The Bathroom Finale!

July 6, 2008
I walked into the bathroom first thing this morning and was amazed at the beautiful colors as the sunlight shone through the stained glass window. Wow! It is gorgeous!

There is not much left to do. Once hubby got home from work he hung the crystal candle chandelier over the tub with the vintage light cover which hides the hook. We hung several pictures including the beautiful picture of the hand holding the roses that my neighbor gave me. The rose potpourri given by my dear friend as a birthday gift is scenting the entire bathroom. It was getting late so I decided to call it a night.

July 7, 2008
I was up early this morning and began cleaning the bathroom for the final inspection. The building inspector showed up around 10:30 AM, inspected everything and passed it which can mean only one thing…

drum roll please…

THE BATHROOM IS FINISHED!!!

In a mere ten months we have finally finished!!! I can’t believe it! Even as I type this I still can’t fathom the fact that the bathroom is actually complete!
After the inspector left I continued decorating. The china cabinet now houses towels, painted porcelain, and other useful trinkets. After moving a few more things around the décor was finally complete. Once everything was in its place I put the glass globes on the light fixtures making the bathroom look even more beautiful.

And so here ends the bathtub diaries. This project has brought many laughs, a few arguments, some bribery, an occasional threat, a few injuries, and a bus license for me. I have enjoyed sharing this experience with everyone. I would like to thank all of the people that have made this project bearable as well as beautiful. As much as I will miss writing these diaries I must bid all adieu as I have a date with an old claw foot tub and some bubble bath.

Happy soaking!

God Bless!

*********************

Before and After pictures will be posted soon so stop back by:).

Getting closer...

July 3, 2008
I spent two weeks in Atlanta and therefore the updates on the bathroom are extensive. Of course, one of the first places I like to visit once I get to Atlanta is the antique mall. I got my Chai tea from the restaurant next to the antique mall and then mom and I went antiquing. The antique store owner (also a real estate agent) was kind enough to take mom and me to see a gorgeous Victorian house a block away from the store that is currently on the market. The owner was at home and was very gracious about letting us look at the house. The antique store owner introduced mom and me. As soon as he told the homeowner where I was from she immediately asked- ‘Are you the one with the bathtub?’ I was shocked! Who would have thought that a total stranger would know me because of these diaries! She has now been added to the bathtub diary email list. Apparently my antiques store friends have been sharing this story with their friends too.

While I was gone hubby worked hard at installing the quarter round to the baseboards and completing the wainscoting. My plan was to arrive home last Sunday but hubby asked that I stay another day so he could get more of the bathroom completed. He had called me the Friday before to tell me that he was going to COMPLETE the bathroom before I arrived home a week later. I told him to wait because I knew he needed my help to install the pillars. He was quite insistent stating that he was going to complete this project and followed with the statement that he was not going to do another home improvement project for at least two years. This made me laugh. Two years before he does another home improvement project? I think not! He is not doing anymore home improvement projects of this magnitude! I will hire someone next time!!! Anyway, when I arrived home he had installed the pillars (with Gary’s help) and they look grand!

Now to answer the question that is probably running through your head right now-Is the bathroom finished?

You have been reading the bathroom diaries for ten months now!
What on earth made you think that this time the project would be complete?
Everything on the inside was in fact completed; however, the siding on the outside center wall had yet to be hung.
And so the diaries continue…


Hubby sustained one injury while I was gone. While painting one of the pillars he burned his arm on the wall sconce light bulb. Not only did he do it once but twice. Ironically his burn was not as severe as mine.
One other incident occurred while I was gone. Apparently hubby forgot about the open views of the bathroom windows since the curtains have yet to be hung. One afternoon he walked into the bathroom before realizing that everyone could see him. Oh, did I mention that he was naked at the time? Yup, anyone who happened to be walking by got a surprise show. Needless to say he is being a bit more careful now.

While in Atlanta I purchased a few more things for the bathroom. I found a lovely Victorian style tissue cover as well as a hairspray holder, covered box (for cotton balls), and a small glass container for Q-tips.

Yesterday I did the paint touch-ups to the pillars and the walls in the bathroom. When hubby got home from work he finished installing the siding on the outside center wall. We have only to hang mirrors, artwork, arrange furniture, hang curtains, and get the final inspection. Hmmm, it didn’t seem like much more needed to be done until I typed it all out.

July 4, 2008
Let the fun begin! All of the structural work and painting is complete! Now it is time to decorate. WooHoo!!! We hung the mirror over the sink. Then we moved the china cabinet in and placed it on the wall behind the door. In addition, we added the small shelving unit that we had in the old bathroom. It provides great storage without taking up much space. Due to the extraordinary amount of time that has elapsed since the start of this project I have made several purchases for the bathroom without knowing if the items would work or not. I actually have two options for a towel rack. You may remember that I purchased a beautiful scrolly, fru-fru iron towel rack in May from an antique mall in Lawrenceville. During my most recent trip to Atlanta I found a lovely antique architectural piece that once probably graced the top of a dresser. Someone added very ornate hooks to it making it into a wall mounted rack for clothes or towels. It was marked down to $30. My intention was to use this piece behind the bathroom door to hang my pajamas and robes. However, the china cabinet is now located behind the door making this idea obsolete. So now this piece is also being considered for the towel rack. It seemed like a simple decision. Unfortunately both pieces looked great. Hubby was not much help stating that the choice depended upon what would be hanging on the neighboring walls. Hmmm. It was late so we decided to sleep on it until tomorrow.

July 5, 2008
Yay! Another decorating day! Now I know that you are on the edge of your seat wondering which towel rack we chose!
So here it is…

I’m still not sure.

Since I was still unable to choose a towel rack we did the only thing that we could do-we hung everything on the neighboring walls and then made the decision. The small antique corner medicine cabinet ($95-Lilburn) went on the only available corner in the bathroom. After that we hung an antique shelving piece on the wall across from the tub. Next the infamous stained glass window went into the lower portion of the center window (it fit the window niche nicely). A piece of antique lace and a small valance covered the upper portion of the center window. The curtain rods were very inexpensive white wood rods from a national hardware chain. This allowed us to custom fit the rods to each window. Curtain panels to match the valance were hung on the two side windows providing privacy at night and light during the day when they are opened (or to block hubby from any further exhibitionist shows). I put an antique red velvet chair under the corner medicine cabinet ($40 from an antique fair in Atlanta). Back in May during one of my visits to the antique mall I found an antique linen towel edged with crocheted lace and embroidered with the initial ‘P’ ($26). We added a small towel rack to the bottom of the medicine cabinet using the leftover wood dowels from the curtain rods. We had finally finished decorating most of the tub area of the bathroom.
Now back to the towel rack decision.

And the winner is…

the antique architectural piece with the hooks!

We hung a beautiful framed print above it that mom purchased in Williamsburg, Virginia a few years ago. I began moving some of my things in and then went to bed. Decorating is exhausting!

Tile scraping continues...

June 16, 2008
I can hardly move today. After spending 3 hours on the floor scraping tile every muscle and joint is sore! But there are still several tiles to go. I managed to scrape two more tiles but that was all-I am still too sore.

June 17, 2008
I tackled the rest of the tile today! It took a couple more hours but I managed to get all of the grout removed from the intricate design! WooHoo! The only thing left for me to do is to apply one more coat of paint to the wainscoting and the red walls. I suppose I should mention that I have a very steady hand when painting and therefore I do not tape off the trim work when I paint. Hubby was very helpful and taped off all of the trim in the main section of the bathroom in an effort to help me out (this was several weeks ago when we were painting the moldings). After painting the new section of the bathroom I moved the ladder into the old main section. I pulled off the first section of blue painter’s tape. It came off pretty easily. So did all of the paint below it! And some of the drywall too! I thought that the whole point of using painter’s tape was that it DOES NOT stick to the paint. Apparently not! This was the case with all of the tape removal-or should I say tape and PAINT removal! Not only did I have to repaint the red paint around the moldings but also the gold paint on the ceiling. When hubby got home from work he came back to the bathroom where I was still painting. I showed him where the tape pulled the paint off of the walls. His response was ‘I was afraid that would happen.’ Hmmm…my next thought was -do I throw something at him now or do I wait until after I ask the meaning of his comment? I decided to wait. ‘What do you mean?’ I asked. His response ‘I think that was two day painter’s tape.’ In other words, we should have taken it down after a few days instead of a few WEEKS! At this point I am beginning to adjust to such little setbacks so instead of throwing something at him I just resumed painting. A couple of hours later the painting was complete.

