Anyone like white hex? - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Bill_Vincent · 02-10-2008, 06:00 PM

This bathroom was all 1" hex, except for the 1x1 bullnose used to frame all the windows, niche, bench, and shower door. 10' high walls, and everything in the bathroom, other than the closet and tub skirt got tiled:

cleveman · 02-10-2008, 06:11 PM

I like the window jambs. Some of it looks grouted, some not. Is this correct?

Where is the installation? I'm going there to clean it with muriatic acid!!

I did some of the larger octogonal stuff last week with the diamonds, all white, white grout.

How was your eyesight at the end of the day?

Bill_Vincent · 02-10-2008, 06:18 PM

The last pic of the shower windows was taken before the tile was grouted to show the detail of the strips going up the sides of each window. NOTHING was plumb in that shower. I had to draw plumblines up each side of those windows and cut graduated pieces from there. If you look at the pic just before the ungrouted pic, you can see it with everything grouted. The returns and trim on the windows were all wood, painted with Interlux waterproof boat paint.

mdshunk · 02-10-2008, 06:20 PM

Hex on the walls? Looks dumb on anything but the floor, to me. Hex on the floor, and subway tile on the wall. That's the way grandma and grandpa like it.

cleveman · 02-10-2008, 06:33 PM

It's difficult for me to see much detail.

How many days work did you expect and how many did you need?

Did you try to talk the customer out of the mosaic? How about the grout color? How did these conversations go? Did you tell them it would be less expensive with different tile?

Were you pissed off when you were installing, or were you thinking about all the extra hours you were getting paid for to make each of the cuts?

**Teetorbilt** · 02-10-2008, 06:49 PM

I see the small hex making a comeback, retro to 20's-30's on the floor. Never seen it on a wall or ceiling before, seems a bit too much.

I can appreciate the work though.

Bill_Vincent · 02-10-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cleveman

It's difficult for me to see much detail.

How many days work did you expect and how many did you need?

Did you try to talk the customer out of the mosaic? How about the grout color? How did these conversations go? Did you tell them it would be less expensive with different tile?

Were you pissed off when you were installing, or were you thinking about all the extra hours you were getting paid for to make each of the cuts?

I figured 2 weeks and it took me three, mostly because if the shower walls. 8- 2' walls, four of which had 18" wide windows, and not a one of them had plumb windows or seams between the walls. So in order to make sure it would all work out coming around the windows, I had to draw plumblines up each side of each window and go off them, graduating the cuts. That took a long long time.

As for talking him out of this, let me put it this way-- before he retired, he was Donald Trump's architect. Whatever he said, went.

Almost.

**ChrWright** · 02-10-2008, 07:52 PM

For an architect, his tub deck looks very strange with that corner tub in it.

Bill_Vincent · 02-10-2008, 09:31 PM

That part of it, I like!! There's a nice big open space over in the back right corner to put in a good sized plant, or whatever. Pretty neat!!

neolitic · 02-10-2008, 11:28 PM

Lots of good work, but I think it'd
be really easy to get tired of that
look fast.
Him being an architect goes a long
way toward explaining a lot.

direct flooring · 02-13-2008, 09:26 PM

what did you get a sq foot ? well done!

Bill_Vincent · 02-13-2008, 09:49 PM

Not as much as I should have!! It was my very first time though, using hex as a wall tile, and I underestimated the time it would take. That's okay-- it could've been worse. I didn't get hurt too bad on it.

It'll get made up, though. I'm about to put a piece together for him the size of a full sheet of Durock, where the field will be 6x6 tumbled bottocino, lined with walnut travertine chair rail, and 15 arbitrarily placed pieces of handmade tiles from the turn of the century at Moravia Tile Works, made personally by the founder, Henry Mercer. Each of these tiles is worth well into 5 figures. This WILL be interesting! You can BET I'll post pics when it's done!

Pearce Services · 02-14-2008, 12:54 AM

What materials did you use for the shower walls? I can't tell in the first pic if that is tiled already, or if that is the prepped walls.

Bill_Vincent · 02-14-2008, 08:05 AM

Everything there is tiled. It's the same white hex over Durock, and any place there's a window, I used Kerdi-band to bridge between the wood frame of the window and the Durock, both in AND out of the shower:

C.C.R. · 03-03-2008, 10:25 AM

I feel like I'm in a beehive..

I don't particularly like the hex all over the place, but nice install

3 weeks in that room? I'd be seeing spots for days after. Gotta see pics of that next project.

Bill_Vincent · 03-03-2008, 05:57 PM

I don't know about seeing spots, but there were several times where my eyes literally crossed if I stared too long at the tile! No BS!

I just finally got the last of the materials to put that piece together, today. I hope to get it put together the end of this week, but we'll see.

kevjob · 03-03-2008, 06:07 PM

nice work Bill, I use the hex on floors in old craftsman homes I like the vintage look but wow thats a lot of lines.

Bill_Vincent · 03-03-2008, 06:31 PM

Alot of lines is right-- you shoulda seen how much GROUT we went through!! (12 50# bags!)

john5mt · 03-11-2008, 11:21 PM

your work looks good

the look is stupid, reminds me of a white rubber mat with bumps on it so you dont fall over.

Bill_Vincent · 03-27-2008, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill_Vincent

I'm about to put a piece together for him the size of a full sheet of Durock, where the field will be 6x6 tumbled bottocino, lined with walnut travertine chair rail, and 15 arbitrarily placed pieces of handmade tiles from the turn of the century at Moravia Tile Works, made personally by the founder, Henry Mercer. Each of these tiles is worth well into 5 figures. This WILL be interesting! You can BET I'll post pics when it's done!

Well, it's about that time. A couple of changes, though. I started putting the piece together. Got the chair rail on, and the field tile cut in, ready for the Moravian tiles, and they decided they liked it just as it is!! They're now going to use it as a table top:

The homeowner's going to have a wrought iron frame made for it, and he's going to put down by his dock.

So now, instead, we're going to do a bench top in his bedroom, basically the same thing, except no chair rail. Here's the bench top:

And here's the stars of the show. One thing, though-- I was wrong on the count-- there's 22 pieces, not 15. Keep in mind that each of these pieces was hand made about 100 years ago. Any two or three of them would pay my salary for a year.