September 5, 2009
Almost done!
Mom and Dad returned last Saturday and we have been very busy around the house. I took Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off from work but worked a bit in the early mornings. The time seemed to fly by — we went to see the King Tut exhibit at The Childrens Museum, have been to Lowes and Home Depot numerous times, and enjoyed dinner at Fogo de Chao on Thurdsay night. Last night (Friday), we went to see the penultimate Indians game of the season and were “treated” to a 16-inning game that finally ended with a loss to the Louisville Bats. But, we stayed to the bitter end and enjoyed a pretty impressive fireworks show from the infield.
Add to that a number of hot projects at the office and this is just about the first chance I’ve had to update you on the progress of the guest bathroom. We’ve been putting a bunch of finishing touches on it. Dad and I messed around with the plumbing and countertop installation, so for a couple of days, it seemed like the project was moving backward. But I’m glad we got it all squared away. One of the things I hadn’t done was completely tie down the tub faucet, so it wiggled around a lot when you tried to pull the diverter lever for a shower. A few 2×4 blocks and some strapping and that is all squared away.
I’m in my favorite part of a project — all the tools are starting to migrate back to the garage, where they belong, and I’m making more returns than purchases from the home improvement stores, so I’m getting some money back on my credit card. Of course, Mom and I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond (known in my household as Buh-Buh-Buh) and spent a jillion dollars on new towels, shower curtain and accessories, so it’s not entirely a money-back process.
Yesterday while I was at work, Dad finished off the baseboards (we installed them on Wednesday, and he caulked and did touch-up paint) and installed the doors and the closet door. I think all that is left is touch-up paint on the ceiling, caulking the countertop, and caulking the faucet. Then, it will be time to sort out all the linens before I put them back into the closet. I swear that thing is like a clown car — I could not believe how many towels and sheets I took out at the start of the project!
We had to brace the backspalsh against the back wall of the bathroom in order to be sure it stuck to the wall (there was a little bit of a bend to the backsplash). Made for an interesting limbo experience to get to the toilet.
Fabulous new shower curtain in brown, garnet and orange. Love the punch of color against the less-dramatic walls.
The mirrors are hung now. The sidesplashes are braced against each other as the caulk adhesive cures.