I was just reading the updates to hubby regarding the tile scraping episode. He wanted to know why I did not write about his efforts in this area. So to be fair, hubby did spend a few hours last week with the grout dissolving stuff scraping and brushing the tiles. However, he was not as successful as I was. There, now he can feel better-I mentioned his contribution, albeit a minor one, but I mentioned it nonetheless.
Beep, Beep, Beep goes the bus!

Full steam ahead...

June 8, 2008
After church hubby and I started working on the bathroom. I continued painting while hubby worked on the box supports for the antique pillars. He did a wonderful job of designing them with a bit of storage included in the design. It took several hours of cutting and constructing and then hubby came in for a fitting. (Now mind you, it was quite a daunting task getting to the pillars which were located in the library, aka the black hole, amongst a sea of bathroom stuff. I removed everything from the library to the small opening on the living room floor and then was able to locate and bring out the pillars and caps). I carried the pillars and caps to the bathroom and hubby placed all the pieces together and determined that the box size was correct. He handed me the pillar to lean back against the wall.

And that’s when it happened.

You know one of those slow motion moments when you want to move quickly but all you can do is stand back and watch the impending disaster that follows. Somehow during the passing of the pillar we did not make contact it was just millimeters out of my reach. I yelled for hubby to catch it but it was too late. CRASH!!!!! The pillar fell against the toilet smashing the toilet tank lid. Porcelain bits went flying everywhere! As the pillar lay against the toilet tank with porcelain shrapnel all over the floor I did the only thing that I could do…

I busted out laughing!

Hubby was not as amused. I told him not to worry that I was sure we could find a replacement. He replied with a ‘probably not’ since it was a fairly old toilet and that most of the toilets today are much larger (this is why we kept the original-because it was small and fit in the space). Hmmm, I hadn’t thought about that. All of a sudden it wasn’t quite as funny but then a new thought occurred to me! A most enjoyable thought! Now we could buy the expensive toilet that matches the pedestal sink! Hubby was not amused.
A little while later hubby went to the hardware store to get some decorative trim for the pillar support boxes and primer for the pillars while I continued to paint (have you ever noticed that the more you paint the more there is to paint)? Once he arrived home he applied the decorative trim to the boxes. Now they just have to be painted.

I sustained yet another injury when cleaning up the mess on the platform area of the bathroom. When removing the tile cutter a shard of glass cut my thumb. I cleaned and bandaged it immediately and all looks as if it will be fine.

June 9, 2008
There may be hope for the toilet! Our dear friends have replaced their toilets and they still have the old ones. These are older, small toilets so she is going to bring in one of the tank lids tomorrow for us to try on our toilet. Toilet trading, it’s a good thing.

June 10, 2008
Hubby finished the grout while I primed the decorative boxes for the pillars and patched some nail holes.

June 11, 2008
The toilet lid given to us is too small for the toilet tank. Hubby went out and bought a new tank with a lid for the toilet.

· New toilet tank and lid $50

June 14, 2008
St. Pauly came over today to replace the sink drain and to install the new toilet tank. We officially have a working bathroom but I refuse to use it until it is finished!

June 15, 2008
I am not sure if you remember (since it has been so long ago) that we purchased a raised decorative tile for the platform step. Hubby installed it a few weeks ago including the grouting. This is the first time that hubby has worked with tile that has a raised design on it and it was a learning experience. Did you know that when grout dries on a raised design tile that it is nearly impossible to remove? Yup, all of the grout formed a cement-like substance that fills in all of the intricate crevices of the design. Not a problem-surely there is some sort of grout removal product that will make the grout dissolve without damaging the surface of the tile. Sure enough there is! Unfortunately it doesn’t really dissolve the grout away-so we discovered after following the directions, and the grout remained. There was only one solution-scrape it off. Now I know what archeologists go through on digs! I had a small screwdriver which I used to carefully chisel away the grout after spraying the tiles with the grout removal stuff. I spent almost 3 hours working on this and was able to clean a little more than half of the tiles. I feel like a contortionist after being curled up and bent around in order to maneuver the screwdriver into all of the intricate nooks and crannies of the tile design.

It sure would be nice to soak in a tub right about now!

Still working hard...

June 1, 2008
It is now June, nine months since we began the bathroom project. The sad part is that we are still not close to being finished. Let’s see what still remains to be done; tile, wood work, siding, painting, and fixture installation. So basically it comes down to this: had I conceived and given birth I could have done it in less time than it has taken to construct this bathroom. Oh everyone likes to say-‘we’re almost finished’-but I have heard that for months now and am beginning to disregard all such statements. So for grins and giggles let’s see what else can be done in less than nine months: construction of a house, the making of a brand new car, a decision in congress, repainting an entire house both inside and out, landscaping a yard with irrigation and well, in the case of our good friends-a new front porch which was completely constructed, very well I might add, in ONE day, building the Panama Canal, taking a cruise around the world, the removal of yard sale signs after the yard sale is over (ok, well maybe that takes longer than nine months but you get the idea).
I know, I know, beep, beep, beep goes the bus!

June 5, 2008
Hubby worked for several hours this evening cutting, laying, and grouting tile.

June 6, 2008
Pauly and a friend came over this afternoon to install the pedestal sink and toilet. Although everything generally went well there was some problem with the drain mechanism so Pauly will have to come back out to replace it (you didn’t think everything would just work the first time did you?). The sink and the toilet, with its new toilet seat, look beautiful! Pauly told us to keep an eye, or should I say ‘an ear’, on the toilet in case it starts to run too often being that the rubber parts inside are a bit worn after having sat outside FOR SO MANY MONTHS in the weather awaiting installation.

Wooooooosh goes the bus!

At about 10:00 PM I got my second wind and decided to do some painting in the bathroom. I painted until 12:00 and then called it quits for the night but not without incurring an injury. Yes, I have now joined the injured ranks of those who have blundered before me. I have a dime sized burn on my right arm where my arm accidentally touched the light bulb as I was on the ladder painting.

June 7, 2008
This morning hubby and I went to the paint store to purchase another gallon of Sierra Redwood paint for the walls. After that we went to the hardware store to pick up a few more necessary supplies. Upon returning home hubby finished most of the woodwork as well as cutting and laying the remainder of the tile.
Last week was my birthday and many of my friends and family made contributions to the infamous bathroom project. Mom gave me an antique Victorian candelabra with dangling crystals which is absolutely gorgeous! Dad and Ann contributed an exquisite piece of artwork depicting plump, jolly flying pigs frolicking in the air with a red chicken. I framed the print in a heavily ornate Victorian style frame. Dad told me the picture was to remind me not to take the bathroom project too seriously (yeah right, when pigs fly…). My dear friend gave me some rose potpourri to scent the bathroom (it really does smell like a rose garden)! Of course, all of these things are stored in various places throughout the house until the bathroom is complete (living room floor, dining room buffet, kitchen table…).
Hubby worked late into Saturday night on the tile. However, a very disturbing sound came from the bathroom-a loud thump and then some irritated yells. I could only assume that something had happened with the bucket of tile cement and I was too afraid to go near the bathroom for fear that it may have been something too disastrous to handle. After some time of hearing slopping sounds followed by the flushing of the toilet I determined that the coast was finally clear. I entered the bathroom with a peace offering of beer to sooth what could only be a very tired and frustrated hubby. Much to my surprise the bathroom was clean and everything was under control. Hubby accepted the beer and told me that he had knocked the bucket of cement over and that it had splattered all over the wall. He did a great job of cleaning it up because there was no sign of it anywhere although I did have to question the flushing sounds that emanated from the bathroom. Being that there was no sign of spilled cement I can only imagine where he disposed of it. I wonder if hubby realizes that flushing cement down the toilet could possibly clog the pipes. I guess we will know the answer to that in a few years.

Moving right along...

May 15, 2008
Hubby came home from work and began working on the tile for the platform area of the bathroom. He installed the decorative tile on the platform step and it looks great! (No, I haven’t forgotten about the bluff thing-I probably won’t actually have an answer to that until the end of the weekend).
My friend, next door, gave me a beautiful antique print of a woman’s hand holding two long-stem red roses for the bathroom. It was an ad for a Corset Company in 1909. It is absolutely gorgeous and will look great in the bathroom!

· Gift from a wonderful friend- priceless.

May 17, 2008
Hubby called Pauly first thing Saturday morning to ask about hot water heaters as we will need a larger one in order to fill the tub. Pauly’s response was that hubby shouldn’t be worried about the hot water heater but should be concentrating on the tile! (This is why Pauly is the assistant project manager-he keeps everybody on task)! Anyway, hubby continued to work on the tile today. After much deliberation and discussion we have decided to use white grout instead of black grout. Even my friend sided for the white grout.

