Better News

Even in light of our recent scary news, I'm still excited about the replumb (which starts Monday and should be finished by Saturday). It means that I no longer have to worry about our sub-standard pipes bursting and causing tens of thousands in damage. Plus, it means that we can then move forward with finishing the master bathroom!

We have 98% of all supplies needed already purchased and paid for. The contractor built out the new tub deck the other day and will be coming back to finish the shower when the plumbers are done. My husband is using his unexpected time off to do work we anticipated we would have to do in the evenings and weekends, which will speed things up. He put in our new fan/light combos above the new shower and toilet area yesterday. They look great and much quieter than the old unit we had before. The electrician is working as I type, putting in two new recessed lights in the ceiling, installing new GFI outlets, and repositioning the old vanity light outlets to their new location (to work with those bargain mirror/lights that I purchased for $25 each!)

Today, I am spending some time painting the new vanity feet (at first, we had planned to refinish the entire vanity, but then decided it would be easier/cheaper to go with the original finish (and we grew to love it). However, Mike had stripped the feet before we made that decision, so I need to restore them now. The base coat is done, but I need to experiment a bit to find the perfect combination/technique for putting on the grayish glaze that gives the vanity an antique look.

I'm also going to try my hand at cutting up our old mirror into two pieces that will fit the new mirror/lights (if you remember, the woman sold them because the original mirrors had broken). I feel quite confident that I can at least cut rectangles to size. I'm not sure about the curved cut that would be required for the corners -- but our local glass shop charges just $5 per cut, so they can always finish it up for me and the total cost would still just be $45 per mirror/light (a huge savings over buying them new at $150-$225). We're trying to reuse what we can and recycle the rest on Freecycle, Craigslist, or by donating to Restore (where all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity).

When the electrician is done today, then we can put up the new drywall on the ceiling. I'm just trying to decide if I want to tape, mud, and texturize that ceiling or if we want to pay a bit extra to the plumber to have his drywall man do it for us. Hanging the drywall is labor intensive, but not difficult. However, we learned from past experience that the taping and mudding require a certain skill and we don't really have that skill. Plus, the texturizing we did on the walls during the remodel of the kitchen and other rooms (when we first bought the house) was kind of a nightmare. Neither of us really want to go there again if we can help it. However, I'm thinking that the ceiling is kind of a different animal. The taping and mudding do not have to be as exact, as the texturizing is heavier (and hides imperfections) -- plus, since the texturizing is done by hand (and I already have all those tools and got quite a bit of practice the first time around), I think I can do that job without too much frustration or difficulty. That would allow us to paint the ceiling and get the light fixtures put together and in place, even before the replumb is done. We can always have the plumber's drywall guy just tape, mud and texturize the walls for us -- which is the part we don't do as well. I just really want to see something "finished" in that bathroom. It's those little things that really keep me excited and motivated about finishing.

I know that Mike took some "before" pictures of the bathroom and has been taking some pictures as the job has progressed. Next time, I'll try to post some pictures so you can see for yourself how things are going.