Karla's Studio-Shed Project 2006

Karla's Studio-Shed Project!

Days 31-34: Flooring & Trim.
	Onto the floor! This image is rather boring, but it shows my bare, plywood floor right after I cleaned it. I was prepping it for the first stage of the flooring project; which was installing the underlayment.
	After the floor's surface was as clean as I could get it, I rolled out an uncoupling material called Schluter-Ditra. It's a polyethylene plastic underlayment that has a waffle pattern on the surface. The little "waffle-wells" get filled up with mortar, making a strong and flexible underlayment for ceramic or porcelain tile. In this picture, you can see the dark spots of thinset mortar soaking into the fleece backing of the Ditra. This is what's supposed to happen, so I think I'm doing good so far! fingers crossed
	Okay....so tiling is WAY harder than I thought it would be. After letting the mortar dry under the Ditra for about 17 hours, I decided to tackle the actual laying of the tiles. It took me about 3.5 hours, but I finally got it done! I only had to cut about 10 tiles and all of the cuts were pretty simple. Since I used Ditra and the tiles are fully vitrified porcelain, it'll take a much longer time for everything to dry, so I won't be able to grout for a week or two. I'll be sure to update again as soon as I've finished grouting! :)
	Grout's done! After work, I decided to go ahead and the grout down before the weekend started! I used a screwdriver and a hammer to remove some of the excess mortar that had squeezed up between the tiles and then vacuumed any loose pieces and dust. Once the floor was ready, I mixed the charcoal/black grout until it was a thick, almost doughy consistency. Using a rubber float, I applied the grout to the tiles in diagonal passes until the all of the grout lines were packed. Then, I cleaned the tiles to remove any excess grout and used a damp sponge to shape the grout lines. I had actually taken some pictures of these steps, but my camera decided to not save them to my memory card for some reason. :(
	The floor is officially done! Here's a picture of the transition piece between the tiles and the door's threshold. I was unable to find a good transition that would work for my floor, so I ended up using a brass carpet bar and 3" screws to cover the gap. In the picture, you can also see the gray caulk I used to seal the expansion gaps around the room's perimeter, and the grout lines have been sealed! So....I'm really, truly done with the floor! :)
	This image showcases the trim I used to finish the gaps around the windows and door. I first filled in the gaps with Great Stuff insulating foam, then covered that with caulk. The final step was to purchase some 90 degree "L" trim, cut the ends at 45 degree angles and then stain them to match the windows and door. I think it looks great! :)
	Woo hoo! They're painted and installed! I was happy with how well I was able to cut the boards to meet in the corners, but strangely, the boards didn't fit as well after they were painted. Who knew paint could change measurements so much! :) Anyway, I'm still happy with how they look. The contrast is great against the walls, and it really helps to make the shed look "complete". I've only got one more piece to cut since I couldn't get it to fit again, but since it's so small I may just leave it off. Who knows!? :)
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