May 18, 2008
Ah yes, the day that everybody has been waiting for-would the bathroom be finished and would I, in fact, hire someone to finish it since it is quite evident that it is not complete!

Drum roll please…

The bathroom is not finished and I am not hiring anyone to finish it. Now before you go on saying that I was the one bluffing I have some clarification of the situation to share. I am currently house sitting for some friends downtown who happen to have a HUGE sauna tub. I have been soaking in it over the weekend and loving every minute! Because I am being pacified in this manner I was willing to allow for one more week of work on the bathroom. After all, I am not at home this week so to what purpose would it serve to have the bathroom complete when I am not even there? Hubby spent a good portion of the day working on the tile (or so I am told-I wasn’t there to confirm). Pauly has already stated that he will be helping hubby next weekend to finish the project! This should be very interesting indeed.

May 22, 2008
Well I have been house sitting for some friends this week so I have not been home to see the progress each day but hubby has kept me well informed. He worked on the tile Tuesday night and last night and has now completed the tile on the platform section, including the grout, and has been gluing the tile in the main section of the bathroom. He said that the white grout looks great!
In the meantime, I have spent nearly every night soaking in the huge sauna tub at my friends’ house. This has helped to appease me greatly and actually has bestowed some empathy within me for hubby's situation. Despite this compassion that I am feeling, as project manager I cannot allow my personal feelings to influence my primary goal which is to get the bathroom completed this year!

May 24, 2008
Hubby has completed the tile work on the platform and continues to work on the tile in the main section of the bathroom. He also began the wainscoting today. It looks great. Pauly came over and helped hubby with the woodwork as well as some of the plumbing work. Hubby sustained a pretty good injury when he stabbed his hand with a razor cutter. He went next door and our neighbor patched him up and recommended stitches but of course hubby refused.

May 25, 2008
Well today was a banner day for the bathroom! For the first time in seven months our living room is bathtub free! Can you believe it? Pauly brought a friend with him to help and they carried the tub to the bathroom leaving a huge empty space on the living room floor. We were all very excited, except for Kramer who is quite confused and disappointed that his toy box is gone. Not only was the tub removed from the living room to the bathroom but it is now hooked up and in running order! I know, pretty amazing isn’t it? (I can hear everyone as they read this saying ‘Oh my gosh, I never thought it would actually happen!). Needless to say the tub is beautiful in the bathroom.
Hubby and Pauly did some more of the wood work on the wainscoting.

May 26, 2008
Kramer continues to be depressed over the loss of his toy box tub. It is truly pathetic, he keeps lying in the area of the living room where the tub used to sit with a look of confusion and despair on his little kitty face.
Hubby sealed the tile grout on the platform.

May 27, 2008
Hubby worked again today on the wood work. He has installed more of the wainscoting and the center window sill. Now the center window is permanent and will no longer be used for passage from outside (the guys have been removing it and using it like a door during this whole process).

May 28, 2008
Hubby worked for some time in the bathroom last night. He finished cutting the tiles and has glued most of them down. He also grouted a few sections of the tile that had already been glued.

May 29, 2008
Hubby worked all evening on the tile flooring. He was able to get most of the tile glued and much of it grouted. It looks great!

May 31, 2008
I painted part of the baseboard trim and the walls. I also worked on getting the dried grout cleaned off of the decorative tiles.

Battle of Wits

May 3, 2008
My electrician came by today and removed the old bathroom light fixture (he also worked on our crooked hall lights and the living room ceiling fan with the spinning light fixture).
St. Pauly arrived to help hubby with the wood work. They spent the day installing the chair railing and moldings around the walls and ceiling. When I arrived home later that evening hubby was painting the newly installed wood work. I took over the painting from there and managed to finish the wood work in the old part of the bathroom. It looks great!
Another benefit of all this work is that the lumber is gone from the living room and kitchen floors-woohoo!!! Now you only have to walk around the tub and the china cabinet to get to the kitchen!

May 5, 2008
A lot was accomplished today. Hubby put down the rest of the cement board on the platform. After that he and I laid out the tiles on the platform to determine design and placement. We decided on using the small octagonal white tile with the 4x4 black square tiles bordering it under the tub. For the rest of the platform we will use the 8x8 black tiles for the border with the 8x8 white tiles on point for the rest. He will cut the 8x8 black tiles in half to border the step up to the platform.
I applied a second coat of white paint to the chair rail and moldings while hubby began installing the tile on the platform. He finished the white octagonal tile under the tub area.

May 6, 2008
Hubby worked on the tile again this evening. He installed the remainder of the white octagonal tile and the 4x4 black tile border around it. It looks great!

May 7, 2008
Ok, maybe I’m getting a bit optimistic here but I placed an order today for a bath pillow, drain stopper, and a bath topper. After all, one cannot soak in a tub with a mere 18 inches of water (thus the reason behind all of the insanity to install a claw foot tub-not to mention the fact that it just looks good)! Anyway, all of these things which make soaking in the tub more enjoyable should be here in time for me to actually soak in the tub.

· Bath pillow, drain stopper, bath topper plus shipping- $31

May 12, 2008
Well, my optimism seems to have been a bit premature. I was out of town last weekend and hubby worked diligently on the tile for the bathroom. He spent all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday cutting all of the intricate pieces for the platform area in the bathroom and gluing the border pieces down.
According to hubby the bathroom cannot possibly meet the finish date of this weekend (May 18th) because he still has tiles to cut and then he has to glue them to the floor which needs to set for a day. Then he has to do the grout which has to set for two days before it can be walked upon. What I would like to know is this-what kind of magic grout are they using on all of the HGTV shows that allows them to be able to completely renovate a room in two days including tile!!! I am beginning to believe that all of those shows are time elapsed!
While in Atlanta this weekend I purchased a beautiful iron towel rack that will look lovely in the ‘maybe-it-will-be-finished-this-year bathroom’.

· Ornate towel rack-$25


Hubby is trying to call my bluff about bringing in a contractor if the bathroom is not finished this weekend. Hmmm, this could be a very interesting battle of wits! Tune in tomorrow to see who is really bluffing!

May 13, 2008
No work on the bathroom today. The debate over who is bluffing is still in the works-neither of us have backed down as of yet!

May 14, 2008
Hubby worked on the tile for the bathroom floor for the platform section (cutting the tiles).

Framing and moldings

April 27, 2008
Gary showed up after church and helped hubby with the moldings. He finished some of the caulking on the roof while hubby finished constructing the window sills. Hubby cut and installed the fluted trim and rosettes around the door. There was one small setback when hubby was hanging the trim work around the door- he accidentally nailed the door shut. Luckily it was only one nail so it was a quick fix. I patched, sanded, and painted while they worked on moldings. Unfortunately, the decorative molding proved to be more difficult to hang than anticipated. The molding itself was made at a different angle than most moldings which meant that the miter cuts had to be done differently. It didn’t take them long to find a solution and in a short period of time the molding was hung. Gary left once the molding job was complete. Hubby cut and installed the fluted trim and rosettes around the two smaller windows and then installed the window sills. I filled the nail holes and did some more painting. Aside from hubby nailing the bathroom door shut and the odd miter angles for the molding the day progressed rather well.

April 28, 2008
I did some painting and sanding this evening. I filled the nail holes on the window sills and sanded the holes that I filled yesterday on the trim work. Then I painted the window trim and the moldings in the old section of the bathroom. I must say that the carved decorative molding is beautiful but it is a bear to paint. It’s hard to get the paint into all of the carved lines. It was well worth it though!

One more addition, or should I say correction? Hubby read the bathtub diary updates last night and informed me that he DID NOT nail the door shut on Sunday but in fact the nail did it. He explained that the nail just went through the wood its own way and nailed the door shut. I just wanted to make that correction so that it was clear to everyone that hubby didn’t nail the door shut-the nail did it.

April 29, 2008
I arrived home today to find hubby caulking the rest of the moldings in the bathroom. Later I heard him grumbling. A short time after that he came into the kitchen with the fan vent cover which he had accidentally stepped on and broken (it was drying on the floor after being painted a few days ago). He calmly found the superglue and began gluing each of the little vent pieces back on.

April 30, 2008
Hubby finished caulking the moldings. I painted the moldings in the new section of the bathroom and put a second coat on all of the window and door trims and the moldings in the old section of the bathroom.

