Tiling the shower floor

I started by placing full sheets of the tile on the floor to see where I needed to make cuts.

I also used 1/8 inch spacers between the sheets to maintain a uniform grout line.

I had to dry fit the drain so I could fit my tiles around it. I used a Schluder-Kerdi shower pan system that requires this specific drain.

To assemble, you place the black collar around the drain fitting, then push into place with mortar, but for now, I’m just using it as a place holder.

Next, I placed the tiles over the drain to mark where I needed to cut the mosaic.

The Mosaic tiles are assembles with squishy things (technical term) that hold them together. Using scissors, I removed the unneeded tiles.

Here is what it looked like before I filled in the missing pieces.

I tried using a tile saw to cut the 1/2 pieces, but it was really hard to get the cut in the right place without the tiles lifting up. I did this with about half of my cuts then threw in the white towel

I ended up using tile nippers to cut some of the smaller pieces and finished by filing the edges until they were smooth. This method seemed to work better for the tiles that just needed a little trimming.

The little tiles take a lot more time cutting and laying out than I expected. 2 hour after I began, I ended up with this.

Just like with the bathroom floor tiles, I had to undo what I did so I could start mortaring. So I laid the shower floor tiles directly next to the shower pan keeping the same layout.

To begin, I mixed a thin set mortar designed for a shower pan. I spread the mortar using the flat side of the trowel.

Then I raked the mortar using the notched side of the trowel.

Next I gently laid the tiles in place, using tile spacers. I wanted to wait until I got most of them into place before pressing them into the mortar so I could adjust as needed.

Now it was time for the drain, which was a bit trickier. I filled the outer part of the drain area with thin set.

I finished laying the tiles close to the drain, then I “buttered” the underside of the corners. Yes, that is really what it is called.

Finally, I pushed the drain into the mortar.

Using a sponge and water, I tried to remove as much excess mortar as I possibly could. It is much easier to remove thin set when it is wet.

I guess I went a little wild with the mortar and there was quite a bit left in the grout lines. Keep reading to see how I got it out.

For the sides of the shower curb, I used the same tile I previously used on the floor. Once the pieces were cut to fit, I applied thin set with the flat side of the trowel first.

Notice the thin set is a different color? I had to use a different modified thin set for large format tiles. Is your head spinning yet? Because mine was.

Next, I raked the thin set with the notched side of the trowel.

Notice the trowel sizes I used for the shower floor and curb are different? Each tile manufacturer will specify the notch you should use in the installation process, so for this one, I used a 1/4 inch notch.

Because these tiles are large and heavy, I decided to use clamps to keep them securely in place until the mortar was set.

Additionally, I added mortar to the top to level out the areas in which there were Kerdi band seams to make the top tiling process a little easier.

For the top of the shower curb, I needed finished edges on each side, so I wasn’t able to use the tile I used for the floor.

I looked at a million different tile edges and settled on a porcelain bullnose tile I found at home depot. When using 2, they fit perfectly across the top. The only trick part was getting the miters perfect on the corner.

As you can see, I did not get them “perfect”, but they were perfectly good enough.

To finish the edge of the corner, I added a jolly tile where the unfinished edges met.

Here you can see the excess mortar between (and on) the tiles. I should have dug it out when it was wet, but too late now.

If I left it, you would be able to see all of it when I grouted, so it must come out.

I tried using a grout saw, which worked well for the larger tiles, however, it was way too hard to get between the smaller tiles.

I ended up using this little guy. It is a grout remover bit that goes into a Dremel and was a lifesaver!

It fits perfectly between the tiles and, though tedious, was a lot easier to get the excess mortar out of the shower floor.