Laundry Days are Here Again

Hooray! After almost three months of having no washer or dryer, I'm so happy to have a new pair of laundry machines. There is so much laundry piled up around here... A friend was kind enough to let me do wash at his house, but one basket a week just can't keep up and I didn't want to abuse my privilege, so I stuck to the necessities. When the new washer or dryer is done with its job, it sings to me!

The Barn Door's Open

Because of space constraints, we decided to close off the bathroom with a sliding door.  We upcycled a beautiful door that we found at Bring.  It is frosted glass surrounded by a solid wood frame.  Gary wasn't satisfied with the barn door hardware at the home stores, so he bought a fancy one from Rustica. I painted the door gloss white to match the moulding and contrast the blue wall.

Searching for Studs

                                                                 Ouch!

When the wall was opened up, we made a map of the studs for future reference.  This is the map we used when ordering the barn door hardware.  Well, it seems the studs were reconfigured, probably when the plumber moved the pipes. So, off to Jerry's Home Improvement store, again. This time-it was the third time that day-to purchase a stud finder.  Seems like the stud finder worked. While backing out of a parking space, a couple of studs backed their pick-up into the car, denting the bumper. It was a very long day.

Floored

Abstract Black. That's the color name of the floor tile. It really is more of a charcoal grey with a lighter, warmer grey grid pattern, similar to a window screen. It has a slight texture.  Industrial Grey is the color name of the lighter grey wainscoting in the bathroom.

Hot Wired

The floor heat is in! It took a gathering of the tiler, the electrician, and the inspector to get it done.  After the wire was glued down, an orange, waffle like membrane was put on top with thinset.

Hurry up and wait

So, we had to wait a week and a half for the rest of the shower. The walls are installed and ready for the plumber. Unfortunately, the toilet and sink can't go in until the tile floor is down. So, no sense calling in the plumber just yet. And the tiler can't come yet. We hurried to get the moulding put in this weekend in anticipation of the tile going in early this week. We can't install the sliding door until the floor is down. And the door must be in before the cabinet is installed. And the cabinet must go in before the washer and dryer. And on and on...

Room to Grow

The shower pan was installed. We had planned on a 48" wide shower, but it seems that after that 'secret space' wall was removed we gained 4 inches more.

'True turquoise' is the name of the color that Gary chose for the bathroom. It is fairly bright, but I think it will be balanced by the grey colors of the lower wall, shower, and tile floor.

The Case of the Vanishing Window

We removed the laundry room window. Being on the west side of the house, it took the full force of the winter storms. It was rotting on the bottom. The hole was framed in and covered with plywood. The hard to find cedar siding went up the next morning. Caulked and painted, you wouldn't know there was ever a window in that wall. Except for the fact that the rest of the wall needs cleaning.

Holes

There are holes in the floor, now, where the shower drain and the water supply lines used to be. There is a hole in the exterior wall covered only by the siding. Probably a vent for a dryer at one point in time. There's a hole in the bathroom ceiling. Actually, there's no ceiling at all. There are holes for the toilet and the washer. Maybe there are holes in our heads for starting this project. Definitely holes in the bank account.

Pick-Up Load of Bathroom

Our bathroom has been relocated to our pick-up truck. Mostly, anyways. We will give what's usable to 'Habitat for Humanity'. The rest goes to the dump. No one wants our toilet because it is not of the low flow variety. Gary had fun (if work can be fun) taking out the fiberglass shower with a reciprocating saw. He said "This is the second greatest invention, after the wheel." That was the most fun we've had in the shower together in a long time.

The Throne

The trucker who delivered our new toilet was very helpful. He used a small forklift to put it in our garage. Helpful, indeed, since it is a one piece monster and weighs in at 98 pounds. It is truly a throne meant for royalty and I know that the king of the house will enjoy it.

Alfie, also a king in his world, found a sunny perch on the old throne.

Secret Room

The shower stall was most likely installed in the spring of 1985. I found an April 1985 'Register Guard' page stuffed in the wall behind the shower. We moved in in the fall of '85. There is an empty space beside the shower that was walled in. Odd. I've always wanted to find a secret room in my house, although this doesn't measure up to my imaginings.

Bathroom Project

Here we go again. It's been three years since the trauma and ecstasy of our kitchen remodel and, like childbirth, only the joy is remembered. We have lined up many of the same folks who worked on the kitchen.