May 1, 2008
The switch plates and outlet covers arrived today-they are beautiful and will look great in the bathroom.
Hubby started working on the back board for the tile flooring on the platform. He finished about 2/3 of it.

May 2, 2008
My electrician came out to finish the electrical work and hang the light fixtures. This helped to clear a path in the Abyss so now hubby can get to his clothes easier (the boxes of light fixtures were stored in the spare bedroom). The lights look beautiful! He (electrician) also installed the switch plates, outlet covers, and the medallion for the center chandelier.

Decisions and changes...

April 25, 2008
I went back to the paint store today and purchased a gallon of the Ceremonial Gold paint to finish the ceiling.

· One gallon of paint-$20

Once I got home I finished painting the ceiling and added a second coat to the walls and ceiling. It looks great but I am so sore!!! I could really use a soak in a tub!!!

April 26, 2008
Let the games, or should I say the arguments, begin!
Hubby and I went to choose moldings and bead boarding for the bathroom. Yesterday he brought home some sample pieces of molding for me to consider. He had purchased the moldings for the floor boards at our local hardware store, which, by the way, the floorboard moldings are now being stored in the hallway making access to the Abyss and the Black Hole difficult. Much to his surprise, and mine, I chose the plainer of the two moldings. Once we got to the national hardware chain store we chose bead boarding (the planks were a bit wider than the regular bead boarding) and then went to look at the moldings before loading the bead board supplies. We chose the traditional fluted trim work and rosettes for the door and windows. We looked at the wide plain moldings, like the sample I had chosen earlier, and all seemed to be decided upon when I spotted it-the most beautiful, elaborate moldings I had ever seen. It was heavily carved with lots of scrolly, fru-fru designs made out of that poly stuff. Oooh, it was pretty. Even hubby liked it! We both liked it, it was beautiful, and I wanted it! Decision made!

Then hubby saw the price-it was double what the plain molding cost.

All of a sudden he doubted my choice. He was worried that I had liked something so plain earlier and now wanted something so completely opposite (what is that old saying-a woman has the right to change her mind?). Anyway, I assured him this was the one I wanted. It was irrelevant to me that it was twice the price-it was gorgeous! I hadn’t skimped yet-why start now? Hubby continued trying to find a gentle way out.

Since I was convinced this was the one I wanted he tried another approach. It would be difficult to work with-trying to match the intricate patterns when mitering it. I told him I had the utmost confidence in his abilities.

Then he tried another approach, the poly stuff would probably melt with the heat of the saw which would ruin the design. Nope, that one didn’t work either-everyone else uses a saw for it so we could too!

Then he tried another one- it doesn’t really go well with the fluted door trim. That got my attention. I looked for another door trim but found none that I liked as well as the fluted trim. He finally wore me down and I conceded to the original plain but wide moldings.

But wait, there’s more.

I couldn’t give up that easily so I looked at the decorative wood moldings again. I found a beauty-it wasn’t as fancy as the poly stuff but it was very elegant. Hubby agreed that it was nice. He couldn’t argue over matching the pattern (it was easy to match because it wasn’t as intricate) and it was made of wood so there were no worries about it melting when being cut. Of course, it was more expensive (not much) than the poly stuff but all arguments were done. This time he conceded to the expensive, yet lovely, wood moldings. After a 30 minute discussion we now had to get back to the bead boarding. In the meantime, hubby had picked up one of the pamphlets on moldings which showed some beautiful wainscoting.

You know what is coming next don’t you?

Yup, we changed our minds about the bead boarding and decided on wainscoting instead. Now we had to choose all of the wood for the chair railings and wainscoting. In addition, we decided to add a picture molding to the ceiling. Another 30 minutes of decision making and finally we had loaded our cart. Hubby also chose a plank of wood to make the window sills. He showed me what he was going to do which included routing the edges. I asked him why he didn’t just buy the plank of wood with the edge already routed so that he could save time (he wants to save money-I want to save time). He said that only one edge was routed and he would still have to rout the other two edges so he might as well buy the regular plank of wood. We had a few more items to pick up and after an hour and a half (and a few more arguments) we were on our way home with a truckload of moldings and other supplies for the bathroom.

· Moldings, white paint, supplies-$557

We arrived home and I had errands to run. Hubby unloaded all of the wood into the house filling what little space we had left (the living room and kitchen floors are now covered in stacks of wood too so that you have to weave your way around to get from the living room to the kitchen). I returned home about two hours later to find Gary finishing up the roof. Hubby was standing outside of the bathroom so I figured he was taking a break from all of his hard work. I looked into the bathroom expecting to see moldings up but much to my surprise I looked into the bathroom to see the same thing I saw when I left earlier. I asked hubby what he had done. He responded that he had sanded the putty where he had patched nail holes on the back wall. What else have you done? I asked. He avoided the answer saying that he was going to return to the hardware store to get something for the window sills. I asked him if he could just wait until tomorrow to go and work on the moldings instead. No, he said he needed to do the window sills first. So I went inside to do a few things, crawling over the moldings in the hallway, weaving my way around the tub, china cabinet, and moldings in the living room making my way to the kitchen. When I went back out to the bathroom (crawling over moldings and weaving my way around bathroom fixtures and a china cabinet) Gary was now standing with hubby staring at the bathroom. ‘What are you waiting for?’ I asked. Keep in mind it has been more than two hours since we returned home from the hardware store and he has managed to sand the patched holes on the back wall. As project manager I made an executive decision and told him to stop standing around and get to the hardware store so he could get back and do some work! Finally, hubby left to exchange some wood. When he arrived home he had a new wood board for the window sills. Surprisingly it was the one I had suggested he buy earlier with the routed edge.
Gary finished the roof and left. Hubby and I worked until 8:30. I finished painting the patched and newly sanded back wall and then I painted the lower half of the walls a white semi-gloss for the wainscoting. Hubby worked on the window sill construction.
Injuries for the day included Gary cutting himself with a piece of roofing metal while hubby had some minor cuts.

I am just plain sore!

Paint and Dust!

April 19, 2008
St. Pauly to the rescue again! Pauly hooked us up with Mr. J, a coworker of his who used to do drywall years ago. Mr. J arrived Saturday morning and worked hard all day plastering the drywall. Hubby put up the remaining pieces of drywall and then helped with some of the plastering. The bathroom actually looked like a room by the end of the day! WooHoo!

April 20, 2008
Mr. J showed up again this morning to do the second phase of plastering which he completed. He will return this week to sand the walls and then I can begin painting!
Once I get the walls painted we can begin the finish work (tiling, bead boarding, moldings, lights, etc) and the installation of the tub, sink, and toilet. After all, having a tub, sink, and china cabinet in the living room for several months and the toilet in the side yard I believe it is time for the bathroom fixtures to actually be IN the bathroom. Fortunately my assistant project manager, St. Pauly, will work hard to get the finishing work done. I believe that hubby will help him to accomplish this although there is no doubt in my mind that I will have to manage this portion of the project very carefully. This is the ‘almost finished’ mode that tends to make people slow down a bit. Granted, if we slowed this project down any further it would go backwards.

Anyone seen the keys to that bus I’ve been driving?

April 21, 2008
Hubby is going to call Mr. J today to confirm a date for the sanding of the drywall. I now need to decide on the paint color for the bathroom walls which has wavered from burgundy to gold to burgundy and now back to gold. Whether I stencil the walls to look like wallpaper remains to be seen but is a possibility.
On a sweeter note, hubby had installed the fan vent in the tub area a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately he installed it where I was going to hang the candle chandelier. He offered to redo the installation (drywall the hole, cut another hole in the ceiling, rewiring, etc.) but I told him ‘no’ that I could work around it. I did not want anymore time spent on something so trivial. The following day (this was Sunday, April 13th) Darryl moved the fan vent so that the chandelier could hang where I had originally planned. I know, right now everyone is going ‘awwwww’ but don’t think for one minute that this act of kindness is going to extend the deadline or that I will cut him any slack! This bathroom project is on a roll and we are not stopping until it is finished!!! (I can feel the sympathy leaning towards hubby over his mean and spiteful wife. If this should happen please go back and re-read the previous pages of this diary to put this project back into perspective)!

