Things that happened and things that didn't happen: A list.
Items that are crossed off actually got done.
Things I wanted to get done on the renovation last week:
1. 2 coats of sealant on the ungrouted tiles.
2. Grout.
3. 2 more coats of sealant on the entire floor.
4. Prep walls and paint.
Things we wanted to get done over the weekend:
1. Grout. (after which we will both indefinitely have black cuticles)
2. 2 more coats of sealant on the entire floor.
3. Prep walls and paint. - ~50% done (plastering is done, sanding is more than half done)
4. Pick out and purchase vanity, mirror, faucet, & light fixture.
Things that weren't planned to be done this weekend but were done anyway:
1. Measure for and plan a deck.
2. Half clean out a garden that never had the dead plants cleared in the fall after the first frost.
3. Half stir the compost pile.
4. Trim up cedar tree in front of compost pile and remove trumpet vine that was wrapped around it.
5. Rid the yard of dog crap.
6. Frustrate Chris with my elven nature. (He asked me what to do about a tile that the corner cracked on after they were installed. I didn't know what to do and was giving him a "both ways have outcomes" sort of answer which was the only way I knew how to respond. But it frustrated him to no end. He just wanted an opinion and I didn't have one. I needed more information to have an opinion. Never ask an elf for advice. They will always answer both yes and no. Just sayin'.)
7. Trash the house with a flurry of packaging from renovation acquisitions and general construction stuff.
8. Acquire a fountain for the foyer (was marked down 50% because Home Depot had it on display in their greenhouse for a while). This makes Chris very happy and replaces the one he built that I wouldn't let him turn on because it splattered water all over the hardwoods. To me, it just sounds like a faucet has been left on somewhere.
So that said, we have a lovely, though cheaply constructed vanity with a marble top and a matching mirror. A fantastic light fixture to go above it which we almost missed at Lowe's because it was hidden amongst lame flowery stuff and was so contemporary and understated it didn't stand out much. And one of those awesome faucets that reminds me of an old hand pump.
All that is sort of the carrot at the end of the stick to keep me sanding and sealing and doing all this tedious work to get the room ready to install all the fixtures. I'm still not sure if I want to do Venetian plaster effect in there or not. We're going to wait and see what the base coat looks like. If we like it, it'll save us probably a day of work and about $50.
Oh, and a note about construction and remodeling: expect the unexpected and don't expect your builders to have done stuff to code. Chris yanked out the original light fixture yesterday to prep for painting. When he did, there was a box installed, but it was in the wrong place. So they had dragged the wire out, took what looked an awful lot like a hammer and just banged out a spot in the drywall to where they needed the light to go, put a big staple over the wire to secure it to the stud and then wired up the light. Great. Wonderful (though not to code). Except our light fixture was narrow at just the right place to expose that box. Moving it to the other side of the stud or putting in a drywall mounted box were not options. On the other side of that stud, the vent pipe for the drain was too close to squeeze one in. Eventually we resolved just to pull the box out, since what was there wasn't to code either and just leave the wire stapled to the stud and patch up the hole to suit our new fixture. Chris maintains they must have designed and installed things for a 31" vanity then instead installed a 36" (since it seems it would be on center for a 31"). Given where the plumbing is and the fact that it was impossible to install a box on the other side of the stud, I'm betting the plumbers did their thing and the electricians came in and did their thing and said, "fuck it, we'll let the finishers deal with how they're going to install a light fixture here." And so, they did.
About the deck, just don't ask. *sigh*
Things I wanted to get done on the renovation last week:
1. 2 coats of sealant on the ungrouted tiles.
2. Grout.
3. 2 more coats of sealant on the entire floor.
4. Prep walls and paint.
Things we wanted to get done over the weekend:
1. Grout. (after which we will both indefinitely have black cuticles)
2. 2 more coats of sealant on the entire floor.
3. Prep walls and paint. - ~50% done (plastering is done, sanding is more than half done)
4. Pick out and purchase vanity, mirror, faucet, & light fixture.
Things that weren't planned to be done this weekend but were done anyway:
1. Measure for and plan a deck.
2. Half clean out a garden that never had the dead plants cleared in the fall after the first frost.
3. Half stir the compost pile.
4. Trim up cedar tree in front of compost pile and remove trumpet vine that was wrapped around it.
5. Rid the yard of dog crap.
6. Frustrate Chris with my elven nature. (He asked me what to do about a tile that the corner cracked on after they were installed. I didn't know what to do and was giving him a "both ways have outcomes" sort of answer which was the only way I knew how to respond. But it frustrated him to no end. He just wanted an opinion and I didn't have one. I needed more information to have an opinion. Never ask an elf for advice. They will always answer both yes and no. Just sayin'.)
7. Trash the house with a flurry of packaging from renovation acquisitions and general construction stuff.
8. Acquire a fountain for the foyer (was marked down 50% because Home Depot had it on display in their greenhouse for a while). This makes Chris very happy and replaces the one he built that I wouldn't let him turn on because it splattered water all over the hardwoods. To me, it just sounds like a faucet has been left on somewhere.
So that said, we have a lovely, though cheaply constructed vanity with a marble top and a matching mirror. A fantastic light fixture to go above it which we almost missed at Lowe's because it was hidden amongst lame flowery stuff and was so contemporary and understated it didn't stand out much. And one of those awesome faucets that reminds me of an old hand pump.
All that is sort of the carrot at the end of the stick to keep me sanding and sealing and doing all this tedious work to get the room ready to install all the fixtures. I'm still not sure if I want to do Venetian plaster effect in there or not. We're going to wait and see what the base coat looks like. If we like it, it'll save us probably a day of work and about $50.
Oh, and a note about construction and remodeling: expect the unexpected and don't expect your builders to have done stuff to code. Chris yanked out the original light fixture yesterday to prep for painting. When he did, there was a box installed, but it was in the wrong place. So they had dragged the wire out, took what looked an awful lot like a hammer and just banged out a spot in the drywall to where they needed the light to go, put a big staple over the wire to secure it to the stud and then wired up the light. Great. Wonderful (though not to code). Except our light fixture was narrow at just the right place to expose that box. Moving it to the other side of the stud or putting in a drywall mounted box were not options. On the other side of that stud, the vent pipe for the drain was too close to squeeze one in. Eventually we resolved just to pull the box out, since what was there wasn't to code either and just leave the wire stapled to the stud and patch up the hole to suit our new fixture. Chris maintains they must have designed and installed things for a 31" vanity then instead installed a 36" (since it seems it would be on center for a 31"). Given where the plumbing is and the fact that it was impossible to install a box on the other side of the stud, I'm betting the plumbers did their thing and the electricians came in and did their thing and said, "fuck it, we'll let the finishers deal with how they're going to install a light fixture here." And so, they did.
About the deck, just don't ask. *sigh*