Bathroom Renovation - COMPLETED Plus

It has been great fun having company and watching their faces as they go into the bathroom. The first surprise is that everything is off the shelf and yet, the bathroom is unique. Due to the wonderful design sense of handsome hubby contractor!! is helped to keep costs down -- but just as important it wasnt necessary to go custom. I just love using the shower, and putting make up on at the mirror with the funky frame and using the so cool vessel sink. Of course, now we want to the rest of the rooms on that floor. Over time we will. Our marriage survived just fine during construction. YEAH! It was good to talk out what we both wanted before we started the work and that we did some shopping early on -- as the tile we chose and the vanity/vessel sink shaped the course of the design of the bathroom. We had a budget in mind and kept careful watch. The two big things were the electrical issues -- that we decided to fix throughout the house (that added labor costs) and the damaged back wall of the house. We only fixed the part of the wall that was in the bathroom and we fixed it from the inside. So while that added cost to the project, not as much cost if we took off the siding in the back and repaired the whole wall from the outside, but we'll have to keep in mind that we may need to just that -- sooner rather than later.

Bathroom Renovation - COMPLETED (2)

Total cost of just bathroom $16K (added work on electrical for house, plumbing not related to this bathroom, rebuilding back wall of house - inside and outside - an additional $5K). Definitely worth it.

For a spa bathroom of your own by a creative, caring, competent contractor - please call Asher 1 917 669 1513 -- go http://3in1homeimprovement.com or email at 3in1home@gmail.com. Tell him Sheri's blog sent you.

Bathroom Renovation - COMPLETED

Here are the good pictures. Yes, one hand towel is a little dirty, but we actually USE this bathroom now.



For a spa bathroom of your own by a creative, caring, competent contractor - please call Asher 1 917 669 1513 -- go http://3in1homeimprovement.com or email at 3in1home@gmail.com. Tell him Sheri's blog sent you.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Sixty Seven

We're done!!
The labor came to $16,750 (remember that includes electrical for bathroom, upstairs and fixing the reverse polarity in the house. plumbing - great water pressure in the shower. the back wall of the house that had disintegrated over time from some old water damage and age. And, of course tearing out the bathroom to the studs - or below; and building it back up from the sub floor, to ceramic floor tile, to sheet rock, to beautiful custom designed flagstone tile on the walls, to trim tile, nooks, appliances - toilet, tub and sink. )
The materials came to just under $5000 (this includes all the tile, the sheet rock, paint, tub, toilet, sink, mirror frame, towels, soap dispenser, towel racks, and more).

All the materials were off the shelf. My handsome, talented, creative hubby contractor was able to take off the shelf items and give them a custom feel. When I'm in the shower I feel like I'm in a spa. I love being in the bathroom. Its now my favorite room in the house!!!

To bring such talent to your home -- go to 3in1homeimprovement.com.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Sixty Six

My bathroom is beautiful. We have had company since Thanksgiving and everyone agrees that its like having a private spa. Asher is creative and excellent. I'm so lucky!!!
(Sixty six times 4 hours = 6 weeks if the work had been done full time. Remember, Asher did my bathroom after his regular work hours).

Bathroom Renovation - Day Sixty Five

So Asher is home from Texas (YEAH! I missed him!) and I'm home from the conference (YEAH! Conference is over and was a success). Prior to his trip to Texas, Asher began to tile the medicine cabinet -- still a little bit more to go. And, tonight Asher hung our new art work. It looks great. It really helps the bathroom come together. What else are we going to do tomorrow? Hopefully more work on the medicine cabinet and put out the new towels. Mom and Dad come on Wednesday.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Sixty Four

Just about done. The towel racks are up... and there a lot of them. Two towel rings by the sink, a double bar near the shower, a single bar in the shower, and two hooks on the back of the door. That will also help when BethAnne is home and my folks and step-kids come to stay with us. We also put up a grab bar in the tub.

With this all done - we are able to use the tub, toilet and sink. Here is the shower in use!

We've got to finish the medicine cabinet (tile and glass); the molding around the door, some clean up .. and then we're done. I bought a terrific piece of art for the wall where the two nooks are, hopefully Asher will put them up on Tuesday. Wednesday night my folks come, Thursday BethAnne comes home -- that'll be the true test!

Bathroom Renovation Day Sixty Three

I showered!!! Asher bought the glass doors and installed them last night. The sink is installed and working and the toilet was set up the night before. We're i the home stretch!

