We found a really pretty sand glazed tile from a discount home improvement store in Missouri, Hoods. We purchased all of our other supplies (grout, mortar, underlayment) from Lowes.
We went with the sand glaze ceramic tile because it had a really great texture to it, which is perfect for our piggies. We certainly didn't want to get something that they would be sliding around on.
We pulled up the old carpet and removed the baseboards and all the tack board and nails in the floor.
Under the spots in the carpet where the pigs like to go potty we painted the floor with Kilz primer to seal out any unwanted smells.
For our underlayment we used HardyBoard. We put down floor and tile mortar by Mapei and troweled it out, followed by HardyBoard and lots of screws to seal the HardyBoard down. After the mortar had set, we could start tiling.
We used Mapei ceramic tile mortar, troweled it out and placed the tiles down. We used 1/4 in spacers in between each tile.
We're still finishing up the grouting. The main area of the rooms are finished, we just have a small area in a walkway to finish. For the grout we chose a grey color to match the tiles. I also figured the grey would show little wear or dirt in the future and be easier to keep clean than a lighter color. We used Mapei grout as well.
I will have to post pictures of the finished project, but here are a few near completion. This is prior to grouting, you can still see our spacers in the floor.
This is exactly the coloring of tile I was hoping to find. It really goes great with our wall colors and other decor.
Della likes the new floor, and of course the wood burning stove is her favorite place to relax.
We're finishing up the grouting and need to get some new baseboards to put up. Alex is talking about making some out of cedar, which would be really pretty and help keep bugs away.
We did one room at a time. I'm so glad that the furniture is back in the living room. After we get the baseboards up we can put the dining room all back together.
