Not quite there yet!

We had hoped to get our backsplash up and grouted before our sink and plumbing got hooked up on Friday, but it did not happen.

LD did manage to tile on Wednesday evening, but unfortunately the thinset was not completely dry on Thursday and we couldn't grout.

 But the sink and faucet were fully functional on Friday!

We were out of town on Saturday, so did not get around to grouting until Sunday.

So we are almost done, but not completely.  We still have to caulk, seal the grout, do some paint touch-ups, install the towel rack, finish painting the windows, and wait to get a mirror that isn't broken.  Then we can finally call it done!

It's Starting to Look Like a Bathroom Again!

Well we have been busy since our last post, and our efforts are starting to pay off.

I did not have any luck finding a seller with a small section of Kerdi locally, but I did find it online by the square foot.  After I placed my order, however, the company told me it was back ordered.  Not knowing how much of a wait that would be, I emailed the company and told them to cancel my order.  I then started searching Craigslist, and found someone in Columbia who happened to be selling a Kerdi drain.  Wishfully thinking, I contacted him and asked if he had any leftover Kerdi fabric that he would sell to me.  Luckily he did, and I picked it up last Saturday.  On Sunday we went to work and finished the last of our Kerdi install.

On Wednesday evening we installed the first two rows of tile.

On Veteran's Day we finished setting the tile, and we grouted today.  In 3 days, we'll be ready to seal!

At first we were planning on painting the bathroom gray, but we could not find the right shade of gray and finally decided that we did not really want to walk into a gray bathroom.  So we picked up a few more paint chips. 

We finally decided on Home Depot's no VOC Freshaire's "Still Moment". 

I have to wait for a warm day to finish priming and painting the windows.  Our next immediate steps are to purchase and install baseboards, and reinstall the toilet.  

Insulation, Drywall, and Lucky Find

In preparation for the drywall going up this week, we spent last weekend stuffing as much insulation as we could into the outer wall and the ceiling.  Working in 95 degree weather while wearing a long sleeve t-shirt was not my idea of fun.  Nothing a nice shower and a movie afterward couldn't cure though.

On Monday, Ken the drywall guy, showed up and got about half of the drywall and HardieBacker up.  I had to leave work early because LD was not very happy with the quality of his work.  I was ready to call his company up and ask that they send somebody else, but we decided to give him a second chance.

His  attitude had definitely improved by Tuesday, and he managed to get all of the drywall hung and the part of the first mud coat on.

He came by the rest of the week to continue the mudding, and he told us that he thought he might be done tomorrow.  We certainly hope so, because we are hoping to get started on installing the Kerdi membrane next weekend.

On another note, we took a trip to the Tile and Stone Warehouse and came across some beautiful tile for the tub surround in our other bathroom.  We've been looking for the right tile for a while, but as soon as LD laid her eyes on this tile, she knew it was the right one.  So we purchased tile for the bathtub and backsplash.  We have to get our master bathroom done before we can move to the hallway bath.

Catching Up

Wow, it has been a whole month since I last posted!  I attribute that to three reasons: 1) not much has been happening in terms of home improvement other than our materials coming in, 2) we have actually been getting a taste of what life is like outside of home remodeling, and 3) LD and I have been pretending that the gutted bathroom does not exist.  We are realizing that all the home remodeling we did last year just burned us out.

After much deliberation, we finally decided on white marble tile for the shower walls and black slate for the shower and bathroom floor.  We placed an order through Home Depot, and it actually came in faster than expected.

Our Kerdi Shower System finally arrived in two shipments, after almost two months of waiting.  We received the first box about two weeks ago, but I freaked out when all we received was the shower pan.  I left a couple of messages with the company, but they did not return my calls.  Finally on the third day they actually picked up the phone, and told me that the second box had just been shipped.  I was relieved when it finally got delivered a few days later.  But we are going to have to custom fit the shower pan, and add some studs for the shower wall.

Last weekend we managed to replace the rotted subfloor in the bathroom, but it took several dry fittings before we finally got it right.  We decided to wait for the shower drain to be installed before we nail it down.  Our plumber is scheduled to come in on Monday to do the drain work.

This week we spent half a day renting a trailer, and picking up paperless drywall from a supplier in Grandview.

So now that  all of our main supplies are here, what are we waiting for?  We are going to get a couple of estimates from drywall professionals to see if we can fit it into our budget.  We will be getting our first estimate on Monday, wish us luck.