The Floor in the Shed

Last Friday, our friend/contractor Kevin, his helper Wally and I put down the floor in the shed. With a little help from Beau. We had to keep Beau's nose out of the glue. That would have been a bad scene. 

I used VCT tile (vinyl composition tile) from Armstrong in my cellar studio we put in in 2010. I chose very bright colors and have been happy with the way they have worn and how easy they are to clean. VCT tiles are the tiles you see in hospitals, schools, and grocery stores. They are quite reasonably priced. I had several different color tiles left over from that project including 2 full boxes of 45 each in chartreuse and bright yellow. I had stuffed them into the shed in case another project arose. 

This shed is about 12 x 15 feet. Not real big but big enough. I counted the leftover tiles and came up with a couple designs. At first I was going to do a patchwork quilt looking design like this.

But after I thought about it, I decided that color blocking would be better for the space. Large blocks of the bright colors will be more WOW under the table I will have in the space and will also look better in the photos in my upcoming book. This is the color blocked design I decided upon. 

Putting down this tile is quite easy. You use a trowel and spread out the adhesive like this. Kevin spread it in small sections about 3 x 3 feet wide. We began at the center and worked towards one corner, over to the next and then worked the remaining half in double rows. You have to be careful not to box yourself into the corner. 

Halfway done.

Almost there. We ran out of some colors so we had to improvise at the end. 

The glue takes a while to set up. If you put too much on the floor, it will squeeze to the front. You have to let the glue set up for a day before walking on it. Now, I am working on removing the excess glue with a putty knife and paint thinner. It is coming up easily. 

I love the way the floor turned out. This shed is going to be for throwing pottery and other messy art stuff so I can get my potter's wheel and clay out of my other studio. It will be easy to wash the floor and be serviceable. It isn't insulated so I won't be able to use it in the winter nor will I be able to store glazes, clay or paints in it because they will freeze. 

I'm not sure what I am doing with the walls yet. I'm thinking on it. For now, I have put on 2 coats of primer to stop the bleed through of the plywood. 

More to come soon on the Shed Project.