DIY for a Neighbor

Luke and I have been busy spending every bit of extra time helping out our neighbor Shannon demo, prep, and tile 650 square feet of her home. I think we signed up for a bit more than we expected, but we are going to stick it out until finished.

The project started with demo work that I failed to capture on camera. The demo was by far the most labor intensive and grueling part of the whole experience. The house is pretty old and had layer upon layer of flooring that seemed impossible to pull up. After some hard, sore, exhausting days we did successfully move into the next phase of the project.

We spent a whole day driving an hour to Hobbs and shopping between Home Depot and Lowes,buying all of the necessary supplies. Thin set, grout floats, sponges, a whole pallet of Wonderboard, screws, and everything else you could think to need. I really must convey this is no small project! Contractors wanted upwards of 7,000 big ones not including any supply cost.

A picture of our neighbor Shannon buying up supplies in Home Depot

There were a couple of patches where Luke had to basically redo the sub flooring. That was a bit of a mess, but he conquered it like a pro.

After what felt like an eternity...we finally had all of the prep work complete. By prep work I mean mixing thin set, applying thin set to the ground with a trowel, placing and cutting Wonderboard in location, screwing in all 64 screws per board, taping edges with special tape, and then applying thin set over tape lines. Yikes! Prep work is definitely the bulk of this project.

One more step in the kitchen required applying Primer to help waterproof and keep mold away!

Shannon is a single mother with a cute little boy Jack. Jack is wearing a busted ball of his as a new cap and fashion statement. He's ready to have his house back, but loves hanging out with Luke.

It's fuzzy, but above Luke is laying tile.

One room below complete except for the boarder tiles we need to cut.

An up close view of the tile with spacers still in place.

It's been a long road, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel and can't wait for the big housewarming party to show off the wonderful new floors. I think one more big weekend and we'll be finally finished. Wish us luck on the last leg! I know she will be happy for years to come and that Luke and I have left our little mark in Carlsbad.