Floor Renovation Project - Finally Done!

T-Bear

Hi all

I wanted to share my recent (nearly a year old now) floorboard / floor tile renovation project. I am more of a visual person so most of this post will be in pictures but please don't hesitate to ask me any questions and I will do my best to answer them right away!

Enjoy the story of me forever changing my mind and finally getting the job done!

So essentially there was 33sqm of this stuff in all the wet areas and the entrance - yuck!

Job 1 - Remove all the tiles (1 day)

Job 2 - Find the floorboards underneath the glue (1 day with sander hire)

Job 3 - Pull up floorboards in hallway and stagger into new floorboard area (2 days and broke my wrist!)

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Job 4 - Lay cement sheets (1 Day - Wish previous owners had done that!)

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Job 5 - Lay tiles (3 Days including cutting)

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Job 6 - Grout, seal and wipe down (1 Day)

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And there we have it! We have taken 33sqm of bland square tiling (320 x 320mm) in the wet areas down to 20sqm of gorgeous larger (600 x 300mm) porcelain tiles and added 13sqm of wooden floorboard area to the open planned lounge and dining area (previously the dining area was on the old tiles).

Some things I learnt along the way;

You can save heaps of money by shopping around and even getting factory seconds (cement sheets for example - who cares if the edges are a bit damaged)
A diamond blade angle grinder is perfect for cutting porcelain tiles for those tight and difficult edges
If you plan to stagger floorboards always try to leverage what your house has to offer (original boards) rather than buying new floorboards. This way the look and feel is the same as the old boards have likely oxidised at the same rate). This took me longer to finish the job but the end result was worth it
A lollipop stick is a great way to get a smooth even edging finish against the skirting boards
Always accept help and guidance where you can (I had 2 mates explain quite a few things to me along the way)
Music and a nice drink is always comforting during a long job!

Thanks for reading

Jason

Fantastic first post @T-Bear. Looks like a brilliant end result for all your hard work. Many thanks for sharing.

I'm looking forward to seeing what other projects you have completed, and also what you might have planned in future.

A very warm welcome to the Workshop community. It's great to have you join us.

Jason