April 22, 2008
Mr. J came out yesterday and finished the drywall! WooHoo!!! I am now choosing paint colors for the walls and the ceiling.
I ordered the covers for the light switches and outlets. I had looked at several home improvement stores but didn’t like what they had. I searched online and found several that I liked, some of which were quite expensive, but believe it or not I ordered the inexpensive ones. They are very pretty and I believe they will look good in the bathroom.
· Drywall job-$500
· Switch/outlet covers $32.20

April 24, 2008
I went to the paint store today to buy paint and supplies. I bought Ceremonial Gold paint for the ceiling and Sierra Redwood for the walls. I guess you are wondering about the change in paint colors. I asked my good friend for her opinion about the paint swatches I had chosen and after discussing it with her I realized that the walls would be better in the burgundy with the gold for the ceilings. The woman at the paint store said that one quart would cover about 125 square feet which should be enough for the ceiling. So I bought a gallon for the walls and a quart for the ceiling.

· Paint and supplies-$60

When I arrived home hubby offered to help with the preparation of the walls as well as the painting. This could only mean one thing-arguments. I have a tendency to cut corners while he has a tendency to add them. The arguments started almost immediately as I wanted to go into the bathroom through the door-he wanted to remove the window and go in that way.

Stop laughing!

There was plastic covering the door between the bedroom and bathroom from the drywall sanding earlier in the week so that the dust wouldn’t get into the bedroom. That was all done now so there was no reason to leave it up-so I took it down and entered the bathroom through the door while hubby went through the window. He reiterated that I should have left the plastic up-I ignored him.
In this one particular case…he was right.

Stop laughing!

I thought wiping down the walls would be a minor task; however, it was a horrible mess! The dust on the floors was pretty thick so we decided to vacuum it out with the shop vac. Well that made the entire room nothing more than a huge dust cloud! (This is why hubby wanted to come in through the window and leave the plastic over the door to the bedroom-I removed the plastic covering over the door to go that way thinking that there would not be much dust but there was a lot of dust)!

Stop laughing!

Anyway, hubby had to wear a mask to vacuum the room (I drank wine while watching the huge dust cloud stream from the bathroom window-I couldn’t stay in the bedroom as the dust was billowing under the bathroom door and covering the bedroom in a cloud of dust because I had removed the plastic covering). After vacuuming he wiped down the walls and we began painting. Hubby painted the ceiling in the gold color. After that was done (well not done-I have to go back for more paint-the quart wasn’t enough to cover it) we started on the walls with the burgundy color. It is gorgeous (this was one of the few things that we agreed on during the painting process)! After the first coat was applied we cleaned up and called it a night.

The deadline fast approaches!

April 5, 2008
In hubby's defense the dry walling portion of the project does require two people (two people with upper body strength which I lack). I thought hubby would have contacted Pauly (whom I now refer to as ‘Saint Pauly’ because he is the only one I don’t have to nag to get things accomplished) about helping with the drywall on Saturday. Saturday morning I received a phone call from hubby saying that he was going for supplies because no one had shown up to work. This is odd, I thought, as Pauly is always on time. I discovered later that hubby had NOT called Pauly but had instead assumed that Pauly would just show up. I instructed hubby, in my usual sweet and lovely manner, to call Pauly at once! He did and, of course, Pauly showed up (with help) to hang drywall.
When I arrived home there were trucks parked everywhere and the sound of nail guns and sawing was permeating the air! Ah, men at work.
I discovered later that although much was accomplished (almost all of the drywall was hung as well as the drywall on the ceiling) there were a few injuries. Hubby sliced his finger but was able to bandage it up. Apparently Pauly had something of a shocking experience. About 110 volts worth! Something went wrong and he received a pretty good zap which probably would have curled his hair, if he hadn’t already shaved it all off.
We have also renamed the spare bedroom and the library being that they are serving as holding spaces for bathroom supplies. The spare bedroom is now known as the ‘abyss’ and the library is the ‘black hole’. If you need anything from either of these rooms you are out of luck! They are so full of bathroom stuff (you know, all of the stuff that is not already filling the living room and dining room) that you cannot even walk into them. Of course, there are some things in our bedroom too. I am already storing some of my things in the cabinet that is in the living room that will eventually be in the bathroom upon its completion which is almost here since the completion date, of course, will be April 30th.

Oh no. I just realized that I gave a completion date of April 30th but I did not specify which year!
Hmmm…this could be a problem.

April 12, 2008
Pauly and Gary showed up today to work on the bathroom. Gary and hubby worked on the roof while Pauly worked on sheet rock. By the end of the day the roof was almost complete as well as the sheet rock. No injuries were reported and plans were made for a return to work the following day. At one point I reminded hubby of the April 30th deadline to which he stated that ‘it would not happen’. I of course responded that it would happen or I would hire someone to complete the job. Later, over a pizza lunch, the conversation returned to the fast approaching deadline for the bathroom completion. Pauly announced that he would be out of town next weekend and would not be able to work. Being that Pauly is my assistant project manager I could not reasonably expect much to be accomplished in his absence so being the kind and generous creature that I am I decided to extend the deadline to the second weekend of May. Pauly said that he ‘guaranteed’ I would be soaking in the tub by then. Normally I would laugh at such a statement (let’s see I have been told that it would be done by the end of October, then November, then by Christmas, then January…) but being that it was coming from Pauly, or should I say St. Pauly, I knew that this would be so.

April 13, 2006
Gary and Pauly both showed up again today and I actually had to send them both home as they were determined to keep working well past the dinner hour. Much was accomplished and the bathroom project is moving along! I have visions of bubble bath dancing in my head! (Sorry, there’s still a little Christmas left in my mind). Anyway, remember the green tin roof that hubby ordered for the addition? Well it was such a dark green that it looked like it would blend well with the gray shingled section of roof without the color and material difference being too noticeable from the road. However, once it was on the roof it became quite evident that the roof was very different but there is nothing I can do about it now. This is the kind of thing that you comment on when you are driving around looking at houses and you say ‘what on earth were they thinking?’ It is not terribly awful looking, I suppose, and it is on the side of the house that you don’t see very well from the road. And so another weekend of work was complete with some hope being given that the bathroom might actually be completed soon.

Full Steam Ahead!

March 18, 2008
Well it was a prosperous day for the bathtub diaries! Gary came out and worked all day on the siding and I must say it looks great! In addition to that, the building inspector passed everything so we are full steam ahead on the interior work (this is where my job really begins as project manager-I will really have to stay on these guys to drive this project forward). Hubby ordered the roofing materials which will arrive next week. Dare I say that there may be a slight illumination at the end of the bathroom? I better not being that there are still floors and drywall to be installed, light fixtures to be hung, a bathtub, sink, and toilet to be hooked up (not a problem on this one-Pauly handles the plumbing), tiles to be laid, painting, scraping, and on and on and on…
All of a sudden that slight illumination seems to have disappeared.
· Tin Roof materials- $250+

March 22, 2008
Hubby built the platform floor with plywood we had purchased earlier in the day. He then had to go back to the store to purchase the next layer of flooring. He worked on the platform flooring until after dark.

March 23, 2008
Hubby worked on the platform flooring a bit more today although he had to stop because the drywall needs to be hung before he can finish the floor.

March 28, 2008
Hubby is going to pick up the roofing materials which came in earlier in the week. I scraped the ceiling of the old section of bathroom which only took me about half an hour. I was surprised at this since I thought it would take longer. The little rubber pieces that hold the plastic bag on the ceiling scraper were missing so I had to use bobby pins to keep the bag in place-it worked just fine.

March 29, 2008
Hubby bought the drywall today and began the process. He wasn’t able to get very far as it really takes two people for this kind of work. I did help him unload the drywall since it looked like it might rain. We managed to get two pieces unloaded (with about 10 more pieces to go) in the bathroom. This was no easy task! I was sore from scraping the ceiling the day before which didn’t help. Apparently our next door neighbor saw my struggles and was kind enough to offer to let us store the remaining pieces in their garage (this was so much easier-we didn’t have to lift drywall up into the window of the bathroom we just backed the truck to the garage opening and unloaded). Our neighbors are always coming to our rescue! Thank goodness as the drywall would have to be removed from the bathroom once hubby started working on it again.
The roofing materials of course could stay out in the weather. The tin roof is a beautiful dark green color. Funny, I thought that I had chosen a steel gray color to match our current roof but hubby claims that I told him to choose the color so I must go along with it now. I remember saying something like that but I thought I had changed my mind and decided upon the gray. No matter now-the roof on the bathroom will be green.

March 31, 2008
Enough is enough! I as the project manager have given a deadline for the completion of the bathroom project! I told hubby that the bathroom had to be complete by April 30th or I hire a contractor to come in and finish it! Would anyone care to begin the polling as to whether or not this deadline is met? There could be some good money in it!

Decisions...

