Day 17: Bathroom Remodel

I mentioned in my last blog that Rick installed our new hallway light.  The box said that the fixture could use up to three 100-watt bulbs, but we thought that such illumination might be a bit much in our small hallway.  We took a chance by purchasing three 60-watt LED bulbs, hoping that would be enough.  After reading on the packaging that each LED bulb provided 800 lumens, I was sure we would have sufficient light.  Rick hit the switch, and the result was enough light to do major surgery on a microbe.  Wow!  No one needs more than 2400 lumens in any hallway in this city.

Reference photos help me locate necessary
structure once the drywall hides it.

One other thing we did yesterday was to take more "reference" pictures.  Any good remodeler knows that he takes as many pictures with measurements as possible while the walls are open.  My latest reference pictures were the location of the board onto which we will attach the new toilet paper holder.  Since toilet paper is a necessity in modern life, I don't want the holder to fall off the wall because we did not anchor it to a solid board!

We awoke early (again), showered, and dressed because I had to run to the hospital this morning to get some blood drawn in preparation for my doctor's appointment on Thursday.  We had discussed going to the Farmer's Market, but since that did not open until 9:00 (and my watch was lingering around the 8:00 a.m. mark), we came home.  Not to waste a moment, Rick changed clothes, went into the bathroom, and started to paint. (He also completely forgot about the Market.)

Rick carefully "cuts in" the corner and the wall
at the ceiling.

The new teal color will give the bathroom a
Key West look next to the white doors and woodwork.

I did routine household chores and cleaned our one functioning bathroom while he started to transform the bathroom. I knew he was getting angry with me for not changing clothes and helping, but I was pissed at him for being so one-tract-minded and forgetting about the Farmer's Market.  When he was finally done with the first coat on the bathroom, I suggested that we go to do some shopping, and he admitted that he had forgotten about the Market.

We went downtown and begrudgingly paid 75 cents to park for half an hour while we ran to the Market to buy some artesian wheat bread. The Market was busy and traffic was miserable as people drove around looking for free parking.  From there, we came home and had a little lunch.

Then we were off to Macy's to buy more towels since I had $15.00 of "Macy Money" to spend after our last towel purchase.  I wanted to get a couple more towels before they were not on sale anymore.  When we went to check out, however, the clerk told me that the Macy Money could not be used until November 9.  I said that I would not purchase anything at this time, then.  She told me that the sale on the towels would end tomorrow (November 6), but that a new sale would start on them on November 7.  Go figure.  Their towel prices are outrageous, so I am sure that they never sell any unless they are on sale. Why not just lower the daily price and sell more of them all of the time? No one is really fooled by all of these false "sales."

Once home, my Energizer Bunny husband immediately changed back into his paint clothes and put on a second coat of paint in the bathroom. We have now gone as far as we can go with paint until the bathtub goes in on Wednesday.  Then we can finish the walls and paint the rest of the room.

The completed walls are more muted at night.

In the meantime, Rick discovered that we have to move some of the stud walls at the head of the tub in order to properly install and support the shower valve.  We cannot completely finish that task until we meet with Sarah to learn the thickness of the backer board, tile underlayment, and tiles.  Sequential layers is the name of this game.

I battled low blood sugar all day long, so I felt totally wiped out.  I did change clothes long enough to paint the baseboard and the molding that we purchased yesterday.  I probably will do a second coat tomorrow. For now, it rests in the Florida room with the vanity, toilet, sink, and Kohler parts.

I have wanted all week to have a little time in the hammock with my book.  I am reading A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson's hilarious yet ecologically-impassioned tale of hiking on the Appalachian Trail.  If you saw the horrible movie with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, please do not judge this book by that experience.  The book is far superior and worth the time to read it.

So the work goes on.  Rick is remodeling the bathroom, and occasionally he comes out to do other essential living tasks.  I am watching the progress, handing him tools, and helping where I can while still trying to keep Gladys in habitable condition.  This coming week has tub installation, doctor's appointments, and electrical inspections.  Oh, and as of Tuesday, we no longer will have to endure political advertisements.  Life is looking up.