Expert advice from Bob Vila, the most trusted name in home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and DIY.

Last week I told you all about my recent (and successful) trip to Floor and Decor outlets where I found a tile to match the existing shower tile in the master and guest bathrooms.


I'm planning on replacing the linoleum (that was so yellowed and ugly that I painted them just to get them out of sight) in both, but hauled a sample tile home first to test things out.  I say hauled  because these tiles are 12 by 24 inches, and the store won't break off tile pieces for samples - even damaged tiles, and you know I asked (you can  order samples online, but at $1.99 per square foot, the cost to just bring an actual tile home was more appealing to see if the size would work in my tiny bathrooms).  As convinced as I was that this was  the tile I'd been looking for, it's always a good idea to see how things look in your  own home with your  own lighting (which I'll admit isn't the greatest at night when I took these pics, which makes the walls bluer and the shower tile appear more beige than it is).


Seeing it at home only reaffirmed my first instincts that this was it.  I'd found my tile!  It was time to get out the calculator to see how much I'd have to invest initially to get started.  Between the guest and master bathrooms, the tub in each room nixes several feet of space that the tile would need to cover, leaving me with just about a 6 x 6 foot square in each space.  Choosing a conservative oops factor (usually 10-15% for waste), that left me with about 80 square feet to cover.  At 15.5 square feet per box, I needed just over five boxes and would give me plenty of wiggle room (considering this is my first major tile project, I may have a few more oops moments than some, so that sixth box will allow for the learning curve).

Sq Feet Needed: approx. 80 (5.16 boxes)
$30.88/box
15.5 Sqft/box
TOTAL: $185.28 + tax

I think I can get started on this project sooner than I thought!

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