We did a bit of work on this small bathroom 16 years ago. New toilet, new sink and vanity, and a new wall mirror to replace an old medicine cabinet. Yesterday, we removed the mirror and found a 1996 'Eugene Weekly' rolled up and placed (by us) in the wall recess behind the mirror.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

The kitchen renovation is done. It took almost eight weeks and a lot of effort by many people. The floor, cabinets, counter top, appliances and pretty much everything else is new except, as the saying goes, the kitchen sink. We reused our old white cast iron sink.

It's taking a lot of getting used to having a new kitchen. I still feel like I'm cooking at someone else's house. Gary and I noticed that we can both be working in the kitchen without bumping into each other. Now it's more like dancing around each other.

I've been adding a few personal touches to make the kitchen feel more like ours. Three quick apple studies (delicious), a couple of garage sale vases, and my tea pot wearing a newly knitted tea cozy.

Oh, and I finally got that grilled cheese sandwich that I was craving.

Bow Wow Pizazz

Ginger came to visit. She walked in the front door and made herself at home. She drank water, ate some cat food, chewed up one of Alfie's old toys and a stick from the garden. I called the phone number on her tag and her people promptly fetched her.

Craige installed the gray glass tile backsplash. He had to make quite a few cuts to have it all fit nicely. He was unsure of our choice of white grout. He said it would look 'pizazzy'. That sounded fine to me. When he completed the grouting, he admitted to liking the choice. I love. It does look pizazzy. What do you think?

Rock and Roller

On the July 4th holiday weekend, we painted the studio ceiling and walls. It didn't look right to have the new kitchen stop in mid-room. It was 95 degrees on Friday, so we tried out the new cooling system. It works great for cooling. Hopefully, the heating will be just as efficient.

We finally took a break on Saturday to visit Island Park for the festivities. Local bands Mystery Train and the Hi-Tones played first and second. Last on stage was Peter Noone with Herman's Hermits. Peter sang some of his old songs, but also mimicked other singers including Mick Jagger,whom he claims is his father. His voice is still holding on. He was quite a comedian, even had Gary laughing. The fireworks were short and sweet.

Ready, Set, Cook

The appliances are in and it's starting to feel like a kitchen again. We took the dishwasher for a trial run. It works fine. I baked a Dutch Pancake on Sunday morning and have used the cooktop a couple of times. Today, I officially moved the kitchen out of the bathroom and back to its original site.

The tile is still pending and the vent hood is waiting for me to finish the patch on the wall where it will be located. A misplaced outlet and necessary bracing, both for the fan, led to more holes in the wall.

The guys from Home Comfort Heating are installing the mini-split heat pump system. Even more holes in the walls.

Gallery III

Food and Fun

Sunday, Father's Day, Summer Solstice. Three good reasons to get out of bed at 5:30am and eat at The Original Pancake House. The fresh fruit crepes are delicious.

This weekend, TV provided an escape from the kitchen project. Sometimes my brain needs comic, nonsensical relief. 'Grandma's Boy' is a funny film about a nerdy guy who moves in with his grandmother and her roommates. I had to laugh when he was vacuuming the carpet and lifted the sofa to find three mummified cats underneath. I know my house needs a thorough cleaning. Good thing we don't have any missing pets. 'Beer Fest' was more of Gary's type of dumb movie. It's about German and American beer makers. Lots of drinking games and boobs. It must remind him of his army days in Germany. 'Idiocracy' is the story of a man who travels 500 years into the future where everyone is stupid. They think that this newcomer is a genius and will solve all their problems. The world is not really so different. Everything is based on advertising. They even believe that Gatorade is good for the plants. Lots of fun poked at the corporate world.

Oh, we did manage to get the shelves and paneling up this weekend.

Plumbed

Brothers Aaron and Jeff, from Gary's Rooter and Plumbing Service, installed the new faucet in our sink. They hooked up water to the new dishwasher and refrigerator. They explained how copper pipe connected directly to galvanized pipe creates rust through electrolysis. The rust particles ruin fixtures and appliances attached to the pipe. Hopefully, all the new connections won't cause problems. Seems we had a rusty nipple. Sounds painful. Especially when a sawzall was needed to remove it.

The filtered water tastes wonderful. Finally, I can enjoy a cup of Earl Grey tea without an unpleasant aftertaste. We tested the icemaker. It works fine. The water from the fridge is so cold that we probably won't need too much ice and we'll keep it shut off most of the time.