The sewing circle ladies get "Stitch and B*tch" so I guess I get "type and gripe" lol!
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Bathroom updates: I call this the "involuntary Master Bath remodel" because we didn't save up and plan for this, it was sort of a SURPRISE emergency remodel. ha!
We were told the bathroom could be done in roughly 8 DAYS, give or take some time. Ok fine. We are now in WEEK 3 going on WEEK 4.Disclaimer - I'm venting. our Tile guy is a fine hard worker, and everything looks AWESOME, and some of the things I'm about to beeotch about are not his fault, just me typing it up. so keep that in mind. Tile - I thought it was a good sign, when the very day we shopped for the tile, that we ran into our Tile Guy AT the store! So we showed him what we wanted, and since they had an abundance of that kind of tile there, it seemed to be perfect. Of course not the case.
By the time he actually goes to GET the tile, they are sold out. So he ends up going to 4 different stores to finally buy the correct style of tile, and the amount we need. Delays, delays.
The Subfloor - As they predicted, the shower pan WAS leaking, and also the part where the drain connects to the pipes, and all of that jazz. The beams were literally hanging loosely, so he was able to fix that. Also, the subfloor was only 1/2" thick, and the industry standard is 3/4"thick, so he put in new subfloor for us. thank goodness! What a crazy house we live in!
The baseboards - Originally, they had put 6-8inches of tile as the "baseboard" in the bathroom, so after Tile Guy had ripped that out, we had a good 5 inches of space from the newly tiled floor to the line of the paint on the wall. I really really do NOT want to have to repaint that bathroom. Why? the housemate we had before Matt & I got married, had painted the bathroom a custom/textured paint color. Unfortunately, he had received the can of paint as a gift from a friend, and the can of paint was discounted as it was a custom color. I tried to match it once, and HD cannot match this color. I'm telling you it is a nightmare. Because it's Sandstone texture, you cannot just paint over it, because it's literally sandy paint on the wall. To remove it, you'd have to sandblast the wall, or have someone respackle/sand/respackle/sand the walls and then primer/paint them. It will be a gi-nor-mous pain in the *ss. Tile Guy wanted to know if we wanted wood baseboards, or tile, or beadboard with chair rail, or whatever. I said just tile it to the line, that way the bathroom looks the same as the other bathroom in the hallway. I am not repainting that room. no way jose!
Granite Counters - Tile Guy gives us some samples to choose from. He neglects to say that these options have different pricing than the quote he wrote up for us. We pick the black/brown option. THEN we find out it will cost us more. Too bad, we like that one, that's what we want. I prefer to know the price UP FRONT - feedback for next time. Thankfully, the supplier of this can get it in 3-4 days. that is MUCH faster than the Corian in the Kitchen project.
Vanity - Tile Guy shows us a brochure with sample door styles and wood stain colors. We settle for a Vanity with 2 doors and 2 drawers in a chestnut brown with the "lexington style" door. Oh, guess what that style of Vanity costs more. of course it does. We find out 1 week later, that the manufacturer doesn't have the "lexington style" door anymore, so we change it to another style choice - same price this time, I asked. 2 weeks after the original selection, Worley's driving our Vanity back to the house, and he finds out that the manufacturer SCREWED UP THE ORDER, so the Vanity he actually has is in the right door style and color, but it only has 2 doors, no drawers. He calls to let me know. Ok fine, so now what do I do? He says they can get the right vanity in 3-4 days more time. I said fine. Then the NEXT day he finds out the right vanity will be an 8-12 week wait, but they have the same vanity style we want in another color and he can get it on Monday. What color? he says (and I sh*t you not) "carbonite" - I'm thinking this is a variation of black or grey and that is not at all what we want. I ask him what color is that (since we are on the phone), he points me to their website and I see that it's really CABERNET (not "carbonite") - yes Worley that is fine, get the Cabernet Vanity with 2 drawers, 2 doors, same door style, and size, yes that is fine. Now here's the other catch. Once the vanity is installed, then they order the Granite. You can't order the Granite until the Vanity is installed. arggggggg!
Grout - Tile Guy gives us a huge sample selection to choose from. After much deliberation, we pick "Quarry Red" and leave it at that. Tile Guy calls and says "I may not be able to find this color" so I'm like "then why did you tell us to pick from this list?" I mean come on dude, start out with telling me UP FRONT what my options are. If "Quarry Red" was such a big pain, then don't offer me that, offer me the other options. I would just as easily go with BROWN or GREY. I don't care. I just want a color that won't be white, and that won't show dirt as easily. That's it. I'm not that picky. Thankfully, he was able to get the "quarry red" and that was the end of it. sheesh!
The Outlet - On the wall, just above the backsplash of our old vanity, there is an electrical outlet with 2 plugs. Now, when they designed the old bathroom, they had installed the vanity and THEN put down the tile, so the toe-kick was only 3 inches high instead of your average 4 inches high. Everybody said it was better to tile the entire bathroom, then put the vanity on top the tile to have the correct toe kick heighth, etc. So I'm like fine that's fine. Well NOW he says that with the new vanity being higher, and then the granite backsplash being 4 inches (standard), the outlet will need to be moved up higher on the wall. OK fine - can you do that? yes, ok then do it. I'm seriously irritated WHY did someone not measure this and tell me this the first day? Oh yes, and since I really don't want to have to repaint the bathroom, can you please make sure the outlet is right up to the backsplash? Good news he said he would do that for me.