March 15, 2008
Yet another work day on the bathroom has been completed. Hubby continued working on the insulation and siding while Gary completed the soffit work. Now for the decision about roofing (will the decisions ever end? I am beginning to wonder!) Anyway, because we were unable to match our current shingles exactly we have decided to go with a tin roof on the addition. Since it is a very small section of roof that is not very noticeable from the front of the house we thought that a tin roof would be a good idea. We hope to someday do the rest of the roof in this manner so this section will be done already. As with everything else I believed the only choice to be made was color-wrong again! There must be half a dozen different types of metal roof styles. Luckily hubby made that choice so all I had to do was choose a color. This, believe it or not, was one of the easiest choices. As much as I like the green roof I went with something more in keeping with our current roof, charcoal grey. And so that will be ordered (soon I hope).
On a more expensive note, mom called me from the antique mall today because she found a beautiful old mirror that would work well as a full length mirror in the bathroom. Of course I told her to go ahead and buy it-after all, it’s just money, right?

· Labor payment to Greg-$300
· Large antique mirror-$150

March 16, 2008
Hubby continued to work on the insulation today. He will call the building inspector tomorrow to set up the inspection date. Now, I would very much like to paint the walls over spring break; however, the sheet rock has not even been ordered yet. When I mentioned my plans last week to Gary and hubby about painting over spring break the response was quick and decisive-‘No problem’. Spring break starts this Good Friday and the last word on this subject from Gary was advice to hubby (Saturday) to NOT get the sheet rock until the roofing was done in case of leaks. The roof color was just selected yesterday, it has yet to be ordered, more or less delivered or ready to be installed, but the walls will be up and ready to paint by this Friday? Do these guys even think about what they are saying? I think not!
Beep, Beep, Beep goes the bus!

Progress...

March 1, 2008
Pauly and hubby worked on the bathroom again today. Pauly ran more of the plumbing while hubby worked on the siding. The only thing left at this point is to put up the insulation and then get it inspected so that the interior work can begin.

March 7, 2008
Hubby drove to Pooler, GA today to get the siding.

March 8, 2008
Hubby and Pauly worked for a few hours on the bathroom today. Pauly finished up the plumbing work and tested it-it works. He and hubby also put up some of the insulation. It is my understanding that there were no major injuries although I heard a few crashes.

March 11, 2008
Hubby came home from work and put up more of the insulation. The insulation is almost complete.

March 12, 2008
Gary came out and worked yesterday on the soffits and the dryer vent. He was able to complete one side and will be out tomorrow to do more.
· Paid for Gary’s services: $140
· Siding supplies: $160


March 13, 2008
Gary worked again all day today and completed most of the soffit work. Hubby in turn came home and has most of the front side sided. He sustained a minor injury when he hit his hand with the hammer but nothing of significance. The inspector will be called today and will hopefully pass us tomorrow (Friday) or on Monday.
As for the living room, we now have the cabinet that we purchased sitting in the walkway between it and the dining room. The only thing we need now is a toilet and we will have a full bathroom in the living room! The question now is this-will the bathroom be complete before the rest of the house is filled with bathroom supplies? It makes one wonder, after all, how all of this ‘bathroom stuff’ that is currently stored in the spare bedroom, library, and living room is going to actually fit in the ‘walk-in closet sized’ bathroom. Hmmm…perhaps there will be a yard sale or should I say ‘bath sale’ in our future. I would like to say our ‘near’ future but I dare not show my optimism for fear that it may come back to haunt me!

On and on we go...

February 16, 2008
I arrived home after a week in Alexandria, Va to find that hubby had built the foundation for the platform and filled the hole in the area below the pedestal sink with concrete. Things are a movin’ and a groovin’!

February 17, 2008
After church hubby and Pauly got to work. This was probably the messiest and loudest part of the construction so far as they had to cut concrete for the bathtub plumbing (after all, it’s all about the tub!). Aside from some minor injuries (Pauly banged his hand and a significant asthma attack on hubby’s part) all seemed to go well. However, the dust factor was something of a problem. Never have I ever seen a cloud of dust so thick and so suffocating! This job took over an hour but when the dust finally settled (which took several hours) the plumbing for the tub was complete. Pauly made the statement that we were in the home stretch of completion now. I reminded him that I was a bit skeptical on this subject. I went on to say that I was amazed that on HGTV they finish projects like this in two days to which he responded that not only that but they have commercial breaks as well. (Now mind you, I haven’t been behind the wheel of the bus for over a week). My response was that hubby is always on a commercial break. Hubby responded with a very simple yet profound, ‘beep, beep, beep’.

February 25, 2008
It was something of a slow weekend for the bathroom work. Hubby was out of town and Pauly had another job on Saturday. Despite its sitting in the middle of the living room floor the tub is actually being utilized as a toy box, or should I say ‘tub box’, for the cat and dog toys. It works very well for this as the dogs won’t jump into the tub to get the cat toys (show me a dog that willingly jumps into a bathtub!) or the dog toys that are in need of some repair before being played with again. Of course, Kramer has no problem jumping into the tub and pulling out his cat toys. He’s pretty good at it. He jumps onto the edge of the tub and surveys all of the toys below before swooping down, grabbing one, and taking it outside of the tub for play. He can actually walk around on the edge of the tub while he spies the toys within.
Last night I decided to sit in the tub and read. I stuffed a few pillows and a blanket in there, curled up with a glass of wine, and began reading. Kramer seemed quite interested in this. Obviously I had removed all of the toys from the tub before I climbed in. It’s really a very comfortable place to read-even without the water. Anyway, I noticed Kramer’s fascination with my being in the tub so I grabbed his fishing pole toy and began to whirl it around the outside base of the tub. He thought this was great fun and began to run around the tub at full speed chasing the fish at the end of the pole. So if you can picture it, I am in the tub with a glass of wine, a book, and a fish-on-the-pole cat toy while the cat is running in circles full speed around the tub chasing it. Now you’ve got the idea! Other than that there is not much else to report. The shingles and siding are still not here (so much for the ‘it only takes a day to get it’). One would think that white vinyl siding would be pretty straightforward but apparently not. There are different grades of white and different fake wood textures. Nothing is simple, not even white vinyl siding. And so I suppose the hold-up in the siding delivery is that they are trying to match the siding exactly.

February 29, 2008
Well there is no sign of the siding or shingles that were ordered and there are more excuses for this delay than there are bubbles in a bathtub so hubby has started shopping at a home improvement store for these things. In addition, we are looking for a quiet fan vent for the bathroom. Hubby had to special order the new dryer vent to fit under the eaves of the addition which arrived a couple of days ago.
On a lighter note, Joan’s daughter is selling things for a fundraiser at school. I paged through the catalogs looking for something inexpensive and found a darling ceramic claw foot tub that held bath oils and such. I figured it would look cute sitting in the bathroom. Then I decided that perhaps we should start a poll to see which would happen first, the completion of the bathroom or the arrival of the ceramic bathtub. Hmmm. I bet I know the answer…beep, beep, beep goes the bus.

An en'lightening' experience and new discoveries!

February 6, 2008
Hubby spoke with our friend (an electrician) about the wiring for the bathroom. He will be out Thursday to look at the layout. Now I have to decide where all of the fixtures will go. We will be adding some switches and outlets too. Also, hubby finally ordered the shingles and the siding on Tuesday.

Yay!

February 7, 2008
Our electrician came to look at the bathroom to see how to wire it. After some discussion it was decided that the chandelier would hang in the center of the old bathroom section, sconces would be on each side of the mirror over the sink, and the other two sconces would be on either side of the center window in the new addition. The outlet in the main section will be moved and a double switch and two outlets will be added to the new section. He is supposed to come out tomorrow to do all of the wiring.
On Monday night Gary offered to help hubby with the siding and shingles which was greatly appreciated. With all of this help we are bound to get this project going!

February 8, 2008
Friday afternoon our electrician came to the house to wire the bathroom for electrical sockets, light switches, and the sconces. He worked hard and got much accomplished including cleaning up the work area when he was done. This amazed me as it was cleaner than when he arrived! He will be out tomorrow to finish most of the job.

