A letter to the Grout

Dear Hydromet Bright White Grout-

I am writing you this letter in hopes of gaining some fresh insight on why you must torture me so. As you may be well aware, my bathroom is being renovated. This has been a long process and I look forward to major milestones, one directly involving you, grouting the tile. Which as you know, makes me one step closer to having a completed shower enclosure allowing me to cleanse myself outside the confines of the porno shower in the basement.

Why, Hydromet, must your directions on the back of your packaging lead me astray? I carefully calculated my square footage area of tile to grout line ratio, in fact the tile guy also made the same such calculations, only to be teased with 10 pounds to get the job done. As I come to grout the shower enclosure, it is painfully obvious that the 10 pounds will get me 75% of the way complete. Leaving another weekend with unchecked to-do's in the master punch list of the bathroom renovation. According to the recalculations of remaining grout lines, another 5 pounds should get us home. And another bag was purchased with the remaining 3 linear feet of round trim, which turned out to only need one saw cut. One.

Why, Hydromet, do I follow your add water directions on the back of your packaging? I carefully measure out the water for another 5 pounds of grout mixture, only to end up making a smooth runny wet bucket of grout. You drip off the trowel like ice-cream melting in the sun and my hopes washing down the drain. Why, Hydromet, do you fail me at 11:30am when you know the tile store closes at noon on Saturdays? Luckily, I was able to make the trek and pick up 10 more pounds of grout in hopes of putting this disaster to rest.

10 pounds of grout later, 25 pounds total, the shower is finally grouted and ready for some penetrating sealer in the hopes that one day, the shower may actually be used again. Hydromet, I realize that you cannot control the plumbing connections and the reconnection of the water and shower fixtures, but if you have it in you, please make amends and guide my husband in completing the shower by Halloween. It has been 17 weeks since I have been in the shower last.

Regards,
M

Shaqtastic

Cavs vs. Celtics Game

Glazed and Confused

Tub Before

Tub After

A few steps in the right direction this week. Grouting has begun, only to run out of grout, to no surprise was not in stock and now we have to wait until it comes in to finish. Confused, the tile guy claimed that the 10 lbs of grout would be close, but should be fine to get the job done. And by close you mean approx. 50 sf short. Above the accent band on the long wall and the short wall are left to be grouted.

The tub was reglazed to a new bright and shiny finish. Confused, the reglazer man rocked the stone washed jeans and matching jean jacket with a mohawk and was convinced that the owner of Google lived in North Bexley. There was a constant barrage of swearing from the bathroom while the process was underway. He approved our choice of caulk to seal the edge and gave some rules about cleaning the tub, including no bleach based products. A two-hour stint later, the tub is well on it's way to curing. We were also forced to turn on the heat so the tub could cure at the appropriate 65 degree temperature.

Happy Birthday Moira

It's that time of year again, the annual cake baking for Moira's birthday. This year the theme was aquatic with a princess twist. Octopus Princess in vanilla and one strawberry leg made for the 4th birthday. Her party was at the Worthington Rec Center with swimming included. A good time was had by all of the 4 year olds.

Week 15

Progress is being made, only slowly. All of the tile is up except for the 3 linear feet of the bullnose trim tile, which we were short on and had to have additional pieces shipped in. There are literally two more tile cuts left. The next pressing milestone is that the tub is scheduled to be reglazed this coming Monday. So the tile needs to be grouted and sealed, water working in the shower and the tub needs to be as clean as it can be. The 2/3rds of the working plumbing is making things a little bit more bearable in the meantime. The extended vanity is already a huge improvement as illustrated by the amount of bathroom items and construction items laid out.

Weekend with the Nieces

Like we need more excuses on why the bathroom isn't getting done, but two very good reasons came our way at the end of September, the nieces, Lexi and Amanda. We went to the zoo and saw the new baby elephant, lots of monkeys and the sting rays were some of the favorites. Saturday, while it was monsooning outside, we went to COSI for the day and had a great time. Lexi is looking forward to next year when she will be tall enough to ride the high wire bike. We also made pizza for dinner on Friday with the ingredients from the garden.

week 14

The boys are tired of remodeling.

More tile is up, more tile is needed. With the additional field modifications made from the original tile order, we have found ourselves making a few extra trips to the tile place. One more trip seems to be in order to finish out the bullnose trim.

Work was cut a little short this weekend to attend a wedding on Saturday. Sunday brought a field inspection from the Horst's while they were in town to compare notes on the dueling bathroom remodels. Sunday afternoon also brought an emergency trip to Pittsburgh to pick up Big Joe from a thrown out back at a field trial. A trip to the hospital and drug cocktail later more doctor appointments are scheduled this week. Everyone wants an excuse not to help finish the bathroom reno.

Week 13 Preview

Replace This

Replacement windows has been a disaster all the way around from scheduling to the actual install. The windows are less than weather tight and less than a snug fit. The installers left a mess everywhere and mysteriously done by 2pm with all of this left behind. The windows look nice, despite the fact that they are completely dysfunctional. The saga continues. 

Week 12 - Labor Day

Monday on Labor Day finally brought some labor to the bathroom project. Tile went up on the shower wall and trim was hung around the door. There were a few curiosities laying the tile, suspicious grout lines and uneven walls made for a unique tile install. This just adds to the "character" of this old house.




Labor day weekend brought different types of Labor. First was celebration of Dad's and Alyssia's birthday in Toledo. We spent most of the day in Toledo and then headed back Saturday night in preparation for real labor the next day. We spent Sunday helping the Grubbs' moving to their temporary digs while they find a new house. Luckily, we had house manager with us to lend an extra hand.