Updates galore!
On- and off-site, much to report. A picture tells a thousand words, give or take, so click the image gallery below to get news (captions will appear at the bottom of each image).
No word yet on the plumber’s whereabouts or when-abouts—which is fine, because it’ll take me at least a couple more visits to get the bathroom re-constructed enough so he can see what to connect. The plan is to replace the (dirty) insulation, install a premade shower base and the shower hardware, then put up tile backer board. Oh, and move the vanity back in place (after some work — see below) and set the countertop/sink on it.
Picking out a faucet proves to be much harder than it ought to be. Somebody on a website somewhere said that they believe chrome finish is coming back — ya think? I like the brushed/satin ‘nickel’ finish, don’t like the black or ‘bronze’, have no feelings either way about chrome. How come there are thousands of faucets to choose from? — the basic on/off hot/cold functionality gets lost in the avalanche of trends: farmhouse-urban-baroque-brutalist-laboratory blah blah.
offstage whisper: Lighten up, Claire!
Okay. Now for some finish fun: choices for the bathroom.
Surfaces: the shower alcove will get the white-&-stripe tiles (12” squares) with a border (high? low? middle?) of the putty-colored subway tile. The long speckled piece under the free-range rock at the top is from the countertop, and the mottled layer under all of them (lower right) is marmoleum flooring, big 12x24” click-tiles.
Given all those colors and textures, what are some good choices for a vanity makeover? As you can see, it’s stained dark—what they called ‘mediterranean oak’ back in the 70’s—with decorative kerfing on the doors and excessively ornate handles (mounted in the center — which makes the doors really hard to open!) As is, it looks like it came from the Spanish Inquisition’s last rummage sale. But it’s a well-built cabinet so it’s worth reviving.
Finally, another big bargain from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Last week I got an email saying it’s VIP Loyalty Sale time, so we cruised up to New Brighton and found a ton of solid-core laminate flooring. No, it’s not genuine hardwood but the real thing would’ve cost twice as much, or more—even for the reclaimed wood at the ReUse Warehouse—and requires some specialized tools and probably prior experience to get the installation right.
I kinda think my to-do list is already long enough…
So I bought 18 boxes, enough to do the whole east end of the house: front entry and kitchen; around through the living room and down the hall.
The VIP sale was 10% off what’s posted here, so it worked out to about $2/square foot.
And the total purchase earned me a $60 credit, so even more better.
That’s a-plenty for now. Cheers!
