The work goes on...

1st Floor Bathroom Update...
The tiling job was finished mid-January.. but boy did I have a bad reaction to the epoxy grout!  2nd degrees burns actually.  It's been over a month since that happened and it's all healed up... thank fully!

The vanity was installed but the soapstone top has not been cut yet due to the cold weather and snow outside!  The shower rod, toilet paper holder, towel racks and bathroom door still need to be installed!

Matthew's Bedroom...
I'm continuing on finishing the drywall working on the 2nd coat of mud.
Here are some really good drywall finishing videos...

Master Bedroom/Bathroom...
The master bathroom had the rest of the drywall installed today and is ready for taping!    Drywall is now being installed in the master bedroom.

Some really good "How To" tiling videos...

Here are some good "How To" tiling videos:
Tiling Videos, a whole step by step collection

Today I'm cleaning up my tile grout lines to get ready to grout... then jumping into grouting!  A brand new 1st floor bathroom is in our very near future!

Laying tile in 1st floor bathroom... update

I have finished ALL the needed cuts to finish my tile job!  Yay!!!!!!!

Now for some left over cheesy ham & potato soup, a run to the Post Office... then I'm going to mortar those tiles in place.  I will be finished laying tile in the 1st floor bathroom this afternoon!!!!

Have to mortar the tiles around the flange and forward...

Got all the cuts done.. now for the mortar!!!

Next up...
Clean up tiles and grout lines... then... GROUT!

Got the flange tile all cut!

I cut straight lines thru the tile where pieces need to be removed.

Then, went to work using tile nippers to break away piece by piece.

I removed all the tile pieces using tile nippers.

Dry fitting... Looks good!

Here it is!  Dry fitted... Before I mortar it in place I'm going to check with the Plumber... aka... my hubby!

1st Floor bathroom tile update 1/11/11

I'm back to work on tiling the 1st floor bathroom!  Toilet flange cut... that's the next step!

How to tile a bathroom

Here's a good reference video for tiling a bathroom:


And even more step by step instructions with video:
http://www.ronhazelton.com/article/home/bathroom/UDE5Mg/How_to_Set_a_Ceramic_Tile_Floor_in_Your_Bathroom_

about half way...

Got about half of the tiling done in the 1st floor bathroom.  I'm at the point where I have to cut a few challenging pieces...

I battled the orange dragon and...

I've got some new muscles today... ouch...

1st Floor Bathroom update...

Yesterday I cemented down the Ditra tile underlayment.  Boy did I get a good workout!  I felt like I battled the orange dragon... and won!

Today I begin laying tile!!!   Now to set up the tile saw and mix up the cement!

I spoke to the cabinet maker this morning and next week he'll install the bathroom vanity... which means... we'll have a working 1st floor bathroom for Christmas!!!  Yay!!!!

It's Marvelous tile Monday...

I've been dreaming of this day since the summer!

Today I begin prepping the 1st floor bathroom for tile!  I actually enjoy doing the tile work!

On my TO DO list:
-clean floor
-lay Ditra
-determine tile layout
-begin laying tile

Wish me luck!!!

House update 12/11/10

I'm long overdue for an update!!!

Family Room

We have a wonderful family room right off the kitchen which is banked with windows facing west!  And just hours before Thanksgiving dinner with 16 people... that room got a beautiful bamboo floor and sheetrock.

We ran three 6' tables north to south for our guest and used the kitchen island as a buffet table.  It was AWESOME to have so much room for our gathering!

However... the walls & ceiling still have to be finished!

I can't believe how much lighter it is in that room with the sheetrock up and a floor in!  I'm thinking about chocolate for the north wall....

1st Floor Bathroom

I applied the 2nd coat of beautiful earthy Willow Tree paint to the walls and ceiling today!  Now I'm ready to put down the Ditra then will move onto tiling!

I want this bathroom to be done for Christmas!!!

Matt's Bedroom
I'm almost done putting the first coat of mud on the walls & ceiling.  I want to finish Matt's room for Christmas too!