Bathroom Renovation - Day Sixty Two

Installing the toilet and the sink. The toilet came in one box. Complete (or you would think!) the tank was not only a different color the seat, but it didnt even fit! Asher had to go to Home Depot and exchange it. He's working on the plumbing now. But I did flush the toilet. Isnt that exciting?????

I peed! I peed! I'm so excited. I have a working toilet.

Havent showered yet, even though the shower works. The tub needs to be cleaned and we havent purchased the shower doors yet. My hubby / contractor has done such an amazing job. We're almost done!!!

Bathroom Renovation - Day Sixty One

floor looks nice doesnt it? this area should have a vanity with a sink and a toilet.
This is where we are putting the vanity. But its late. So this is where we start tomorrow. The vanity looks great with the tile!!!

Bathroom Renovation - Day Sixty

Grout Grout Grout Grout
Grouting is not as simple as I had thought. You have to mix the grout with water (we picked a very pale grey). Spread over the tile, make sure it gets in between the tile. Then you have to wash the excess grout off the tile. And then you have to clean the tile. And after that you have to clean the tile. When you are all done, you have to clean the tile. It is tedious work! Grouting is done. Hubby went to NY to see his kids and cousins. I had to stay home and work on my conference and grading papers and preparing for tomorrow night's class.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Fifty Seven, Fifty Eight, Fifty Nine

Clean up. Clean up. Clean up. Clean up

Bathroom Renovation - Day Fifty Six

We started our day by jogging (lets see how long I keep this up as the weather gets cold). Then, along with Jonathan, we cleaned out the backyard of leaves. While working on the pond, Jonathan caught one of our Koi (seen here.) The afternoon was spent running errands and for me, planting ornamental cabbages and raking the front. Hubby had all detail work. He had to clean the tile -- getting the dust off brought out the colors in the tile. And he to fix some of the tiles to prepare them for grouting.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Fifty Four & Fifty Five

Tile the last small pieces.

Saturday October 30th. THE LAST TILE!!!! Hubby fixed the tile in the nooks, finished the tile around the light switch and then did the last row of tile near the floor. And suddenly it was the last file. The tiling is complete!!!! Tomorrow we have to clean the bathroom from all the dust when the tile was cut. Then Monday the grouting starts. After the grouting dries, the toilet and sink/vanity go in. The towel racks and such go up. We have to buy the glass shower doors, paint the walls, fix the door. and then voila ten weeks after he started, the bathroom is done (remember most days he only put in about 4 hours and except for moving out the original tub -- he did all this work himself!)

The top picture -- down where the floor and tub and wall come together - is the spot for the last tile. Hubby puts in last tile. The tile in general needs a washing!! All the tile is in place. YEAH

Bathroom Renovations - Day Fifty Three

How does the tiling look in my nooks? Do I have absolutely the most talented hubby/contractor! There a few places wehre tile has to be specially cut - like around the light switch. Otherwise, tile is nearly done. I hope that Monday we'll be able to grout. The big question is what color grout? grey or beige?

To have your own bathroom (or kitchen) look beautiful, call Asher at 1 917 669 1513 or email at 3in1home@gmail.com.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Fifty Two

SHOPPING SPREE!!!!!! Had great day and celebrated by shopping. So first ... will start with the end. Hubby is doing very tedious tiling now. Lots of precision cutting to get small pieces of tile just right. Putting up the silver trim, both for the effect and portect from water seeping in where the tile meets the nook. AND, he finished my nooks. What do you think?

So why the good mood? This morning we had a really interesting session on new wireless. This was followed by a trip out to Medical Missions.

At MMC , our mission is to “transfer medical knowledge from those who have it to those who need it using the latest in communications technology.”

Medical missions does tele-medicine using NJEDge's core infrastructure to Internet 2. NJEDge.net asked MMC to make a video telling us how they are using our infrastructure to meet their goals. As part of the video, MMC decided to interview -- ME. Brian and I waited in the room -- until they took me to make up. Then I went to the studio where they mike'd me. The director asked me questions and interviewed me for about 15 minutes. It went very well. I talked about technology-mediated-communications, technology-mediated-diagnosis and treatment, the need for global community crossing into both health care and academia. It went very well. And this was followed by a good session in my Sociology of Education class that I teach at Kean University.