February 9, 2008
Electrician arrived early to complete most of the wiring. Now we need to purchase the fan vent so that he can finish up that part. He installed the box for the chandelier where the old fan vent was located. Because there is a large hole in the ceiling we will have to purchase a medallion to cover it. So much for my creative idea to use antique picture frames as the medallions.
On a side note, while the electrician was going up into the attic to work (attic access is in the hallway) he noticed that both of our hallway light fixtures were askew. I explained that hubby had installed those but in his defense they were installed correctly. However, being constantly wacked with ladders or ironing boards tends to make them hang funny (woooosh goes the bus!). He told me that he would come back another day to fix them for me. When hubby got home from Bible study I told him about our electrician friend offering to fix the hall lights. Hubby took it all in good humor and then asked if he could also fix the ceiling fan in the living room. (I’m thinking, ceiling fan? What’s wrong with the ceiling fan?) Hubby proceeded to tell us that he had to ‘rig’ the light fixture part when installing it and when the fan is on high that the light fixture turns with it. Ughhhh!!! At that point, being the new project manager, I fired hubby for all future electrical endeavors and made our friend my new ‘official electrician’. He accepted. OK, enough of the off-task conversations and back to the bathroom.
A short time later Gary and Pauly arrived. All were introduced to each other (our electrician friend introduced himself as ‘Kim’s electrician’) and the work continued. When Pauly first came in I apologized for not having called him during the week. I was glad that hubby had gotten in touch with him to which Pauly responded that no one had called. He just decided to come over and work. This is why I have made him the assistant project manager! Works hard, works fast, and comes without being called-that’s a pretty good resume!
Then there was another decision to be made! The platform layout and shape needed to be decided upon before they could go any further (funny, I thought this was already taken care of but apparently not). After a very lengthy discussion the original plan of building the platform from the new opening of the bathroom was changed to just inside of the new section so that it would blend in better (you kinda have to see it to understand).
I left to go downtown and told Pauly to make sure that hubby and Gary worked hard and that he (Pauly) was in charge.
When I arrived home a few hours later the plumbing for the pedestal sink was complete although some changes were necessary there too. Because of the new platform layout the plumbing would have to run through the ceiling instead of under the platform for the sink which was already completed by the time I arrived home. The header was complete, the room opening finished, and the fan vent re-routed. Not bad for a Saturday! It’s amazing how much work can get done with four men led by a female project manager (heehee)!
While I was out I found a few more things for the bathroom to add to the long list of items piling up around the house:
· Small oriental rug on clearance $12
· Small crystal clock (so that I don’t soak too long) $6.95

Mom and grandma went to the antique mall (you know what’s coming don’t you?) and found a lovely old mirror for over the pedestal sink for $45.

And the price tag rises...

February 2, 2008
Hubby got home from his Bible study and began immediately to work on removing the bathroom wall. As Hubby started removing parts of the wall it gave us the first glimpse of the bathroom as a whole room. I needed to go downtown but hubby asked me to wait until Pauly got there so I could tell him about the new vanity placement. I told him that I didn’t need to be there and for him to ASK Pauly if it would work. I then left to go downtown. When I arrived home a few hours later I was amazed. Not only was the wall completely removed but the toilet and vanity were also gone and Pauly had re-plumbed for the new vanity location. The bathroom looked so spacious and roomy! (Keep in mind that there were no fixtures in there which may have contributed to its roomy appearance). The guys then asked me how far from the new wall opening I wanted the vanity to be placed. As we were discussing this it hit me that the toilet appeared as if it were almost directly across from the vanity (the vanity is 36” wide and 18” deep). I questioned them on this point. With puzzled looks they began to measure. As it turns out there was very little space to walk between the vanity and the toilet. This was fine for little me but anyone bigger would have to turn sideways to walk between the two fixtures. Mind you this wasn’t a minor glitch-this was a full blown dilemma! Hubby said that I was the one that wanted the vanity moved to which I responded that I wanted him to ASK if it would work there. He asked alright but followed it with a ‘she wants it moved over here’. After an hour of discussion as to how to address the situation (and a small tantrum or two on my part) the solutions were evident but not necessarily desirable.
1. Place the vanity in the new locale and walk past it carefully so as not to run into it (and gain no weight or I’d be crawling over the toilet to get to the tub).
2. Turn the toilet to the side and build a half wall behind it to hide the plumbing and place the china cabinet on the other side of the half wall.
2 ¾ . Drink heavily and throw a fit.
3. Put the plumbing and the vanity back in its original location and place the china cabinet across from the toilet.
Number ‘3’ continued to present a problem in that the china cabinet placed across from the toilet would create the same small passageway (yes the china cabinet is somewhat necessary as this is providing additional storage). Another idea was to move the toilet to the old vanity location which would require the cement floor being cut up. Another problem with this idea was that the toilet would be the first image one saw upon entering the bathroom (where this might be acceptable to men it was a less than ideal situation for a woman). By now I was too tired to think, not to mention extremely frustrated. We all decided that after church the next day we would meet at the shop, bring the vanity home, and try arranging things to determine what would work best. I called mom later to get her input about the vanity situation. She wasn’t thrilled with either solution and suggested returning the vanity to its original placement (so much for the new arrangement). This also meant that the china cabinet would probably not be used requiring Darryl to custom build cabinets for storage purposes. And so ends another day in the bathtub saga!

February 3, 2008
By golly I’ve got it!!! Scrap the vanity and install a pedestal sink instead! After all, it’s just money! The vanity was going to provide very little storage once converted to hide plumbing, not to mention it was purchased before the bathroom addition idea came about (remember initially we were just going to re-tile the floor and add the 1950’s Victorian style dresser-converted-to-a-vanity with a new sink but then we found out we could add-on and have a claw foot tub too. Seems like months ago doesn’t it? Oh that’s right-it was months ago!) Yes, I’m drinking caffeine while I write this! This solution seemed the most viable as it solved all of the dilemmas from the previous workday. The pedestal sink would be installed in the new location with plenty of room between it and the toilet, and the china cabinet would be placed to the right of the toilet (where the vanity used to be) providing a lovely first impression when entering the bathroom. I would sell the dresser that was going to be used as the vanity in the shop and recoup our money. Problem solved!

But wait, there’s more.

We went to a home improvement chain store after church to purchase the pedestal sink. Several different styles and sizes of sinks lined the shelves. By now you know me well enough to know that I was drawn to the very expensive Kohler sink ($230). However, I continued looking and found a comparable looking off-name brand sink for a fraction of the cost ($95). I asked the salesman for assistance in purchasing the sink just to be told that almost all of the pedestal sinks were sold out. I was only interested in two of the sinks-the expensive Kohler and the affordable off-name brand. Guess which of the two sinks was sold out? Yup-the bargain priced off-name brand sink! Hmmm. Guess the Kohler it is!

· Kohler sink-$230
· Kohler pedestal base (yes you have to pay extra for the blooming base!)-$100
Oh stop all that gasping! I know it’s a lot of money but it is a very good sink. It is about quality, is it not?

But wait, there’s more.

The faucet we purchased a few years ago (still in the box waiting for hubby to install it in the old vanity-beep, beep, beep-that’s the sound of the bus backing over hubby as I write this) is a one piece unit that worked well for the old vanity and what was going to be the new vanity. Unfortunately pedestal sinks don’t take one piece faucet sets-they need split sets. Ok, not a big problem-we’ll look at the faucets. The first one that I liked was a whopping big $188! Let’s try this again. Next I found a beautiful Victorian style split faucet in the nickel finish (tub fixtures are nickel). The best part was that it was on sale for $98! WooHoo! Finally a bargain! We searched all of the shelves for this faucet but could not find it. We asked the salesman about it and he informed us that not only were they sold out but the faucet was discontinued. The search resumed. Alas, after looking at several faucets (including the special order one that hubby liked for $315) we decided on the $188 faucet that I liked originally. In addition to all of this I needed a new toilet paper dispenser ($24), a new toilet seat ($11.98), and a nickel finished toilet bowl handle ($19.98). Ironically I thought that the whole pedestal sink shopping spree would only cost a couple of hundred dollars (stop laughing-it’s not funny! Well, yeah, I guess it is kinda funny).
We arrived home to find Pauly waiting. He and hubby fitted the last window opening and did some more plumbing work.
On the brighter side, since Pauly started helping us there has been more accomplished on the bathroom in two days then there had been in the past month (Oops there goes that blasted bus again!). Pauly is a work horse and never stopped-he just kept on working. Hubby even seemed to work faster with Pauly there. I should have taken over as project manager months ago! Maybe if I had I would be soaking in a tub by now!
After they had finished for the day Pauly recommended a contractor friend from his church to install the siding and shingles (Hubby was going to do this but at this point I am trying to save some time). Pauly also offered to help hubby with the sheetrock installation and suggested his brother-in-law to do the dry walling. I liked the idea and told him to give my number to his friend so I could get an estimate. I noticed hubby looking at me with concern on his face (or maybe it was fear-you know wanting to say ‘but dear, I can do all of that for free’ but too afraid to see the reaction of the wicked wife/project manager standing before him-not to mention fear of the darn bus that she’s driving). Being the new project manager all decisions are mine and they are final (no negotiating!). I intend to get this project finished and pay whoever is willing to help me (except for hubby-he’s been paying since he married me).
Did I mention that the new pedestal sink is also being stored in the living room since the library and the spare bedroom are full? I guess that means that we currently have a living room/bathroom combo.