Master Suite

The master suite bathroom has been missing it's sheetrock... well... up till a few days ago. Rich and our teen son Matthew have been working away... it's NOT done yet but they're on a roll!

Busy... busy...

1st floor bathroom...
Yesterday I painted the bathroom.  It's ready for a second coat, but first have to buy the paint!

Older son's bedroom...
mud... mud... mud...  Almost done with the first coat.

Master bathroom...
is getting sheetrock installed today!  Yay!

First piece of ceiling board is up in the Family room

We're getting the family room ready for Thanksgiving.

The first piece of ceiling board is in place in the Family Room... so much more to do... so little time!

I primed the 1st floor bathroom... again...

I so didn't like my mudding job in the 1st floor bathroom....

This is what it looked like with one coat of paint... before I primed all over it!

The afternoon light just showed all the flaws.  So recently I went after it again with mud then sanded.

Today I got back to it and applied "new" drywall primer all over.  Honestly, what was I thinking when I bought that regular primer?  Please... don't use regular primer on your NEW walls/ceilings!  You won't be happy!  Well, at least... I wasn't happy with the results.

Next up... I'm going to do a 2nd coat of drywall primer... then paint Willow Tree on the walls and ceiling.

M's Bedroom: wall work

We began working in M's bedroom yesterday.  

One piece of ceiling board wasn't installed correctly, so we fixed that then did some taping.  Then the mudding began...

Pantry counter...

Pantry News...
Rich cut the first piece of soapstone for the Pantry today.  Then we all hauled it into the house and set it in place.  Man that stuff is HEAVY!!!!!

with sink (dry fitted)

without sink

The hole for the sink has been cut... next up... cut the 2nd piece of soapstone counter!


1st floor Bathroom...
I'm back working in the bathroom.   In the right light I'm seeing way too many imperfections in the walls.  So today I begin filling those spots that would otherwise drive me crazy in the long run!

The Kitchen has a fridge now...

The kitchen is coming together nicely... just in time for canning season!
I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have a kitchen after cooking on hot plates for 6 months!  I'm loving our new kitchen!!!!

The prep sink complete with disposal is in and working!

Prep sink hole cut in soapstone

Prep sink all installed with garbage disposal... love it!

After fixing the hinges on our Leibherr refrigeration units due to a recall... and changing out the dented door (damaged in shipping) for the new one...

Rich installed our beautiful fridge/freezer/biofresh units in the kitchen!  They are stainless steel units covered in a blue protective plastic... which we decided to keep on until we finish sanding the the seam in the island soapstone.

We even have the pendants lights up above the island!  They are pretty stained glass... in keeping with our mission theme...

Adventures in soapstone hole cutting....

So... we're going to have a small prep sink in the island.  This is where I will wash my produce and prepare vegetables. 

The sink is going to be "undermounted"... so it will be under the soapstone.

Here are some step by step photos...

I was so amazed at the jig my husband rigged so that the cut piece of soapstone wouldn't fall into the cabinet!

And here is the hole all cut!  The edges now need to be sanded!

It's all about the Soapstone Countertops in Kitchen

We've been working in the kitchen on the  soapstone  counters and island.  First the huge slabs had to be lowered down from the pallet... then cut into pieces.  Soapstone can be cut with a circular saw fitted with a diamond blade.

Here's the pieces surrounding the soapstone sink.

After we got all the pieces dry fitted, we then had to seam the pieces together using epoxy... then sand the seam smooth. 

The last step is to apply mineral oil to the soapstone.  The mineral oil turns the stone almost black and brings out the beautiful veining.

Kitchen Update 8/2/10

Rich cut some more soapstone tonight!  2 more pieces!

Then Rich and our son Matthew (16) put the pieces in place... one on each side of our BlueStar range!

It looks so awesome!  When we treat the soapstone with mineral oil it will become almost black and show off the beautiful veining! 

1st Floor bathroom... PRIMED!

No more dots & stripes!!!!  This is what the 1st floor bathroom looked like this morning....

And here's what it looks like with the first coat of Primer!

Next up... Touch Up...  then 1st coat of Willow Tree by Olympic paint.