My boyfriend and I are renovating his house. I mean, if we’re being honest, it’s more so him than me, but who’s keeping track? One of the most recent projects was building a laundry room in an existing spot. The 1950s home previously had plug-ins for a washer and dryer in the garage, but he’s upgrading the area with an enclosed structure.

After constructing a frame for the new 8’ x 5’ space, he assembled the drywall and other components to confine the area. Next up is flooring. He chose a contemporary, versatile porcelain called Uptown Antracite II Matte.

Since he’s much more experienced than I am in this sort of undertaking, most of the next steps will be details from him transcribed by me. He handles outside shizz, I handle inside shizz, and here we are. Feel free to take notes.

STEP 1: Scrape dirt and existing paint off the floor. Our base was concrete so we used a 12” drywall taping knife, but you can also use a paint or floor scraper.

STEP 2: Sweep debris into dust pan.

STEP 3: Use a wet mop (no soap) over the surface to pick up dust and allow the tile adhesive to stick to concrete.

STEP 5: Sharpen your saw blade with a stone sharpener if needed.

STEP 6: We used a wet tile saw, but you can choose what’s best for your project.

STEP 8: Mix mortar and water in bucket until you get a peanut butter consistency. (Creamy not Chunky, Silly.)

STEP 9: Starting with your center tile, you’ll want to spread the mortar with a 1/4” square notched trowel. After applying the middle piece, build around it.

TIP: Adhere your full-sized tiles before placing the cut pieces.

STEP 10: Once tiles are in place, use spacers between each unit for consistent grout lines.

SUPPLIES:

-Tiles (We used 15x30 Adessi porcelain tile in Antracite II Matte)

-Grout (We used Mapei Ultracolor Plus FA in Pearl Gray)

-Mortar (We used Mapei Ultraflex LHT SG thinset)

-Sealer (We used Miracle Grout Sealer)

-Mixing paddles

-Tile saw

-1/4” Square notched trowel

-Rubber grout float

-Tile spacers

-Buckets

-Sponge

-Broom/dustpan/mop

-Tape measure

-Grease pencil (to mark tiles for cuts)