Main Bath: Almost there!

Finally the end is in sight!

Since the last post, we have been hacking away at the bathroom with the (new) goal of having it ready by Marcy's first birthday. It looks like we might hit that target!


But first, the fiasco. We had a grand vision. We would drop Marcy off at Rob's parents at 8am on a Saturday and then work all day. We had lofty goals of completing not just the tile of the shower, but the floor as well! We were motivated. And cursed.

But before that, we had to prep the floor for (possible) tiling. While I minded the product of our loins, Rob stapled down this mesh to the floor to prevent cracking.

This stuff is really sharp if you try to squeeze past it in the garage with shorts on

Then I took over and slapped down the quickcrete.

Then we relaxed, going to bed dreaming of having a finished bathroom. Our dream turned into a nightmare when reality hit.

First, Marcy was cranky. She was up every 2 hours. (Teething. It's the best.) So we were tired. Either way, we went ahead. I took Marcy to Rob's parents and Rob started working on the last plumping piece he'd picked up the night before so he could hang the last piece of cement board while I was gone. But, to our dismay (and outrage, and horror), the piece didn't fit. So, Rob ran out to Home Depot while I lay out the tiles and basically did busy work.

We chose this Sarana Porcelain 12 x 24 tile from Galt Tile in Cambridge

Rob quickly finished the job with the new piece.

We've tiled rooms before, but neither of us is quick enough or confident enough yet to mix mortar and cut and hang as we go. So, we decided to lay it out ahead of time - making a grid on the wall and labeling each piece.

It made sense to us. S = Side, L = long, F = faucet. Rob had no idea why I'd labelled each part of the wall with those letters until the end of the day. He just went with it, expecting I had a reason. That's why we are a good team! Aww  <3

We had a good rhythm of Rob measuring and I cutting until we came across a major issue.  To our dismay (and outrage, and horror) we realized that in order for the pieces to fit (height-wise) we needed to either have a 2" piece on the top and bottom or a 4" piece on the top or the bottom. We raged. We cried. We threatened to burn the house down. Then I thought --- wait, those dinky borders people put in their showers! Why don't we do one of those? We'll choose a skinny tile that's easy to cut!

So, off we went to Home Depot again, where (in the quickest decision of our lives together), we chose these babies:

By then it was 11:30 so I turned to Rob and said: "Quesada?" And he said "yes." So we stopped and got a quesadilla/burrito. And some damn churros, because we deserved it.

After we ate we felt better and jumped into the job. We had more hiccups, the worst being Rob having to run out to Home Depot for the THIRD time, to get a grinder blade since he couldn't find his. Luckily Rob's parents offered to take Marcy overnight, so we worked until 9pm and got to here:

SO CLOSE

We also stopped because we weren't sure about the tiny tiles - whether they would sink or fall off the wall.

But, the light at the end of the tunnel eventually came as over the course of the next week we worked  in the evenings when Marcy was sleeping, getting to here!

See how the corner pieces on each side are the same piece cut and paired up again? Hence why it took so long!

The tub survived unscathed!

Then, over the course of the next week, again, we cleaned, we grouted and we caulked the damn thing.

Sanity restored

And then... Rob installed the fixtures!


We bought this cheap Moen set when Lowe's was having a sale. And since the sale was so good, I suggest we upgrade the garbage shower head to a lovely Kohler one. Because we care about our guests' comfort!

WAY BETTER

Rob also got rid of that garbage light and that garbage light switch and added a potlight in the shower!

Another Lowe's or HD special. This reno was costing us enough hassle

And you may notice from the above photo that the walls are a different colour! As this was all going on, I spent Marcy's nap times painting the ceiling with a moisture-resistant paint, and then priming and painting the walls the same "Horizon Gray" as the other bathroom.

So, almost done!  Just need to get that floor in and put the cabinet back together!! And trim too, I guess.