Hanging a Difficult Item

While hanging my tile wall piece, I had trouble getting that little guy on the bottom right to stay on the wall.

hey there little fella

He is actually slightly bigger than the other tiles and would not make sense (to me) to include in the big hanging. I liked the idea of displaying it nearby, but was having trouble doing so.
The edges of the tile slope in slightly, as the tile is ~3 inches deep and hollow. That, combined with the slick glazed back, meant it wouldn't sit securely on a nail. It was also going to be hung pretty close to the sofa, so could be easily knocked off by spirited guests (I would never do such a thing).

had failed to bring sexy back

I thought that it simply needed something to help it grip or hook onto the nail.
I had some weatherstripping sitting around, so used the adhesive side to attach a piece on the back of the tile.

there it is

It now hooks securely onto the nail in the wall.
I'm not sure if the end of the nail bites into the squooshy weatherstripping, or if the nail head is past the strip and thus prevented from sliding. Either way: its secure as a rock and friends-with-drinks proof.

I will definitely be using this technique wherever I need to sure up the hanging of an item.




-Lindsay

Rehabilitating a Criminally Bad Bathroom

The master bathroom has been the most extensive, time consuming, costly (though still on the cheap), and dramatic transformation of any room in my place. This is because it was clearly the only room in which there had been NO updates for many, many years. I did it all myself, with guidance and help from Handy Dad. In the process, traffic laws were broken and there may be a slightly bigger hole in the ozone, but none's perfect, and now the room's days of criminal ugliness are over.

I'll go into details in several future posts, but here's a quick before and after.

Before

this photo does it too much justice

List of offenses:

Pink and white heart tile with brown grout. 

Avocado green tile tub surround. 

Hidden nasty glass sliding doors. 

Crusty old shower head.

Splotchy black painted builder grade vanity. 

Both gold, silver, and paint splattered hardware. 

Rusted fan cover. 

No towel bars. 

Rusted door hooks.

Outdated tiny mirror that angled at your waist.

Broken and skanky base trim tile. 

Disintegrating dry wall by tub.

No storage. 

No personality.

After

favorite room in the place

Rehabilitation:

Herringbone pattern large slate tile floors. Pink and white heart tile with brown grout. 

Subtly textured creamy white tile surround. Avocado green tile tub surround. 

Glass surround gone n holes repaired. Hidden nasty glass sliding doors. 

Big modern shower head and hand held sprayer. Crusty old shower head. 

Painted properly vanity in semi-gloss black. Splotchy black painted builder grade vanity. 

Painted hardware silver throughout. Both gold, silver, and paint splattered hardware. 

Painted cover n bolts silver. Rusted fan cover. 

Added stainless steel hooks on walls and bar on vanity. No towel bars. 

Replaced hooks with stainless steel ones. Rusted door hooks. 

Over sized modern silver framed mirror. Outdated tiny mirror that angled at your waist. 

Installed wainscoting and trim throughout. Broken and skanky base trim tile. 

Mitigated dry wall issues, repaired wall, and re-attached tile. Disintegrating dry wall by tub.

Installed glass shelves, top of wainscoting shelf, added basket for towels. No storage.  

Hello gorgeous room! No personality. 

side by side

I look at the 'before' picture and it feels like a room in someone else's home. I look at the 'after' and I feel thankful for neighbors patient enough to live through all the banging and power tools it took to get there.

There's more work to be done here, but I can live with probation for now.

-Lindsay