything close together. Installing glass block can be a bit tricky. Since glass doesn't absorb moisture, the mortar used isn't very wet. Glass block mortar when properly mixed is kinda like damp mud. When sqeezed it will stick together and hold it's shape but not wet and runny. The tricky part is that you can only mix enough mortar to work with in about 15-20 minutes. And you can't re-mix it with more water. Once it's dry, it's over. Done. So you are really working against the clock. With this wall I had enough time to do about a course and a half before my mortar ran out. Slow and steady making sure all blocks are level and straight and happy. Glass block walls are really durable and strong too. About 40 minutes after I finished the wall, it was already sturdy and didn't budge at all. I'm pretty sure you could drop kick this thing and it wouldn't move!
Tomorrow we(you know, the editorial we) will begin cutting some tile. I think I want to start on the niches.

Master Bath Remodel Day 2

2008-09-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

Most of day numero dos consisted of continuing to install the hardibacker in the shower stall and putting up the green board round the tub area. I also went ahead and filled any cracks and seams in the hardibacker with mortar which will then be coated with REDGARD tomorrow to insure waterproofness. Hardibacker was also installed on the floor so that's ready for tile now too. Notice the odd looking ledge in the shower stall. That's a "Shaving ledge". Every lady needs a place to prop up the leg. Until tomorrow I'll just be getting ready to install the glass block, weeeee!

Master Bath Remodel Day 1

2008-09-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Day one is usually fun in that I get to break stuff on purpose and throw large pieces of wall into piles and jump on it and then take the sledge hammer and bust up something else. I won't lie, tearing apart someone else's bathroom especially an out dated design is loads of fun. This bathroom wasn't too bad to begin with though. It had the standard decor and tile job from when the home was built. A leaky bath tub is what set this remodel into motion so I'm told. The tub needed replacing so why not re-do the whole bathroom.
We decided to add some extra shower stall space, so once everything was removed including the fiberglass pan, I simply built a new curb out of 2x4's and moved it even with the framing of the tub deck. This added about 9-10 inches of floor space in the shower. The wall between the tub and shower also had to be brought out to match the new dimensions. The owner decided to have glass block installed on that wall as well so I cut out a few 2x4's and re-framed the wall to accept the new glass block wall. The addition of the glass block will bring in more light to the shower since there is a sky light on the tub side of the wall. We decided to add two arched niches, one in the shower and one in the tub area. Hopefully eliminating the need for the giant metal corner shelving unit thingy. The vent for the drain in the shower had to be re-routed to acomodate the new niche. That's about all for day one.

Current Remodel Project

2008-09-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here's my current project. It's a master bathroom remodel. There will be some pretty extensive work done here over the next week and half. I will be extending the shower stall outward by nearly a foot and building a new shower pan and installing new tile in the shower as well as the tub area and backsplash. Then on to the countertop and floor. Here's the before pics. Stay tuned to see the progress and changes made. First things first though...I get to tear it apart!...gently of course.

Fall is here

2008-09-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy this new background. I like fall, it looked like fall, sooo I changed it to look like fall. By the way, fall is the perfect time of year for remodeling. Have your kitchen, bathroom or floor revamped in time for the holiday season! I do fireplaces indoor and outdoor too!

Granite Tile Backsplash

2008-09-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

My New Toy

2008-08-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Go Here to view more on this product:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94749

Bathroom Remodel Complete

2008-08-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the pictures of the finished product. Notice the mitered edge at the edge of the countertop. I got the new sink and faucet installed to finish off the bathroom. Enjoy

Bathroom Remodel Part Deux

2008-08-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

So my marble tile finally came in. Actually Lowe's had it for a week and forgot to call me. Bless those people. Well I continued with the countertop yesterday. Marble can be a tricky material to work with. It's a very brittle stone and can have lots of little cracks and fissures that can really make for a frustrating day, especially when you've been working on difficult cuts and you get the piece just right, and then it just breaks off in your hand for no apparent reason. This happened today a bunch on the edge pieces. The corner we decided to go with for this countertop is mitered edges. Meaning the top piece and the edge pieces are mitered together like picture frame to create a very square edge/corner. This also helps to give the countertop the look of a solid marble top versus the tiled top shown here.
Tomorrow I will grout everything and install the new sink and faucet and seal the tile so stay tuned for the final reveal pictures. Wait, this isn't Extreme Home makeover. No reveals here. No loud bullhorn with Ty Pennington screaming into it! to coin the slogan of my good friend Kenny's landscape company...This job is about "Good people, Damn fine work". love it!

This Weeks Project

2008-08-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

I started this week doing a guest bathroom remodel. Really just tiling the floor and re-doing the countertop with marble tile and a new sink and faucet. I'll be posting more pictures as the work continues but for now we are waiting on the marble to come in.
Here's some before and "during" pictures. I first start by removing the toilet and all the baseboards. Then on to tearing out the existing tile. This was no easy task considering that the last installer did everything the right way. No matter though, my mini sledge did the trick. After cleaning up the rubble I checked for any moisture on the floor and found a bit by the toilet and the area next to the tub/shower. It wasn't bad but I wanted to allow it to air out anyways. Then on the laying down new hardibacker in preparation for the 18"x18" Travertine. The next day I began work on the countertop. Beginning with removing the existing one piece countertop which will be donated to the Habitat For Humanity Restore facility in town. Then rebuilding the top with 5/8" plywood and 1/2 Hardibacker on top all secured with screws and Liquid Nail between layers. I like my countertops to be very solid and thick and substantial feeling. Maybe I'm overdoing it but it sure will last a awhile. The pink stuff you see is called REDGARD. It's a waterproofer that can be used to...uh...waterproof stuff. I used it here to fill in the seams in the hardibacker and around the new sink and both layers of plywood and hardibacker inside the sink hole. Again, probably overdoing it but I dare water to cause problems here. That's it for now. Waiting on the marble and then the real fun stuff can begin like mitering the corners for the edge. Weeee!

Keel Home

2008-07-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I did some tile in a friends new home in Austin , Tx. I just found some of the pictures. You are looking at two different showers. One is using the 18x18 tile used on the floors in the rest of the house with a 4x4 Tumbled marble stone cut into a custom design going eye level around the shower.
The other is the master shower using 18x18 Real travertine with a custom designed deco band around the middle using 2x2 tumbled marble stone and 8" pencil liners. Both showers were particular difficult because of the weight of the tiles. It's hard to maneuver them around and keep in place with the weight of the tile plus all the mortar on the back holding them on the wall as you had even more and more weight on top of each tile. I recently met another tile guy that suggested I use a light weight mortar from Cutom Building products that sticks better and is lighter for using on horizontal surfaces. I'll have to try that next time!

"outdoor chiminea wall"

2008-07-26T17:43:00.001-07:00

"sydney shower"

2008-07-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

"byrd shower"

2008-07-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

"canada countertop and backsplash"

2008-07-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

"cooper backsplash"

2008-07-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

"jameson shower"

2008-07-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

"nielsen floor"

2008-07-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

"jameson bathtub"

2008-07-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

"margrave shower"

2008-07-26T17:11:00.000-07:00

"river rock shower"

2008-07-26T17:07:00.000-07:00