My Adventure Continues

So this afternoon I decided to take the plunge and lay the tiles on the counter top. I mixed a thick mortar for this. I also used a screen and sifted both the sand and the subsoil so the mortar was heavy and stiff. I also added an extra half of a bucket of sifted subsoil to make the mortar sticky.

I laid down a bed of mortar about 1/2 inch thick. I then smoothed and leveled out the mortar bed. I followed that with scratching the mortar bed with the toothed trowel. I then had to lay out all of the tiles and make sure they were aligned and even. Once that was done I took my 6 foot level and laid it across each row in both directions and on the diagonal. I used the level to press in the tiles so they would be as level as I can get them.

After setting the tiles with the level I checked to make sure they were secure and not loose. I did have to tap a few tiles with the rubber mallet to seat them. We then went back and added some cob mix as grout in between the tiles.

So here is the freshly laid and grouted tile counter top. Not to bad for recycled tile and a bunch of dirt, huh? My next steps are to clean the counter top after it cures and see is I need to add anything else to the grout. Then I'll apply some boiled linseed oil to seal and make the counter top water proof. After that I need to add the outer layer on the oven dome and then plaster the whole oven. Once the plastering dries it'll be time to white wash. Yes I know I said white wash and I'm expecting someone to come up with some kind of joke or reference to Tom Sawyer. There is light at the end of the tunnel, um soon I think. Well that's all for today.