Operation Hearth Re-Tile - Let the Laying Begin...

With a ton of the "prep" work out of the way {inspiration, demolition and cutting/dry fitting}...our hearth re-tile project was heading towards the finish line.  Unfortunately for me, in order to get there, I'd have to get over my fear of messing something up, and permanently adhere my carefully cut tiles to my sorta smooth surface.

To those of you who have been keeping up with this project...it's pretty clear that every step of the way has been a little nerve-wracking for me.  I mean, can you blame me?  I'm a complete novice.  I've never done any sort of tile work...ever.  So while I had little confidence in my tile setting skills, at least I could be 110% confident in the products I was using.  The Tile Shop totally hooked me up for this project...and not just with my drool-worthy tile, but with the perfect products to complete the job.

So with my dry-fit complete, it was time to move to the next step.  Before I went any further, I took the time to remove the dry-fit from the hearth, and re-assembled it, in order, right next to the hearth for easy access once I started tiling.

Then we broke out the thinset...the Pro-Flex Platinum, Latex Fortified Thinset Mortar to be exact. 

Hubs and I headed to the garage to mix things up.  We knew this could be messy and wouldn't dare to attempt this inside on our hardwood floors.  We mixed the water and the powder with a mixer bar, per these instructions.  {**Make sure you pour the water in first, and then add in the powder...otherwise you will find it hard to mix things at the bottom of the bucket.  Just sayin'...**}

I wasn't sure how quickly I'd move along since this was totally my first "rodeo"...so we mixed a little bit at a time.  As I needed more, hubby headed to the garage and whipped up a new batch for me.  {**Let the thinset sit for about 5-10 minutes after mixing it, before you start using it.**}

I spread my thinset and laid my tiles using this technique.  Because my starting surface wasn't the smoothest, there were a couple random tiles that needed to be built up a little higher.  For those situations, I would either back butter specific tiles, or lift the sheet up and stick a little more thinset where need be.  My goal was to have each tile even with it's neighbor.

Before I knew it, I was D-O-N-E, and already counting down the hours {at least 24 to be exact} until I could start grouting.  Ugh...patience was never my strong suit. ;)