Out of Steam

With the shower finally tiled, we were able to focus our efforts in other areas of the bathroom today. As for the shower, today we grouted the walls, front lip, nooks, seat, and almost all of the floor (we have run out of steam). With all of the wiping that has to be done on such a large surface, it took much of my day, and Chad joined me in grouting after he did some of his own projects. I'm always amazed at how much grout really transforms and improves the look of a tiled area. We will finish grouting the shower floor and floor in front of the shower tomorrow. Here is where it stands now:











I can't say enough good things about the place we bought our tile - The Tile Shop. We picked out the tile we wanted, told them the dimensions of what we were tiling, and they did all of the planning. They gave us all of the materials we needed - the right number and types of tiles, the right type and color of grout, grout additive (we didn't quite get enough of it, but we're making it stretch), mortar mix. We were concerned today that since we lessened the width of our grout lines on the floor in front of the shower to 1/16 inch, we'd have to go back and get unsanded grout in the floor tile grout color. At closer look, they planned for this and gave us a container of the floor grout color in unsanded. They are so good.

In addition to the grout work, Chad was very busy. Last weekend he bought MDF to make the door casings and baseboards. He took the widths he needed for both to the Home Depot and they cut a sheet down to the widths he needed. We found a router bit profile at the local woodworking store (WoodWerks) to make a close match to the baseboard trim that was already in there. He is using a round-over bit for the door casings and plinth blocks. He ran everything through the router today, and after a coat of primer all of the trim will be ready for installation.

After he made the trim, he fixed an area of the hardwood floor in the bathroom where old heating pipes had run out of the floor. A PO had covered them with flimsy metal circles. Chad used the MultiMaster to cut out the floor pieces that were ruined by the holes. It didn't end there - of course one of the pipes was sticking out of the floor and needed cut off. He was then able to use some floor planks we salvaged from the floor under where the shower is now. Here is the before and after:


















Again, the right tools made a difference today. The nice router and router table we bought a few years ago really saved Chad time and frustration on making the trim. We was done with it in just an hour or two. As for the floor repair, the MultiMaster saved the day again (as it does so often) with an assist by the reciprocating saw.

We had intentions of going to dinner and to the Depot, then back home to complete the grouting, but we are exhausted. Good sleep tonight will hopefully lead to more accomplishments tomorrow.