Sox are up 9-1 with a rain delay... Here are my questions: (1)Yesterday I removed one saltillo tile from the floor by using hammer. Some old white thinset came out with the tile, some didn't. It looks to me the underneath is concrete. May I place thinset/tile directly on the concrete slab? Or should I install Ditra membrane first, then thinset and tile? The original tiles are in good condition right now. No cracks. They are just worn out. Once you get the tile and thinset off, get the slab surface as smooth as you can. you don't want any debris that can cause a newly applied tile to rock or wobble. If there are no structural cracks in your slab then you can tile right over it. Get it clean, moisten it a bit with water in a spray bottle, then use a highly modfied bagged thinset to set your new tile using a 1/4" square notched trowel. Use the flat edge of the trowel to get a thin veneer of thinset on the area to be worked, then use the notched side to remove the excess. Easy to do. If you do have any structural cracks, then Ditra or Noble membrane would be fine to use. (2)What exact power tool(s) should I use to speed up the tile/grout removal process? I tried to find the answer online. However, it seems different people favor different tools. I'm totally confused. See my previous post. Had you not already removed one tile I'd recommend using a diamond blade on an angle grinder to cut the grout and to help release the first tile. I'd also recommend calling your local rental place and ask what they have. A Bosch or equivalent will probably run you $40-$50 for a day's rental. Maybe less for a half-day. Once the first tile is removed the remainder should pop off. Again, a tile chisel and 2-4 lb hammer powered by elbow grease, or a rented Bosch would make easy work of it. Run the edge of the chisel at a low angle right along the surface of the slab. (3)What would be the correct/easiest way to remove the small tiles from the walls? Do I have to install new drywall afterwards? Here you can use a 3" or 4" stiff putty knife at a very low angle. Run it between the tile and the drywall, trying to not gouge the drywall. How successful you are depends on the adhesive that was used. If you trash the drywall, no worries, you can run the wainscot right over it, or cut the drywall out below the height of the cap rail and install your wainscot right on the studs. You might have to do the latter if the wainscot is going behind the toilet and you have minimal clearance between the wall and the toilet. (4)What aspects do you think are important for my first DIY project? I would greatly apprecite any suggestions! -Know your limitations. -Think the entire project through, step-by-step. -Figure out a good work order, demo through finish. You have a vanity. You want a pedestal sink. Don't forget to install blocking to attach lag sink to the wall. -Storage...you're losing a vanity. Will you have other storage? -Timeline. Figure out how long things will take then double it. At a minimum. If you get off your plan, think ahead. You don't want to complete a task only to wreck or undo it in the next phase. -Know your materials. Only use modified dry powder thinset for setting the tiles on the floor and for grouting the floor and wall tile. No premixed "adhesive" from a tub for setting floor tile. No premixed "grout" from a tub for grouting floor or wall tile.

Thank you everyone for your comments. cat_mom - What I was trying to communicate is that a camera shot via a wide-angle lens imparts size that could be misjudged. We've had smaller too. bethohio3 - Those additional 4" in the shower are amazing in the space provided. It was the glass company who suggested the side panel with a robe hook. AnnieDeighnaugh - There was too much air space wasted before so adding a drawer below a shelf basically lets us take advantage. bosegirl - thank you! awm03 - My DH only removed the old vanity a day before the new one arrived so the wait wasn't really much of a problem - just my impatience wondering what my vision would look like. outsideplaying - ? Believe you mis posted.

Yes it is weird. I know that when I did the post it indicated there were 2 post, yet in the general lineup of threads on the bathroom forum, it just indicated there was one. I edited the second post, so now it may show up. But I will copy the post below. Apparently this part 2 thread didn't post so here it is. "Part Two" (refer to above post for part one) Tile, floor and shower: The floor is Stone Peak, in the Fossil pattern, the color is Deep Sea. It is very pretty and I think it goes nicely juxtaposed to the shower tile. It is lovely with the walnut coloring. The Shower tile is Atlas Concorde in the Marvel Calacatta Extra design. It is 12x24. It is porcelain and very strong. It is rectified and made in Italy. I stumbled a crossed it and was able to order it from Nebraska Furniture Mart. It goes very well with the walnut. I apologize to Mongo for having consistent lipage throughout the shower L. I put floor warming wires in, like I did for my first bathroom remodel. I used SunTouch WarmWire brand, 240 volts. My electrician installed the thermostat but I did the rest, learning from Stacey Neil, Mongo, and the John Bridge Tile forum. DH thinks this warm floor is great. I used mostly Laticrete tile setting products, Hydroban, thinset 254 modified, their silicon color caulking, and the spectralock epoxy grout. I sometimes mix custom colors and did with the shower wall grout. I also custom mixed my caulking in a ziplock bag. Instead of Ditra uncoupling membrane like I used for the first bathroom, I used the Laticrete Strata Matt that was new. It has vents in the waffles to allow the use of modified thinset (allows drying through evaporation of the ingredients). Ditra is to be used only with unmodified thinset (where the product drys via chemical reaction “setting type”). The Laticrete Strata Matt is around 45” wide and too wide for me to use very well. The Ditra is around 36” wide if I remember, and easier for me to manage. I used Mape Self Leveling Compound to cover the warming wires prior to the uncoupling membrane application. if there are any more questions you have please ask. Again I have not proofed this text since last year ;) I hate the thought of reading this long post.

This is an interesting topic, how best to use the large format tiles we have today. 2Little Fishies, firstly, I love your kitchen. I want to go sit on your built-in and take it all in for a few hours. I am thinking that the staggered, running bond style of tile setting better matches your home. Also, we do not know if the stacked look is going to catch on and become one of the regular choices people use in setting tile in the future or if we will be saying "that's so mid-teens" by 2025. So why chance it with something as permanent as tile when the traditional running bond pattern so matches your home? Look at Enduring' s shower. Do you love it? If yes, find yourself a tile setter willing to do the kind of planning she has done and chose a grout that matches best to make the tile look like a slab wall. She picked over her tile very carefully to get the flow to have that effect. I bet she spent several hours - if not a couple of days - choosing which tile went where, but look what she achieved! You can do that work on your kitchen floor (I can help direct from my perch on the built-in.) If you stack the tile, you may not be able to get the "faux slab wall" effect. Why not? The veins cannot be manipulated by matching the end of one vein to the beginning of one on another tile. Look at Enduring' s wall. She runs a vein through three or four tiles in places. One is at the upper right corner of the niche. Looking again at your tile, I see that most veins do go from side to side. So look at installation photos, if you can find some of your tile, and see if you are able to get that pleasing effect of veins matching up from tile to tile on enough tiles to get a "faux slab wall" effect. THAT is what makes a marble (or marbleain) installation for ME. If you can do that, if the veins mostly go from one side to the other side, then stacking the tile CAN get the pleasing effect and all you have to think about is whether the stacked tile will look dated in ten years.