Next Project

So I started a new project back in June of this year that is slowly taking shape...if rumors are correct, this one will last a lifetime and be the greatest project that I've ever accomplished!

Stay tuned...

Look familiar???

Interesting similarity...no???

Suzanne's Toyota Prius

Start Button

Suzanne's new dual flush toilet
Flush buttons (1.6L and 0.8L)

and so it ends...

well folks, that's a wrap!

On Sunday, I grouted the wall tile and sink backsplash. Lesson learned...don't try and grout an entire room before going back and wiping down the grout lines. Unfortunately, this lesson was learned the hard way. By the time I grouted the wall tile, shower surround, and sink backsplash, just about all of the grout had dried to a nice haze. When I started to wipe it down with the sponge to remove the excess grout and smooth the grout lines, I realized that I had waited too long and the grout had started to set-up. I scrubbed furiously at the first patch of wall tile and realized that it was going take a ton of elbow grease to clean up the tiles! So I called in the reinforcements. Yep, that's right, I put in the call to Suzanne, who was relaxing downstairs doing her Sunday crossword puzzle. To my astonishment, she came willingly (sucker!). Well, we worked our butts off scrubbing the grout from the tile as best we could. All in all, it turned out o.k., but never again will I grout that much square footage before going back and cleaning the grout. Thanks Suzanne, you were a life saver on this!

Today, I came home from work and installed the dual-flush toilet, mounted the towel bar behind the toilet, hung the two bath robe pegs behind the door, and installed the hand towel ring next to the sink. That pretty much wraps it up for the master bath. I have a "punch list" going right now that includes installing the toilet paper holder (you may notice the roll sitting on the window ledge in one of the pictures), cleaning the tiles where I have some grout that didn't really come off during the installation, and a general overall cleaning to get rid of the dust from the grout (man, and I thought sanding drywall made a mess!!).

For those of you who didn't get your fill of photos, you can check out the entire collection of bathroom remodeling shots here (http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1994rry7.2dld117z&x=0&y=-3jhnh2 ). Thanks for tuning in and for posting your kind words of encouragement! Check back in a couple of weeks and hopefully I'll have some updates on the upcoming kitchen remodel (oh boy!)

In the short rows

I know, I know...I haven't updated the blog in almost two weeks now. But it's not without good reason. Suzanne and I spent last weekend up in NYC visiting Ray, Sandi, and Dega in "Da Bronx". To kill a little time while we were there, Suzanne and I caught a little band called "The Police" at Madison Square Gardens. The visit with the Ungers was excellent, as always, and the concert was icing on the cake...I've waited almost 20 years for this show, having grown up a Police fan, and I can honestly say it was well worth the wait.

Speaking of waiting...I finally got back to working on the bathroom this weekend. Yesterday I started working on putting up the wall tile and got everything except the backsplash around the sink done before quitting time. This morning, I was back at it, and in less than an hour, I finished setting the backsplash. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. My hope is to get everything grouted and get the toilet installed and functioning. No more late night trips stumbling to the hall bath for Suzanne hopefully!