Remodeling Update - Bathroom

We are at the end (I hope) of the massive remodel we've undertaken over the last three months. We were going for gold when we decided to take on a bathroom and kitchen remodel with a few extras thrown in. As I type, the kitchen is very close to being done except for the counter top and back splash. Both are dependent on each other so we are waiting for the granite cutter to finish the counter top and then we'll be able to do both.

When we first thought of taking on this project, just at the end of the pregnancy, we were not sure if this was going to bring down the house or if it would be the best thing we could possibly do. During the beginning, I was not so sure we had made the right choice. Our contractor is great but the idea of having people in our house for days on end while we were at work was a bit strange to me. Then the demolition began. They were very courteous about cleaning up after themselves and making sure we didn't have to do much of anything when we got home. The big problem was having everything in boxes and moved in various rooms that they didn't belong. Our house is very small. By having things in strange places made the sense of normalcy a difficult thing to attain.

They started on the bathroom first. To my surprise we were able to have a bathroom everyday until the floor tile went in. Then we had about 24 hours we had to plan. Also, we learned taking baths are not the end of the world and can be extremely relaxing. A good thing since we couldn't shower for a few weeks.

When we came home the first day, this is what we found:





You may notice the camping lamp on the back of the toilet. It actually came in handy since they removed the only light in the bathroom. Having the walls down made the bathroom seem so much bigger. This is somewhat true since there were an additional 3 - 4 inches behind the drywall exposed. It looked terrible but felt like we had gained some space.

Then came the glass block window



I have been skeptical of the glass block window because you cannot actually open the window to get out of it. I know, not a reason to go with a regular window but enough to make this homeowner mental.

Once the window was installed the tile in the shower was put up. We went with the standard white subway tile. I know that a lot of people are using this very tile. I DON'T CARE! I love the look and always have. When we were in NYC we all agreed that subway tile is something we can agree on (that doesn't happen too often).

Not all of the tile went up at the same time. They worked their way up and came up with this:



I was not thrilled. I had expected the tile would go at least one row over the window. After talking with the contractor, the change was made and let me tell you, 15 more tiles makes a huge difference.

The final touches have been going up and in the bathroom. We will have a complete photo release of the final product. We have to paint so I don't want to spoil the view with the mud and tape look.

Next up, the progress of the kitchen.