Day 25: Bathroom Remodel

Since we have been at this remodel for almost a month, we freely admit that we are to the point where we just want to complete it.  We know, sadly, that it will not be complete before Thanksgiving, but we hope to have it all done by Christmas.

Whoa!  That is different from what I wrote a couple of days ago, but things -- once again-- have changed. Two days ago I called Sarah and told her that we would not be doing anything until after Christmas.  The thought of having this hanging over our heads for the holidays makes me nauseated, though, and neither of us really want that.

Rick has been researching Swanstone again, and today we made a decision. Since we cannot find tile that we really like, and since we do not want to spend every last cent of our budget on not-so-wonderful tile, we have unanimously voted (2-0!) not to have tile installed in the bathroom.

Instead, we will install white Swanstone solid surface with an arched alcove that will accommodate soap, sponges, and shampoo and conditioner bottles.  We will do the work ourselves which will allow us to control the timing of installation, the quality of the work, and the costs of the whole project.  We have been hesitant to do this project because of the labor involved; however, we were hesitant to do the fence for the same reason, and that turned out well. The only really heavy piece, other than the backer board themselves, is the 60" back piece.  Once that is up and installed, the rest of the project should go well.

We both are relieved to finally make this decision. We will order the Swanstone later this afternoon and pray that the company can deliver it to our local Home Depot without damage.

After looking in various stores, we finally
bought this curtain at Macy's. Since we
purchased the towels there also, everything
matches perfectly.

In our quest to keep this project moving, we purchased a new shower curtain yesterday.  I washed it yesterday and ironed it today.  We hung the curtain to see how the room will look and to "hide" the unfinished tub for now. Additionally, we reinstalled the closet door to keep the closet clean and the hallway door for a semblance of privacy.

The inspector came to out house today to approve the mast move and the new outside electrical meter and box.  The inspection was fine.  We now possess one more signed permit from the city of Dunedin. What a relief!

The backer board, box of screws, and the new
baseboard and molding await our attention.

Our final trip of the day was to Lowe's.  We purchased backer board (heavy!), cement board screws, one more piece of molding, and one more piece of baseboard.  Once those are painted, we will be ready to finish that part of the project, too.

Our purchase of these materials shows our commitment to this new course of action. As I said in the past, our motto is, "Never look back."  We are going forward with this project, and we both are happy that we are doing so on our terms.