Operation Hearth Re-Tile - Making the Cut{s}...

Okay so after all the inspiration, perspiration and trepidation…it was time for the next step in my hearth re-tile project. 

After deciding on the 2" hex pattern and picking up that deliciousness and some supplies from The Tile Shop, it was time to use them!  More specifically, I needed to figure out the placement of the tile, make necessary cuts and dry fit things into place.

***Please excuse me while I panic about what the best way to to approach this is.***

Luckily, my helpful neighbor came to the rescue.  He tackled a tile project or two in the past, and was able to sit with me and map things out.  We had just enough tile for the hearth, with very little to spare…so we had to carefully utilize each and every sheet.  After laying all the tile we had out on the floor, we determined where to make cuts so I wasn’t filling in small gaps around everyyyyy edge of the hearth.  {Whose brilliant idea was it to use hex shaped tile for the first tile job they ever did??  Oh yea, that was me. :-/}

Using a straight edge {old piece of scrap wood}, measuring tape and pencil we marked our cuts on the tile.  And Perny supervised. ;)

We started with the first row of tile that would butt up against the straight edge closest to the fireplace.  We marked the tile so we'd be cutting the triangular tips of the hexagons off to create a flat edge on enough sheets to span the entire width of the hearth.  After that was done, we would then cut sheets to fill in the remaining gap between the sheets and the wood trim.  Once those cuts were done, we would peel individual tiles off of the sheets and make cuts to fill in the spaces along the two short sides of the hearth.

With our plan in place and our first set of marks done {we cut things one row at a time…after cuts were made, we’d bring things inside and do a dry fit to make sure we were on the right track} we headed out to the driveway for the fun/terrifying/panic-inducing task of using the wet saw.  Maybe you think I'm being a little dramatic about using the wet saw, but I'm pretty sure the last time I used a  power saw was in middle school shop class.

My awesome neighbor set the saw up, and then got me rolling.  I was TERRIFIED to make cuts.  Marble isn’t the easiest thing to cut…especially when it comes to taking off small corners of small tiles.  I was sweating.  I’m not sure if I was soaked more from the wet saw or my own nerves.  I. Didn't. Want. To. Chip. My. Fragile. Marble.

After I did the first few sheets, I calmed down a bit.  I was able to get through every single sheet and piece of tile without any chipping or errors.  Sorry for the out-right brag, but I was pretty proud of myself in that moment.  And then even a little more proud when I assured myself that all the pieces fit perfectly into place.

Dry fit complete!!!!

Anyone else give yourself a major pat on the back after completing a new-to-you task?!

***Although I was super, duper lucky to get some free tile and materials for this project from The Tile Shop, this is not a sponsored post.  I've always promised to keep it real with you guys, so I wanted to let you guys know how much they rock! :)***