Tiling the waterfall front

After I practiced my tiling skills on the back of the waterfall, I began working on the front. My goal was to continue the diamond pattern on the front like I had done on the back, and create a cohesive look where the waterfall manifold did not disrupt the pattern.

The challenge was to cut the tiles to create the illusion that the pattern continued, and to calculate where the pattern had to start in order for it to end at the top without using tiny pieces that would look out of place and unplanned.

These tiles did not need to be applied over the waterproofing like the tiles on the inside of the spa, but in order to start this wall above the water line I needed to create a straight line that I could build from. I cut a 1" x 2" and wedged it between the two sides as I placed the tiles and built the pattern up from there.

I made paper dolls (Not really, just seeing if you were paying attention). But I did cut patterns out of paper for each piece and dry placed it on the wall before I cut the tiles. I drew around each piece before I made thin set and made it official-there is no going back after the tile is placed in thin set! You can see the pencil marks if you look closely.

I finished this wall before the Memorial Day Weekend. I thought it turned out pretty cool!

The time I have spent since has been on preparing the inside of the spa for the waterproofing application.