Fail to Fabulous Bathroom Tile Makeover

Written byMichelle Dickson Updated

Let’s be honest here, projects do not always go as I have it pictured in my mind. In this tutorial we will see the agony of defeat and then the elation of success.

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Unfinished bathroom with pink and green tile

To start with, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this bathroom, but I knew the pink and green tile had to go. So I came up with this brilliant idea (or so I thought) to carefully remove the 2 rows of pink and green. 

Grout removal tool

So with my trusty multi-tool equipped with a grout removal blade I proceeded to carefully remove all the grout around the 2 rows of tile. I then tapped each tile with a hammer to loosen them for removal. 

wire mesh that was behind the tile

That portion of my idea was successful, what remained was this wire mesh that some sort of cement base that was about 1/2″ thick. This was removed with a hammer and chisel until only the mesh remained.

backer board was attached to the remaining mesh wire

Next  we attached 1/2″ thick tile backer board to the mesh that was on top of the dry wall. So far so good…

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using a notched trowel to spread tile adhesive to backer board for new shower tile

This was exciting, we were ready to adhere the tile. Using a notched trowel the tile adhesive was spread over the backer board the the glass mosaic penny tile was pressed into position.

new tile added to the backer board and the grout on 4x4 tiles has been removed

So far so good, then this is where my idea took a turn for the worse. I decided that to make the shower more up to date I would remove the grout between all the 4 X 4 tiles and grout the entire shower with a charcoal grout. Once again using my trusty multi-tool I began to remove all the grout …. I soon learned that this was not such a great idea, not only was it very time consuming but it filled the room with dust. I could only bear to work on it for an hour at a time. I don’t remember exactly how long it took, but it seemed like 2 months. 

new grout was put on the existing tile but it looks terrible

Finally we grouted it, and it looked horrible. In the process of removing the grout I had chipped some of the tiles and at times the multi-tool would slip and scratch the tiles and once it was grouted it showed every flaw. I was not a happy camper. This fail set me back about $75 (the tile I choose was on clearance.) But now what?  The only remedy I could think of was start over …  We removed the tile and drywall down to the studs and began again. I made sure this time we made a niche for the all the bathroom products, put up the water-resistant dry wall and then began to tile …

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old tile removed and 1/8 inch spacers were on with the new tile this shows lip in on the wall

We did need to make one small adjustment as we tiled. The edge of the bathtub, where it would meet the tile had a lip on it that would prevent the tile from sitting flush on it. Luckily I was able to find a base tile that’s intended to be like a baseboard type tile where the wall tile meets the floor. It worked perfectly over the lip of the tub and we just cut it on an angle at the corners. We used 1/8″ spacers for all the tiles, I really wanted the charcoal grout line to stand out.

rounded edge tile added to the shower niche

We used a rounded over tile for the edge of the shower niche and around the window seal area. In the corners of the niche we used pennies as tile spacers.

If you’d like to learn how to build a simple and affordable shower niche frame, click here.

tile with hole made with a diamond bit hole saw for the water pipes

A diamond bit hole saw was used to cut the tiles for the water pipes and control valve.

more of the new subway shower tile was added all over the shower walls

It took us about a week to complete all the tiling. We are not professionals for sure, but over all I am very please for the way it turned out

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all tile has been placed on the wall
putting black grout all over the new shower tile

Now for the grout … (this makes me smile) …  This is definitely a 2 person job (at least for amateurs.) The grout is spread on with a rubber grout float, pressing the grout into space between the tiles. Then pull the float across the tiles going on a diagonal to remove and excess grout. Follow the directions on the packaging, I believe ours said to remove excess grout after about 20-30 minutes with a sponge. This is where its handy to have 2 people, one to apply the grout  and one to remove the excess, this we were able to do in an evening. The following day using a clean cloth we buffed off the remaining haze. After the tile had cured for a few days a sealer was applied.

More Tiling Tips for Beginners

all shower tile placed and finished with shampoo and conditioner bottle in the niche

Yippy skippy, it’s finally finished and I LOVE the way it all turned out! If you would like to check out the full bathroom reno click here. 

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I have always had a passion for transforming spaces and creating organized, functional homes. Even as a child, I loved rearranging furniture and decorating my childhood home. In fact my dad would comment he was afraid to come home from work and sit, for fear the furniture would be rearranged. I enjoy the challenge of turning ordinary items into extraordinary pieces, whether it’s a piece of furniture or an entire room. My creativity and attention to detail drive me to find unique ways to breathe new life into any space.

As a wife (to a supportive and patient husband, Steve), mother of three, and grandmother of five, I balance my love for home improvement with family life. I enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking, and exploring nature. I also frequent yard sales, thrift stores, and vintage markets, always on the lookout for my next project.

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