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!

What a day!

So in honor of Alberto "Kid" Contodor winning his first Tour de France at only age 24 (and for the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, no less!), I decided to hunker down and grind out the work on the bathroom like the riders grind out the climbs in the Tour. After watching Contodor cross the finish line on the Champs-Élysées, I was more than motivated to make a big dent in the remaining bathroom tasks.

After installing the cabinets, sink, and faucet yesterday, I began my day today with a quick trip to Lowe's for a couple of plumbing supplies...oh joy!

About the only thing I hate worse than electrical work, is plumbing. I awake to cold sweats and nightmares just thinking about that horrid sound of trickling water that is the telltale sign of a leak somewhere. My quest today, was to find a 1/2" - 1/2" male connector that would allow me to extend the water supply lines that came with the Swedish faucet that I bought from Ikea. To my surprise, Lowe's had exactly want I needed (and a couple of things I really didn't need, but still bought anyway). Through the self-checkout and I was quickly on my way home. Once there, I was able to hook up the hot and cold water supply lines without to much difficulty, and I also attached all of the drain plumbing for the sink. Now the moment of truth...I turned the shut off values back "on" and inspected the connections. No drips. Then I turned the faucet on and filled the sink...still no drips. My last test was to lift the stopper and let the water flood the drain pipe...and still no leaks, yeah!!

Everything seemed good, so I moved on to the next step in the bathroom, the shower bypass door. Believe it or not, this was a really simple installation. That is, if you don't count the "metal cutting and grinding to make it fit the curved shower insert" portion of the job. Again though, without too much difficulty, I had the doors installed and caulked. Now I just have to wait 24 hours for the caulk to dry and Suzanne and I can start showering in the our bathroom again. Next step is to tile the walls, including a 4" accent strip of floor tile about half-way up the wall. I also need to tile the backsplash and surround at the sink. Once I get the tile in, all that will be left is setting the toilet! I'm predicting a couple more weekends before we have our dual-flush throne back in working order!

Getting closer!

The other night, I grouted the floor. I picked "Silver Shadow" for the color of the grout and am pretty pleased with how it turned out. My frustration with laying the mosaic tiles was apparently all for not, since I was able to basically use the grout as a thinset on the tiles that had popped loose and then just grouted the heck out of them as I did the entire floor. Lesson learned, I will make sure that I spread more thinset when I do the tile on the walls! Tonight I put in a few hours after work and was able to clean the grout haze off of the tiles with cheese cloth (learned that tip online), and then did one last wipe down with a wet sponge before installing the base and quarter round mouldings.

My plan is it have the cabinets, doors, sink, and faucet in by the end of this weekend!

How to squeeze an elephant into a bottle...

so the next trick is making all of this...

fit into this.

Stay tuned folks, it's going to get interesting!!