Monday, March 5, 2012

A new appreciation for renos

So I think I'm at the end of the 2nd week of the reno and the end of the 2nd month of planning it and I am exhausted.
  • I never want to go into another tile store (or at least not for a 6 month period)
  • I dread the thought of going to pick out the accessories
  • And 'giving feedback' to the contractor has exhausted me
I truly have a new appreciation of renos and even more for the people who DIY - its a lot of work and so much to learn. But enough of the general and onto the update.  I travel for work so I didn't get to see it all week and returned to the following:
  • all the framing got done
  • all the electrical got done
  • all the plumbing got done

Hall bathroom - has a tub!

    You can't see it in this picture but a potlight had accidentally been put right above that knee wall. "Um, we are going to have a sheet of glass there." The contractor said "Good catch" and moved it.

    He's not as keen when I give him feedback about the drywall.  See the red X in the pic? That's in the tub area but is old greenboard (presumably).  Should I push him to replace it with cement board. Hubs says its OK because we bought a product called Hydroban at The Tile Store. Since Hydroban is waterproofing used in pools he figures its okay to just paint the boards with it before tiling.

    Also one thing you don't see in the pic is the hole for my handshower.  Contractor says piping is there but he hasn't cut the hole in the drywall.  Really!

    Onto the en suite:

    En suite shower area

    So same comment of hand shower applies here. I was on the phone with the contractor who insisted it was there and I was like 'Where?'  Oh well I'm sure he'll fix it.  For those of you wondering the flexible piping is Apex bringing the water in. The black pipes are the vents for the drains.

    Here's a wide view of the en suite - oh and this is the only time it will be this easy to see. I hate how hard washrooms are to photograph.

    En suite
    On the left is the shower and the pocket door (I didn't think we had space for a swing door).  The middle is the vanity and the right is the toilet.

    The hiccup on this one was that the shower piping was too high and wouldn't accommodate the gooseneck.  They moved it.

    Outstanding issue are:
  • Above mentioned issue of handshower that will be fixed!
  • See the X on the right.  Old bedroom drywall.  He says it was greenboard so fine to stay.  I'm dubious - should I push? or is it less important since its far from the vanity / shower?
  • I had insulation put in behind the vanity - but should it have a vapour barrier?
  • The doorway measures at 33 inches but the door I bought is only 32 inches. Is it okay d you think because of the drywall.
Speaking of the doorway that was one of the week's hassles that I had to deal with from a country away:
  • On the weekend we bought a 30x80 pocket door frame from Central Fairbank. However when the contractor went to pick it up they didn't have any in stock.  Um it was there when I bought it. Talk about careless. So we had to go with a 32x80 door. Oh and later found out it would have been cheaper at Home Depot. I'm not a Central Fairbank fan, I'll tell you.
  • Even the door was a somewhat compromise because there was limited stock in what we wanted. So we got this Milette door but instead of primed we ended up with knotty pine which we'll have to stain and instead of tempered glass we got something called Morocco glass which is much more textured

    via Home Depot / Milette
  • Worse than the door were the fixtures for the hall bath. They were supposed to get to TO the last week Friday. But they never got on the truck from the US. Um - you could have told us before.  So I had to pick 'settling' things on the phone. Was not a happy camper.
I think that largely covers this week. Oh and we haven't started packing either because this bathroom seems to consume every weekend. We move in 3 weeks - wish us luck.

1 comment:

  1. Haha - it's like giving birth. Once its over - you think "that wasn't so bad". Hang with it - it will be worth your pain in the end!
    www.chattafabulous.blogspot.com

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