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Friday, March 04, 2011

Kitchen Floor

After 2 weeks and nearly 50 hours of work, the kitchen floor is finally complete.


In 2003 I did a remodel where I removed unusable attic space and installed an upstairs bathroom, enlarged a bedroom and tacked on a balcony. After the demolition of the original roof, I kept the old full dimensioned 2x4s for sentimental sake and also in case I might have a chance to reuse them again.

In the design stage of the current kitchen remodel, I came across an interesting wood and tile inlay and the thought occured to me to finally utilize those old 2x4s. To give it more of a worn look, I had them sandblasted. Here are some close up shots.




The next picture is the collection of split 2x4s after coming from the sandblaster. Earlier, I had cut these to size and checked for nails before running through the bandsaw by Kevin Reedy, who would later become the cabinet maker. He was a reference from my dining room table maker, Dennis.


The kitchen that I'm remodeling was a later addition at the back part of the house. As a result, the floors are at different levels so I had to add some 1/4" plywood to bring it to the same level as the adjacent dining room.


Before installing the 2x4 halves and bricks, I first laid out the centerlines of the 2x4s based on the location of the sink and range for symmetry.



Once the 2x4s were nailed in place, I installed Durock as a solid foundation for the brick veneers to be install on.



Here's a shot of the brick veneer lined up to be installed. I purchased through Holbird Enterprise and the brick is from the Alabama Charcoal Co. in Oklahoma, so lots of character and various colors on the faces.


Thin setting and brick veneer install. I only worked a small area at a time, since there was a lot of cutting due to the angles. After a section or two, I got a good process down and it went fairly smooth, although I felt it in my back the following day, that's for sure.




The grouting was a bit more of an unexpected challenge. The grout tended to adhere to the brick face much more than a glossy tile face so clean up was a bit frantic. I ended up taking a day of "vacation" the next morning to scrub the brick faces to get as much grout off as possible. Later, they went through an acid wash by Gary and that made a huge difference.



More finished shots below.
The two wood "rugs" were strategically placed in front of the sink and the range since a lot of standing is spent there. I figured standing on wood rather than brick would be easier on the body over time.







22 comments:

  1. Wow--what a neat floor! Congratulations on an excellent job.

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  2. THis is the most incredible thing we have seen anyone do with our brick. You did a wonderful job on the work - the design is absolutely amazing.
    Jane...Vintage Brick Veneer

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  3. This is creative thinking at its best! The design takes the use of the elements to another level of greatness. How a creative mind can take such advantage of materials and to top it off the use of recycle bricks and wood made it even more special. I love everything about this project!

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  4. That is awesome! I wish I had your ability to envision doing renovations like this. How do you clean something like that? Again, awesome job!!!!

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  5. how did you secure the plywood to the slab?

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  6. If I remember right, the 1/4" plywood was screwed to the subfloor on 8 to 10" centers. I needed it to raise the floor just a tad.

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  7. Thanks for the response, Joe. Did you use any kind of moisture barrier underneath the plywood? It all looks great!

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    1. Hi Tony. Sorry for the delay. I did not use a vapor barrier but I was heavy with the sealer.

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  8. Absolutely gorgeous! This exactly what I will do in my next kitchen (retirement). What did you do to seal the floor, varethane (sic), since the bricks & wood are porous?

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  9. Yes, I put about three coats of water based urethane and its held up well.

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  10. This is so beautiful! What is an acid wash? I wonder if you wouldn't mind showing a before and after picture of the acid wash. I really want my husband to install this flooring in our kitchen. It looks so warm and inviting. Thanks

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    1. The acid wash was only needed to remove the extra grout because I rushed it. Bad idea to rush. It was a very fun project but only because I like challenges. This definite had its share of challenge.

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    2. Anonymous10:42 PM

      Try using a sealer on the bricks before installing them, it will help to keep the grout from sticking to the bricks, making clean up easier. I know it works on stone tile, which is just as porous as brick.

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  11. Can you please give me the contact info to purchase these brick pavers? Thx, having trouble googling the 2 names you listed.

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  12. They may be out of business if you tried the name I added. I'm sure there must be other brick paver suppliers

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  13. This is absolutely fabulous!!

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  14. You are an absolute craftsman. This is exactly what I have been thinking of for my dining room floor. Thanks so much for the tutorial. I also have an attic that needs to come out and I was hoping to use the wood. Never thought of using it for the floor. Who sandblasted it for you? I would have no idea who to ask! Thanks! Here's my project. Let me know if you want to fly out east and do my floor ;) https://www.facebook.com/wrensneststory/?ref=br_rs

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    1. Thank you for the kind words!
      As for the sandblasting, they use this technique in making wood signs. I found my guy through a pump company I used to work for. Pump housings are cast at a foundry and need to be sandblasted prior to finish. So you could start there.
      Where are you located? I'm headed east in October

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  15. Anonymous9:20 PM

    What kind and color grout did you use?

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  16. Anonymous5:23 PM

    Hi Joe I was wondering how you decided how much brick to order. Did you account for the wood inlay when measuring?

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  17. I can’t honestly remember. Most likely, I subtracted out the inlay then added 20% for safety factor cause I’m kind of a engineering dork. I do remember having more left over though than expected which was too bad cause it’s crazy expensive.

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  18. Anonymous9:43 PM

    What did you use for acid wash and sealer? Just did my bathroom floor and I need both! Yours looks great!

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