Back to SHOPPING SPREE. Asher needed some more trim tile and wanted me to get a few boxes of the flagstone tile to have as extra should we ever need it. While I was at Lowes, I bought handbar for the shower, a double towel bar for the wall and two towel rings. I also picked up two robe hooks and the bath tissue bar that will go in its own cute little nook (which fits an extra roll as well.) My little shopping spree came to an additional $230. So I have to add that to my totals.

Every day I get more excited!

Bathroom Renovation - Day Forty Five - Fifty One

So most of last week I was away in Denver at my favorite conference - WCET. I moderated two sessions and spoke at one session. They all went very well. I attended sessions on eLearning Consortia and the role they play in supporting higher education.
While I was away ( and working and being sick ), hubby was hoe working on the bathroom. He put in about another 24 hours -- mostly tiling. The nooks still need to be tiled, but see most of the trim and small places are done. and I love the way the tile works around the window. And the metal trim around the shower nooks. The fan in that window is used to help blow the dust out of the house.
The bathroom feels warm and cozy -- and a bit like an old castle.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Forty Three & Forty Four

Wow!! My bathroom is coming together. Look at it. Hubby put in a few hours after Shabbat last night and then worked most of today. Its not just the work though, its the love that he puts into it. I'm moral support! LOL Time together is precious and fleeting and everlasting. Will the family who buys this house from us one day know the love that Asher put into the bathroom? Will anyone appreciate the workman ship and heart that has gone into this? Each home, each place that we occupy - it represents so much more than physical location. Each place that we occupy captures the experiences, the memories, part of the essence of who we were and who we were with in that very spot. And that's why when we return - those memories are released to us. And we feel them as though we are living them again. Hopefully the good, but sometimes the bad as well. Places become part of us, and we become part of the place. We should treat each place with respect, for the memories left their by those before us, and for the memories that we've yet to have. And as funny as it seems, this bathroom will always be about love for me. My husband's love for me.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Forty Two

# hours of tiling last night, 3 hours of tiling tonight. Looks nice doesnt it? Had to finish earlier tonight because handsome hubby contractor is also a great cook. he has to make the ginger chicken for tomorrow night

Bathroom Renovation - Day Forty & Forty One

Tuesday & Wednesday. Sand the sheetrock. Sand the sheetrock. Sand the sheetrock. Then put up another row of tile. How do you like the copper glass inset accent tile. I love it!!!! My hubby is the best. and I appreciate him. I'm going to tell him that!

Bathroom Renovation - Day Thirty Nine

Asher couldnt pull permits for another job today because it was Columbus Day. He did pick up carpeting for another job - then he went to Home Depot and kept sending me pictures of different items. It was funny. Then he spent the afternoon sanding the spackling on the sheetrock. See how he looks all full of the sanded spackle!
Meanwhile, I appreciate all the work my handsome hubby is doing so I took him on a date tonight.
I told him to put on jeans and we were going. I surprised him by taking him all the way out Route 10 to minature golf. Which was unexpectedly closed early today (even though I had called them.) So I took him bowling. It was league night. So I took him to the movies, but the movie had started 10 minutes early so I took him to Home Depot. We shopped there for an hour and bought the light for above the sink and bought some more tile that we needed. The glass accent pieces are going to be beautiful.
Add to the budget. we spent $110 on the tiles, the light fixture. And Asher spent $150 yesterday on various odds and ends including the glass tile accents, thin set for the floor, plastering for the walls, floating tape, threshhold, stainless steel framing thing.
Labor is about 220 hours equaling $11,000 just in labor.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Thirty Eight

Finally, the Jewish holidays are over. Life goes to a more normal schedule. But a bit of me will miss the holidays until Passover in the Spring.
Which tile to put in the nooks. Here are all three (the difference is mostly in the size of the tile. We've decided to go with the larger tile in the top nook. It matches better with our trim.
Tiling is in total GO mode. The floor tiling is complete and the wall tiling has begun. Asher put in 2.5 hours tonight.

Bathroom Renovation - Day Thirty Seven

The tiling around the bathtub is much more complicated than it looks. There's a lip at the top of the tub to keep the water from going into the wall. But this lip would have the tile stick out a bit. So handsome talented hubby contractor - notched a piece out of every tile that goes up against the tile so the tile will be even for the wall. This notching is tremendous amount of work.
We're also talking about how we want to lay the tile out.