Fear the Crab

… until we figure out what to call him.

New puppy!

Continued ~

The bathroom fixtures were finally installed. One more step closer to completion!

We went with Grohe because of reports of durability, and many positive reviews. And yeah, those pluses mean higher costs. The faucets are from the Talia line, with matching Volo handles. We didn’t install any type of aerator, so the water comes out quite strong. We’ll have to make sure we don’t waste any.

The sink

Inside the tub, we have a Grohe Tempesta handshower system, with Talia valve trim and tub filler. We found out that normally people have a fixed shower head, with a diverter to a handheld, but my bathroom never really had that feature to begin with. I don’t think I’ll be missing out.

The shower and tub

The toilet is a 1.6 gallon flusher, from Toto. Previously we had a 40-year-old behemoth that probably used upwards of 5 gallons per flush, 10 if you laid a real stinker. The new toilet seems much more powerful, at a fraction of the resources.

The toilet

I only wish that fraction extended itself to my wallet. I haven’t calculated how many flushes it would take to balance out the high price for the toilet, but I intend to sit on that throne until I am a dessicated shell of a man, held together only by sheer force of will.

And maybe constipation.

Today the dog ate half a pizza while our backs were turned.

The Little Bitch

Continued ~

It’s all starting to come together!

Day Six of the bathroom remodeling actually took place Christmas Eve, when the new cabinets were installed.

Bare cabinets

The old countertop was removed, hence the traces of glue and paper backing against the wall.  That little block under the mirror is just to hold the whole thing up, since before it was resting on the backsplash.  What’s new with this countertop are the extra shelves to the left to give us more storage space, while still retaining a bit of leg room in the vanity area (not that any of us actually used that area for vanity purposes).

Day Seven was today, when the Corian countertop and shower walls were installed.  The nice-ness is freakin’ awesome!

Corian shower walls

Corian counter and sink

The shower walls go all the way up to the ceiling and lie flush with the window, ensuring a somewhat-secure seal. The installation couldn’t wrap into the window frame given the way the hardware was designed, so this is the next best thing.

The sink is part of the counter top, making it a smooth transition that will be easy to clean.  We also requested that the backsplash be made “one-piece” with the counter so that no water can stain the grout.

The plumber has already been notified that the fixtures can be installed.  We’ll also get a nice finish of dark-colored Formica placed on the cabinets, for a contrast against the light-colored counter and walls.  As for the floor, we’ll probably install the same design so that it matches the rest of the house.

This year is the first set of winter holidays spent as a married couple.  It’s not that much of a dramatic change, since the “courtship” years prior saw me dividing time between the in-laws and blood-relatives.  Perhaps it is the new living arrangements, however, that makes this year seem different.

We’ve inherited the artificial tree and lights, but the decorations have been retained by my parents for use at their new home.  This leaves Maile and I with a clean slate to make this tree our own, and right now we have a total of seven decorations.

Dog not counted as decoration

Worth mentioning are two ornaments we received as wedding gifts, each a special hand-crafted item made out of an eggshell covered in reflective bead-work.  Despite its implied fragility, the glue and/or cotton stuffing keeps it quite sturdy.  A section of the shell is open so that one can insert a small photograph, while the cotton supports it from behind.  Right now Maile and I have each of our pictures inside, but later we can swap them out for others.

The other decorations are a hodgepodge of items, individually purchased or gifted without semblance of theme.  It is a habit picked up from my childhood, where the old decorations were souvenirs or knick-knacks collected throughout the years, from a variety of locations.  Some of the items were crafts from my elementary-school days, such as stocking-stuffed dolls or styrofoam sno-cones.

The overall effect was a patchwork quilt, an eclectic ensemble of odds and ends which Maile felt gave a “homey” atmosphere.  Since those decorations are not available to us anymore, we’re looking to recreate and capture that same feeling with our own collection.  We started with a few items from earlier in the year, and recently purchased two more decorations to represent 2008.  We will likely seek to acquire one or two each following year until we’ve assembled our own set of holiday cheer.

Drywall!

The Corian shower walls will go over this, and stretch all the way up to the ceiling.  Hopefully we won’t have to worry about water getting into the wood after that.

Corian is what we’ll also have for the bathroom counter, but we won’t need drywall on the cabinets for that.  I think.

People might notice that although this is the fifth day of work on my bathroom, it’s been over a month since the last time we visited this sanitary sanctum in progress.  Situations like these, I just remember what my coworker said about construction, particularly when done by family or friends:

“Good.  Fast.  Cheap.  Pick any two.”

The new Americast tub was installed today.

The tub

This type of tub doesn’t have legs and relies on a 2×4 secured against the wall underneath the back ledge.  Apparently that length of wood is what supports the tub, along with the wall itself.  The plumber told me something about putting some kind of material underneath in the space between the tub and the concrete base, but I didn’t quite understand whether it was for support to dampening the sound of water against the surface.

