The Laundry Room - The forgotten corner of the house

Remember our laundry room renovation I mentioned a couple weeks ago?

If not, you can read about it here. Well, it is taking much longer than expected to complete, but I am happy to say it is ALMOST finished. I am touching up the stenciling and a new floor has been installed.

Today, I asked my wonderful husband to stop by and share how he installed our new floor, he installed it last weekend while I was fast asleep.

Take it away Alfred...

Dear Blogland,

Many readers of the Mustard Ceiling may have been wondering where all of Elizabeth's fantastic projects have gone to, and why she would need a week off from blogging last week. Trust me it is not that she was tired, needed a vacation, or was suddenly taken by some weird tropical disease. We have been trying to revamp the forgotten room in our home, the room that we have been putting off because really who wants to show off their laundry room.
Think about it. Your husband/boyfriend brings a bunch of his friends over, crack open a few beers and gets ready to watch the game and suddenly he sits up excited " Oh guys you have to check out my sweet new laundry room." Probably not a realistic.. but you never know.


The month of July will break down the remodel of our Laundry Room and this weeks installment will be the new floor. In the photos there is a preview of the walls, but no cheating trying to guess next week's post.

July Week 1: New Laundry Room Floor ( Amateur total time 5 hrs) (Cost :$60 at Blue Box)

The Laundry room is utilitarian by nature and thus doesn't really need a fantastic, expensive floor covering.

We chose to use a Peel and Stick tile flooring to cover the old 1950's Linoleum.

Step 1: Paint the walls and baseboards

If you are going for a full remodel paint the base boards now because who cares if you get paint on the floor, your going to cover it up anyway.

The old floor before prep work

Step 2: Prep work

Elizabeth hates it, normally my job, but I believe that this is the most important step. The picture is only as pretty as the canvas, right. Sweep the floor, and mop it, then let the floor dry.

Step 3: Pick your starting point

We started in the front of the room

The instructions on the box state that you do not want tiles to be smaller than half a tile width, but in some cases this is unavoidable. Plus, I didn't read that part till I was already into the project... oops.

The goal is to select the corner that you want to look the best, it will probably not be under the washer and dryer. Our spot was the corner just to the right of the entry way.

Step 4: Laying out the tile ( Not permanently sticking it down yet)

The goal is to lay the tile out in a large V shape. One layer of tile deep along each wall from the original corner. Use another tile to make sure the lines are straight.

Amateur Tip: Trimming/Cutting tile to your room

Getting ready to trim a tile

In our room it was easy to lay the tile out on one side, but along the entrance wall we needed to modify the tile to fit.

If I was to just lay tile from the corner across the entrance wall, there would be a small tile piece at the entrance. I didn't think this high traffic area was the best place for a small tile that could get worked loose later and cause a tripping hazard.


I removed the kick plate from the original floor and the kitchen VCT tile. I then measured the distance from the edge of the VCT tile and wall. Depicted in Picture below.

Trim measured distance from the original corner tile. This will help make a clean line all the way across. I used a tile cutter pictured below.

It looks wicked, and it is sharp. When cutting the tile I scored the back of the tile and bent it apart, towards the surface, Bend from an edge and work across. Then cut with the blade through the show surface.

When you need to trim the tile be very careful and cut away from yourself and try to take small cuts. Also, be patient if you mess up the tile start over.

Step 5: Sticking your tile

Finishing the last row of tiles



Voila, new floor

When you stick the tile make sure you keep the seams straight. The goal is build the V then build make it into a Pyramid, building out.

Again, as you need cut tiles and trim around the obstacle.

Take your time and it will turn out well.

-Alfred

I am participating in these parties this week: Whassup Wednesday's, Wow Us Wednesday's, Swing Into Spring, Wicked Awesome Wednesday, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Hookin Up With HoH, Get Your Brag On, Thrifty Thursday's, Somewhat Simple, Transformation Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Delightfully Inspiring, Flaunt it Friday, Simply Designing, My Repurposed Life, Feature Yourself Friday, Frugalicious Friday, New Friend Friday, Weekend Wrap Up, Saturday Spotlight, Sundae Scoop, Crafty Day, Sunday Showcase, Just Something I Whipped Up, Making the World Cuter Monday, Amaze Me Monday, Make it for Less Monday,DIY Project Parade, Party Time, Market Me Monday, Motivate Me Monday, Tip Me Tuesday