Friday, September 9, 2011

I took a shower...in my new bathroom!

I know, showers are not usually noteworthy.  But this was the first one in the downstairs bathroom since late June!  How was is possible?  Well, yesterday was a banner day in the bathroom world:
  • Not only did the plumber fix the issues that stopped me on Tues (for free), he also discovered that they had installed check valves (I think that's the right word).  These are little valves in the shower body used to stop water just to the shower - I didn't know they were there and would definitely have had to call them to figure out why I had no water pressure!
  • I took a trip to the tile store at lunch, where the tile guy let me return the edge pieces I wasn't going to use even though it's way past their return period, told me I didn't need to seal the grout, and also told me that if I had gotten most of my walls flat I was actually doing a really good job.  Apparently tiles this big warp slightly, and many professionals have a really rough time trying to make them look flat.  Take that, bump in wall!
  • I. Finished. The. Tiling.
And...then this morning I discovered that in making the shower head tall enough for tall people (you're welcome, Max ;) ), I had in effect made it too tall for me to reach without standing on the tub edge.  Know what happens when you are careless on a tub edge with wet feet?  You fall in the tub and whack the bejesus out of your elbow.  

I would like to chalk that up to a renovation injury, since it was done in getting the hang of the new stuff, but I am informed it's really an old lady injury, and I should be grateful I don't need Life Alert.  Jeesh.

Shower was really nice, though.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Almost house

I know, you've been wondering if I've been working at all.  I have, actually.  Tiling takes rather a lot of time.  I think the above title describes my house.  Things are always almost done.  Rarely ACTUALLY completed.  

Case in point:
Looks nice, right?  Tiled wall, grout, fixtures...  But look very closely, and you will see there's a pipe sticking out, not a tub spout.  How come?  Because the plumbers installed a pipe that's much too long.  Know what?  No tub spout, no shower, because there's no diverter.  You also can't see that there's a screw sticking out of the faucet - since the shower body was installed slightly crooked and I can't get the last screw in.  I. Was. Going. To. Shower. There. This. Morning.  Fell at the last fence.  Plumbers are coming to fix it tomorrow.

You might think if I was going to shower that I had finished the tile.  My, you are funny funny people.

Nope.  See the screws in the upper right?  That means the board isn't covered in tile.  How come?  Because I was 2. Tiles. Short.  And when I went to the tile store on Sat to get another box, they had closed early for the holiday weekend.  Dammit home improvement store!  Labor Day is when I LABOR!  (So how was I going to use that shower?  I was going to tape plastic over that wall.  Enough is enough.  I know Dad, not the best idea, but I would have made it work.)

But not everything in the house is frustrating.  Have I mentioned my amazing pantry in the nook?

Or that I hung shelves for the plants?

So.  Onward and upward.  Perhaps Friday morning I'll be able to shower in the downstairs bathroom...