If I knew how long this would take...

I probably would not have started. Here it is, November already! The tile-the-porch project started October 5. I learned a lot over this past month mostly about using stone versus ceramic tile. For one thing, stone tile is fragile. It was just this week that the replacements for about 20 of them that were broken arrived. I think the original order was for about a hundred, so that’s a pretty high attrition rate. Then while using them, some tiles broke in my hands if I didn’t treat them just so.

But the upside of stone tiles is that you can shape them with simple tools. I cut a lot of them in half, which leaves a very sharp edge. Using a rasp, some carbide “sandpaper” and a wood chisel trimmed up the edges just fine. These’s a downside, though, at least with this make of tile. On the back are marks made by the cutting blade. Some of them look like they were cut using a table saw, with circular arcs and one end  thinner than the other. I finally gave up trying to lay them so their surfaces match up flat and smooth. This will be my most irregular tile work, but maybe that will add a bit of charm to the final product.

Just inches away will be a whole ‘nother kind of tile job, the entryway floor. It will be covered with a different kind of stone tile, a very hard smooth stone with fossils in it! Should be interesting. I’ll write about it when the time comes.