One thing I was not aware of when I bought this tub was that there are certain no-nos when it comes to cleaning it.  I can’t use Brillo pads or abrasive cleaners like Comet.  Instead I have to use a sponge or rag with mild cleansers such as dish-washing liquid or Liquid Tide.  There are also peculiar strips on the bottom of the tub, whose documentation indicates they are to prevent slippage, but apparently they also prevent dirt from being cleaned off.  The plumber said that no matter what I do, eventually these now-semi-invisible areas will become quite noticeable.  I can only hope the staining matches the walls, to make it look intentional, you know?

The plumber also installed new copper pipes for the water, as well as the Grohe pressure valve designed to regulate it all.

The shower pipes

The line for the shower head is off-center to accommodate the handshower system we purchased. The plumber will install the bar in the center so that the shower head is situated in a more-natural position.  He remarked that most showers actually have a fixed head and a separate hand-shower, using a diverter valve to determine which one water will flow through.  I told him that my experience has always been with a single outlet for water, whether it was a fixed shower head or a hand-shower.  He didn’t seem that impressed.

Here’s a closeup of the shower valve.

The pressure valve

This thing is super expensive, but it’s supposed to last a long long time, so hopefully it will pay for itself in the duration.  I don’t know if that black cap will stay on, but on the outside, this particular trim will cover it.

From what I can understand, the pressure valve will maintain a constant flow, and the handle is used more to determine the temperature.  This is slightly different than what I am used to, in which the handle controls the flow and a separate knob (often set in the handle) controls how hot it gets.  I’m sure I won’t mind either way.

The materials for the wall repair arrived, and much work was accomplished.

New wall, base

There’s still a bit of work left at the base, but it is progress nonetheless.  I’m particularly happy about the replacement of that wooden beam.

New wall, top

The redwood planks used to repair the wall were pre-cut.  I guess the size has changed over the last 40 years, because it obviously does not line up the same.  I am not too worried about that, however, since this section will be covered by the shower tile that will reach all the way to the ceiling.

Closet floor

The workers also replaced the rotten section of floor in the bedroom closet next door.  The gray stuff is a protective sealant that will be applied along the edge, in the hopes that it will prevent future damage.  We also sealed the exterior.

Exterior wall, base

This is the area I referenced earlier, where the slope and years of rain are strong contenders for being the cause of all this trouble.  The rain gutter spout right next to it probably doesn’t help.  We plan to do something about that, perhaps get a cheap plastic “extension” or some kind of diverting funnel to move the water away from the house.

Maybe drop it into the neighbor’s yard.

A dumpster arrived for all the stuff we’re removing.

Dumpster

It’s more than big enough for the bathroom, which hopefully does NOT translate into “throw anything else we don’t want in there,” since I’m paying by weight.  Someone was doing this the last time we had a dumpster, and while the difference was negligible, it still came out of my pocket.  I’m looking at YOU, neighbor!

As the rotten wood was cut away, more and more of the water damage became apparent.  Particularly disturbing is this area, where a post would be to shore up the ceiling in this area.  This, too, will have to be replaced, and it definitely calls for more work.

Missing: Wall

The “plate” under the vinyl floor, which separates the house from the concrete foundation, is also damaged.  The wood has become so rotten that nails cannot stick to it, and for who-knows-how-long, the exterior wall has not been attached to the floor!

Bath and closet floor

We are starting to suspect that the water damage originated from the outside.  Years and years of rain pooling outside, instead of draining away from the house, was instead soaked upwards from the planks there.  Maybe such a thing doesn’t happen often, but I think over the course of four decades, even a millimeter of rain seeping into the house would eventually deteriorate everything to the extent we see here.

In fact, the concrete outside has a slight, almost imperceptible slope down towards the house.  It’s something that I never noticed before, but I’m certain that water would pool near the base given enough water, and we’ve had enough heavy rains to make a fair guess as to this being the root cause of all our problems.

I was also wrong about the house all this time; it is not double-wall, it is single-wall construction.  I no longer remember who or what it was that gave me the wrong impression, but it could be that I heard it a long long time ago and never questioned it, because it didn’t seem like an important detail.

Work has begun on the shower.  They’ve ripped out the tile and got to the damaged section of the wall, and now they have a fairly good idea of how much repairs are needed to make things right.

Gutted shower

The workers should be able to keep everything the same on the left, with the exception of new copper pipes for the plumbing.  The tub will be replaced, too.

This part, however, makes me go eek:

Water damage

This is the damaged wall.  The water has affected the wood up to about the four foot mark, which is a lot more extensive than I imagined it to be.  Actually, I should honestly say that I did imagine it this way; I just hoped that it wouldn’t be true.

The contractor tells me the water has gone through to the other side of the double-wall, particularly the corner section.  We took a peek at the bedroom-side and sure enough, we found cracks in the paint around the same level as revealed on the bathroom-side.  I never noticed this before, but when I push on the bedroom-side wall, there is a noticeable “give” that makes my wallet scream.

Tomorrow they plan to remove the tub and start repairs on the wall.  It will be a noisy, dirty, dusty, and expensive affair.