Wednesday (flooring, day 13)

 

At 8:00 this morning, things were swarming. We finished walking Toby and were met with three different crews at our house: mowing; grouter; and construction worker delivering baseboards. Three trucks, one trailer, 5 workers. We managed to clear some space in the garage for the baseboards, which are 16 feet long.

We set up ladders and saw horses for painting. It was a beautiful day to work outside, 75 degrees and sunny.

We picked up these three saw horses from the curb a few days ago. Someone was getting rid of them. We needed them and grabbed them.

Two coats of paint and ready to install

The tile boss removed the rest of their equipment from the garage, leaving just a pallet of tile for the second bathroom and our old toilet if we decide to reuse it. We'll be able to get our car back in the garage once the baseboards are installed. The grouter finished all of the floor tile.

This cement board end will need to be mudded and painted. I made sure it got on someone's to do list since it wasn't clear if it was a construction issue or a tile issue. The construction folks won the job.

I drew in the shower glass and accessories in the picture above. I got to confer with our designer to get her suggestions for the shower shelf and washcloth hooks. She's not in favor of cluttering up the design, but she did like the shelf. She suggested the positioning above with one hole in the grout line and one on the tile. Our construction company will do the installation. She liked the idea of a grouping of three: shelf and two wash cloth hooks, with the hooks below the shelf. The hand shower wand will be located on the left side with a holder also drilled into the tile. It should be high enough that I could use it as my shower. The fixed shower head will be even higher for John. Our shower valve allows both fixtures to be on at the same time at the push of a button.

I'm working on re-installing the threshold to the garage. I investigated how to fix it. It looks fairly simple. After it's grouted, I'll put it back in place. This project was on our checklist for the installers, but sometimes it's simpler to just do it yourself. Besides, it wasn't done correctly in the first place, so it's asking a lot for them to do repairs that go beyond just putting things back the way they were. [Update: While I was painting, the tile boss installed the threshold.]

The tile boss and our designer arrived after lunch to help us select grout for the decorative tile. He had 3 options: charcoal gray, silver with sparkles, and translucent. The choice was easy and we all agreed: charcoal gray. It is about the same color as the black edge in the tile, so the grout disappears. Your eye goes to the colors in the tile. The translucent was supposed to reflect the colors in the tile nearby, but it just looked like clear silicon. And it was very eye catching, but not in a good way.

Still drying, but finished.

Finished

Primary bedroom finished

Bedroom finished

Shower, tub, and vanity area finished

finished

Drying, but finished

Finished (with repaired threshold)

Finished (with a cool sunset lighting effect)

The grouter will come back Monday to grout the decorative wall. Our designer says that they should be able to install the vanity and get the shower glass people out to measure. She also was going to confer with the owner to see if we could start the second bathroom and tack it onto the current project. This would allow us to get to the head of the line and not have to wait 8 months. We're okay either way. There are advantages and disadvantages to keep going. One thing is for sure: the next project will be much less disruptive. 

But I have to say, all the workers have been very thoughtful in how they plan their work around us. They have made sure that we were as comfortable as possible while living in a construction zone.