David Ruppert

I mean for part two . . . part two.

So . . when last I left you I had wrapped up the backer board and I was waiting for the tile master to show up and put up the travertine.

Before they got here on Friday, I painted the ceiling and the walls just to make it a little easier in the end. It’s prreeeetty . . preettyy green.

I think I’m ok with it. I don’t think it will be as powerful once all of the items are back in place. And really at that point it will be too late to do anything about it . . so that’s my way of not doing anything about it.

On Friday, Tony sent over a couple of guys and they started hanging some tile. I dropped in during their lunch to snap a quick photo.

They wrapped things up around 8 Friday night with the promise of dropping back by on Sunday to grout things in.

Before they got back, I was able to attach the new light fixture, which was a nice change of pace from my texture-covered lamp-without-a-shade. It’s all about having the right tool for the right job.

The plumbing fixtures are going to be satin nickel, and the light fixture’s no different.

Sunday they came back and grouted the travertine in. Tonight they came back and sealed everything . . which brightened up the color quite a bit.

I’m thrilled with the final product. If anyone needs a tile guy . . I’ve got a phone number for you.

He’s a ‘rock’ star. Get it. Cause it’s travertine.

I know what you’re thinking. Wow.

Whatever.

It looks very long and skinny in the pics, but not as bad in person.

Next will be cutting and nailing up the base that’s already painted in the garage. Then the vanity, toilet, cabinet and details.

Might have it wrapped up by end of the week? Might not. Who knows.

I’m pure genius. Honestly, it’s shocking I don’t have more neck issues considering the basketball-sized noggin I’m dragging around.

A couple of Tuesdays ago I got home from work and dropped down on the couch to chow down on a nice plate of leftovers. Having completed that in a matter of seconds, I found myself staring at the clock . . then outside . . then back at the clock. I did this probably 5 or 6 times before I just had to get up.

I realized I had nothing to do that night . . and quickly started getting the shakes. It’s such an odd feeling. I had literally . . . nothing . . . to do that night.

I started gasping for air. The walls were closing in. I was in full panic mode.

After all, while work has been somewhat consistent, I wasn’t really in the middle of any large projects . . so work wasn’t keeping me late.

And . . at least as far as I knew on that Tuesday . . we weren’t going to the property that coming weekend [we . . of course, ended up going for a quick one-night smash and grab job]. So, as far as I was concerned I didn’t have anything to get ready for there.

Laundry was done. Lawn was mowed. No wedding planning duties to tend to. I don’t have any kids to feed or bathe or do homework for.

[This is the part in the story where my sister probably blows a blood vessel in her eyes she’s rolling them so hard at my . . . . “problem”]

So . . in all of my glorious stupidity, I decided to do some remodeling on my house. Sure . . I know I’ve been building a cabin . . . every . . . damn . . . weekend . . . . for the past year. And sure there’s been some other things have been taking up some time . . helping friends, wedding preparation, work, other projects around the house, whatever.

But . . but Tuesday night I had nothing. And while I used to thrive on those nights . . simply spending the entire night camped out on the couch watching something I’d already seen 30 or 40 times, I just can’t do it anymore. I wish I could . . but I just can’t.

So with the threat of a poor economy, the weight of a wedding and cabin to pay for . . and very little time to get any of that done, I decided I was going to roll up my sleeves and make one final . . hopefully catastrophic blow to the genitals. Something that would truly teach me a lesson.

I started with the idea of a simple update to the hall bathroom. My house is a teeny-tiny single story house built in the early 80’s. Some of it has been updated since I moved in, but quite a bit is still in ‘original’ condition.

Yeah, that’s palm tree art.

It’s hard to tell, but the shower tile is kinda off white with gold speckles.  I’m told it appeals to bass fishermen.

I’m thinking, you know . . maybe I could throw up a new mirror, change the light fixture, take the towel that’s been hanging on that poorly painted towel rack for the last 4 years down and . . I don’t know . . . wash it?  Throw a coat of paint on this pig and call it done.

Instead, I called a tile guy.  Because . . well . . of the things that date my current bathroom, the shower tile is one of the biggies.  The first tile guy stopped by the house, and HIS brilliant idea was to start by replacing my tub.

Like I mentioned, the house is 30 years old and both of my tubs are steel . . and most likely complete rust buckets on the bottom side.

So, I was 4 minutes in to my first contractor, and my tile budget had . . . that’s right . . . doubled. 

Welp, this is going well so far.

I’ve learned a lot working out at the cabin and I decided that I’d take a swing at as much stuff as I could . . and pay to have the rest done, namely tile and plumbing.  So while I have a tile guy and a plumber slotted for the work, I’m doing the demo and prep work to save a few benjamins.

First things first . . . eeeevvverything needs to come out.

Yeah, there was carpet in there.  Brilliant idea.  You might be shocked to find out that around the tub there’s a slight hint of a fragrance I like to call Autumn Mildew.

Once everything else is out of the way, I needed to bring the tile down, so I could get to that pesky tub.

Ok, things are fairly ok at this point.  I’m really only two days into this project and I’ve cleaned everything out and picked up some cheap Travertine at Floor & Decor.

The following week I had Todd from The Plumbing Group out to replace the tub and drop the new shower valve in.  He’s the same brilliant chap that did all of the work on the cabin, so he’s not only very qualified and reasonably priced, but he’s got this kind of Superhero mystique.

I’m actually kidding, I have no idea what his fictional crime fighting background might be.

The old tub comes out and the new one gets dropped in.

Now that he’s gone, we’ve replaced some of the original sheetrock with new DensArmor and placed DensGuard backer board on top of that.  So that’s ready for the travertine.

But, before Tony the Tiler comes out to work his magic, I need to do some additional drywall work, like cleaning up some holes and removing the medicine cabinet.

I also wanted to prime/paint the ceiling [cause it makes such an unbelievable mess] and texture the walls [ditto].

That’s where I’m at right now.  Thursday night will be set aside for painting the ceiling. Tony will be here Friday to set the floor and shower tile and back on Monday to grout everything in. 

Then I get to paint again . . . whoopideedoooooo.