And the story continues...

January 14, 2008
The weekend was very productive for the bathroom construction! Darryl put the plastic covering on the plywood walls (the stuff that the siding goes over) on Saturday afternoon. He started to install the windows but found that the manufacturer apparently made them about ¾ of an inch smaller than was ordered.
On Sunday Darryl got materials to adapt the window openings to the window size. He was very successful and installed the two small side windows. Now it is starting to look more like an actual room!
In the meantime, Kramer continues to claim the living room based tub as his play space. He has discovered that it is great fun to shove his paws through the ‘Mickey Mouse’ looking faucet holes in the tub, reaching for whatever is on the other side (even the things that are only apparent in his mind). He has also discovered that the tub is a great place to lie around and relax. I hear there may be some sort of territorial scuffle once the tub is installed between Kramer and me (I can see it now-Cat vs. Kim for tub custody).
Now as simple and productive as this entire weekend of bathroom construction sounds it was not without some prodding on my part. Darryl seemed quite comfortable relaxing in the tub Sunday afternoon watching the football game. I reminded him that there was work to be done on the bathroom yet he continued to relax in the tub. After several more reminders his obvious need to escape my prompts prevailed (Ok let’s call it what it is-nagging) and he finally went outside to work accomplishing the window installation! Yay!

January 22, 2008
It’s been a while since I have updated the bathtub diaries. Well let’s see, that is because NOTHING HAS HAPPENED! Ugh! The next few steps are fairly simple. Put up the vinyl siding, shingle the roof, and install the last window. Oh but wait, I suppose in order to put up siding and shingle the roof one would in fact need to have the siding (and the shingles too for that matter). I asked Darryl last night when he planned on ordering these items. His response was that it would only take a day for them to come in. Apparently it takes several weeks for the order to be placed! After all, what’s the rush, right? The cat is definitely enjoying the tub as his playground in the middle of the living room floor. I am once again inviting friends over for tea-I don’t even seem to notice the tub in the middle of the living room floor anymore. It has become a fixture there. (If you haven’t noticed my patience is beginning to run ever-so-slightly thinJ). Granted the weather has been somewhat cold and damp the past week or two. This is why we started this project back in October-so it could be complete before the winter weather set in. (Notice the huge burst of laughter that is rattling my walls as I type). Darryl mentioned a week long trip that he hopes to take in July with his quartet members. I reiterated what I told him a few weeks ago (yes you know me well enough to know that I actually said this) that he could take NO trips until the bathroom is complete. His response was that hopefully by July it would be done. Of course, in my most loving manner, I responded that one would hope so. Then again, it was supposed to be done by the end of October! So here we are in January with a tub in the living room, an empty shell of a bathroom addition, piles of inspection papers, fixtures, lights, and other accoutrements, and a very frustrated woman awaiting the simple task of soaking in a tub!

January 25, 2008
Kramer continues to enjoy the playground with the big roll top sides…
No sign of siding or shingles.

January 28, 2008
Well it’s Monday morning. The most significant progress regarding the bathroom was a humorous email sent to me by a good friend. Ironically, the section about people born under my astrological sign (in this email it was a crawfish) stated that we prefer to relax in a bathtub as opposed to the living room. Hmmm. I wonder what it means when the bathtub is IN the living room! No wonder I am such a confused person-my bathtub is in the wrong place. I believe the only cure for such a displacement is to move the bathtub from the living room to the bathroom. Maybe I should start a contest to see who can guess closest to the date that the bathroom is actually completed. The winner will get the first soak in the tub. Each entry will cost five dollars. Maybe I could make enough money to pay someone to make it happen. Not likely. (I will probably get the ‘you threw me under the bus again’ speech from my beloved husband and bathroom contractor once he reads these updates). Perhaps instead of my sign being a crawfish it should have been a crab because I’m startin’ to get a bit crabby about this whole thing!!!

WHAT'S YOUR SOUTHERN SIGN?
Some of us Southerners are pretty skeptical of horoscopes and the people that read them. If we are to ever fully understand all the star signs and the people they represent, we need symbols that all true Southerners understand: See the list below...y'all. CRAWFISH (May 22 - June 21) Crawfish is a water sign. If you work in an office, you're hanging around the water cooler. Crawfish prefer the beach to the mountains, the pool to the golf course, and the bathtub to the living room. You tend not to be particularly attractive physically, but you have very, very good heads.

I believe that this description needs a little bit of tweaking for my situation. Let’s see if I can’t improve this a bit.
Crawfish is a water sign. If you work in an office (or a school) you are daydreaming obsessively about soaking in a bathtub. Crawfish prefer the bath to the shower, shopping to the golf course (shopping for bathroom luxuries of course), and to have their bathtub in the bathroom instead of the living room. You tend to be extraordinarily attractive with a good head on your shoulders (or should I say pinchers?).
Oh did I mention that there is no ‘sign’ of shingles or siding?

January 30, 2008
While at the shop today I spoke with Pauly (plumber) who offered once again to help with the bathroom construction. This time I said YES! It’s time that I take this tub by the faucet and get this project done! I explained that the siding and the shingles needed to be put up next. When Darryl arrived a short time later I explained the plans I had made with Pauly to help with the installation of the siding and shingles. Darryl told me that he had yet to order the shingles and siding. I said then order them tomorrow for Saturday. No can do-they wouldn’t be in on a Saturday. Hmmm. Another stumbling block? I think not! Then it occurred to me-if Darryl had not ordered the siding and the shingles then what exactly had he planned to do on the bathroom over the entire weekend (for which the weather forecast is beautiful, warm weather). I had been told that the shingles and siding were the next step in the process. So I said ‘enough is enough-I’m taking over as Project Manager! I informed Darryl that Pauly would be out on Saturday to work on the bathroom.
‘Doing what’, he asked.
‘Removing the vanity, toilet, and removing the wall between the new and old sections of the bathroom’, I responded.
‘I was going to do that’ was his response.
‘Well now it will go faster because there will be two of you working on it’, I said.
Darryl could cut the hole in the wall while Pauly took out the vanity and the toilet. (It seems that accepting help is as difficult for a man as asking for directions). At this point Darryl realized that there was no arguing the point and to go with the new project manager’s decision.J (stop saying ‘poor Darryl’-I know that you are saying that right now!)
Now mind you the changing of the project manager was not the only change taking place. Remember that white cabinet I purchased from the antique mall a few months ago that was now in the shop being used to display china while awaiting completion of the bathroom? Well a beautiful, yet slightly smaller, china cabinet came into the antique shop. Wow, it sure was pretty. It was smaller than the white one with what appeared to be more storage space. And the price was right. But alas I had already purchased the white cabinet. (Yeah, you know what’s coming don’t you)? Lisa knew where it was heading too so she got the tape measure and we started measuring the dimensions of both pieces. We chatted about it further and came to the conclusion that the best solution would be to put a price tag on the white cabinet , sell it, and buy the smaller china cabinet (even though we still didn’t know at this point whether either would fit in the bathroom)! So the price tag went on the white cabinet and a sold tag went on the slightly smaller china cabinet.
In addition to all of this, Lisa and I discussed the bathroom layout. I told her that I was still unsure as to whether a cabinet would even fit in the bathroom. I drew the layout for her and she offered a wonderful solution. She suggested that we move the vanity to the opposite wall thus freeing up the wall to the right of the toilet where the china cabinet would fit. I liked the idea being that the current location of the vanity was tight when the bathroom door is open. I shared the idea with Darryl later and we decided to ask Pauly when he arrived on Saturday if it would work.

The Toy Tub

January 10, 2008
After several phone calls the building inspector came out yesterday and approved the bathroom structure!

It passed! WooHoo!
Now the fun begins! Hubby has to contact our developer for the shingles and siding. In the meantime Kramer continues to use the living-room based bathtub for play despite the removal of the silk poinsettias. Granted he does not play as long, being that there are only a couple of his toys in the tub, but he still plays nonetheless. The tub actually works well as a fort for him to attack the dogs as they walk by. The dogs have yet to attempt jumping into the tub (most dogs avoid the tub like the plague-even a waterless one in the middle of the living room) so for the time being Kramer is safe within its confines.