The Toilets - We decided, since we were getting a low-flow toilet for the Master bath, we may as well replace the one in the hall bath too (toilets aren't too awfully expensive), so we asked if the Tile Guy would mind putting in a 2nd toilet, we would gladly pay for the expense, since the other toilet wasn't a low-flow and he'd already be doing the Master Bath toilet. We told him we wanted the same toilet we had in our 1/2bath downstairs. it's an American Standard, and last time I shopped at Home Depot it came in 2 pieces and was around $100. Tile Guy calls and wants to know what toilet we want, I keep trying to explain it to him, but no luck, so I said nevermind, Matt and I will go shopping and bring home the toilets we need, is that ok? he says yes. So, one fine evening, Matt and I go to Home Depot. Well the American Standard Cadet style is now $150. blah. So we settle on an Eljer with elongated bowl, and buy 2 of those with 2 toilet seats. I think I hurt my arms carrying 2 full toilets into the house. ouch!!! Tile Guy installs the toilets, but not the seats we bought. Ok, I guess I can do that part myself. And I don't charge myself for the option. hee hee.
The Threshold to the bathroom - The entry from the bedroom to the bathroom goes from hardwoods to tile. Well, one of the 2 rooms isn't level - apparently. So after much debate about what to do (Tile Guy has all questions), I ask if he can just use a piece of the scraps we have in the garage. I had saved all the hardwood and thresholds, reducers, risers, bullnose, etc from the kitchen project, so I have that stuff. He kept saying it wouldn't be level, etc etc. I said fine, shim it up underneath? Just make it look good. He can do that. Thankfully this worked out very well.
Shower Door - Ah yes. Our old shower door was a bypass/glass/steel framed with 2 towel bars. This was thrown away when the bathroom was demolished. In hindsight, I wish we had kept it around. The shower space was around 54". Too short for a tub (standard size would be 60" or 5 feet for a tub/shower combo). After the tile was installed, the opening for the shower door is a mere 51.5 inches. Well guess what? Home Depot/Lowes only carries shower doors for small openings up to 48" or larger openings from 54"-57". So we are S.O.L. buying a "standard sized" shower door. We could always just hang up a curtain rod and curtain, I said? But Matt wants a shower door, and it's better for resale value I guess.
ok.
so now what? Tile Guy still seemed to think we could get HD or Lowes to find us a door in stock. I called everywhere. They can only get one in that size if I custom order it and it takes 4-6 weeks. yeah no thanks!
I finally got smart and started internet researching local shower door companies here in town. I found about 10. I called the first 3 on my list and 1 of them had what I wanted. They are going to install me a bypass/clear glass/brushed nickel/frameless shower door for a mere $580. yes that was the CHEAPEST one I could find, and he can get it to us in 4 days. So come Tuesday or Weds. we will have a shower door.
I really really hope this bathroom will be worth it!
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To further complicate matters, our friend Alex, re-started roommate discussions. After agreeing on everything, and working out the best timeframe for his move-in date (scheduling around his vacation, our vacation, and the big "Age of Aquarius" party), he is moving in THIS SATURDAY.
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ok but the Master Shower isn't done. I guess that means we share a bathroom for a while. I'm just very glad we have A bathroom we can use.
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I'm doing my best to stay calm during the maelstrom that seems to be my life. I'm focusing on the POSITIVES. Extra income with a roommate, more security with a roommate (we all work different hours, so it would be damn near impossible for a burglar to case our house, as nobody can tell when someone will or won't be home), a new bathroom for us to enjoy, added resale value to the house, and I was finally motivated to clean out some old boxes and consolidate/throw away bathroom items when I had to clean for the roommate's arrival, and for the bathroom remodel.
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All in all, things are getting simpler in the near future.
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Oh yes, and Tread Climber girl was back the other day - for one day. Then I didn't see her again all week this week. hmm. Maybe she had a change of heart and decided to share? I actually saw a brunette using the treadclimber once this week. YAY!
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Health: My sinus/throat/ear infection is gone, but now I have been struggling with mild asthma. So, finally I went to the Doctor today. He gave me a shot, a nebulizer treatment, a steroid inhaler to use, an antibiotic (stronger one not the Zpak), and encourages me to finish the bottle of Mucinex with guaifenisan that I'm on. He actually shook his head when he read the supplements I was on, but I reminded him that normally I have 4 sinus infections a year, but this last year, I only had this ONE in December. I'm doing pretty good if you think about it. He never said NOT to take them, just that he thought I didn't need them. HA! Doc's never tell you to take supplements, the only prescribe drugs, drugs, drugs. It's the age old debate. I only go for the drugs if I can't keep healthy with the supplements. Again - 4 sinus infections yearly, down to 1 this year? I'm pretty damn happy with myself.
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Click for Before and After Photos
Photo Credit