Monday, November 30, 2009

Remodeling Week: Already Finished

It's time to report back to real life, for the Castle5000 Home Improvement Week has reached an end. Did we spend a week of arduous labor, plus time off from work and a modest but significant sum of American Dollars, to good effect? You make the call.

I: The Shower

The shower tile has been sealed and, although you can't tell from the picture, a lot of work has gone into solving a series of problems with the plumbing fixtures (they'll go on when the caulk has cured). Lots of other details with edges between the tub and the walls have been dealt with too.

II: The SE Corner

Here you can see that we've added a strip of moulding at about the 7-foot point. We also did some minor retexturing of the walls and, not incidentally, have been doing some painting. We call the main wall color "Morocan Ice Cave Blue."


III: The Sink

You might feel that we overdid it with the purple, and admittedly it's a little dark in there at night for the time being. We think that once we have our large white towel shelves hanging again, as well as some wall art, that the effect will be considerably softened. Also, the new floor and baseboard trim (which we didn't get to) should lighten things a bit.


IV: The Door

We may have to take a little off the bottom of the door once the new floor is installed, so it hasn't been painted yet. It's waiting in the basement, scraped and sanded. The attic hatch is also down in the basement, with a fresh coat of paint drying on it.

V: Built-In Shelves

The shelves are almost ready to move into, but the cabinet door is also waiting for a fresh coat of paint to dry.


VI: The Floor


We didn't get to the floor.


VII: The Light Fixture



The pictures don't really make the improvement here clear. The new light is probably three times as bright as the old once, and its fan is whisper-quiet, whereas the old one roared like a helicoptor at lift-off. But nor do the photos indicate what a arduous process the replacement was. It required cutting not one but two large holes in the ceiling, and then of course repairing them. Just installing the new light took a full day that ended at 9 p.m. On the up side, it gave me the opportunity to correct an egregious venting error and a downright spooky wiring job committed by whomever the last person was to poke around in that ceiling.

In Conclusion

We're kind of tired now.

14 comments:

Jennifer said...

The Boy and I were just admiring the pictures, with much oohing and aahing, and then he summed up by saying, "I guess they'll have to dump the paint bucket on the floor soon."

I'm not sure where he gets these ideas about how to take care of one's house, but it's pretty clear he's closer to my level of skill than yours....

The Calico Cat said...

In the toidy area, the blue looks a lot better than the yellow. (Running & ducking - & hopeing to bake some more pumkin cookies tonight - or tomorrow night since we have a 1 year old to take to his 1 year old check-up tonight!)

fingerstothebone said...

Woohoo for Moroccan Ice Cave Blue! You had probably already planned on doing that color in the bathroom, but I shall now take credit for it!

Rebel said...

AWESOME! It looks fantastic, and I really don't think you can have too much of Moroccan Ice Cave Blue. Lots of bathrooms are just white or pastel, but the bold color really works, especially if you will have white towels etc for contrast. Can't wait to see it in person.

Ben said...

Looks great! Nice work!

Thom said...

That's pretty much exactly my favourite colour. I love it.

MulchMaid said...

I'm pretty impressed that it wasn't plumbing that took the most time. That part of a remodel always seems to be fraught with issues and take an ungodly amount of stamina.

LOVE that gorgeous blue!

Dug said...

Moroccan Ice Cave Blue!
Moroccan Ice Cave Blue!
Moroccan Ice Cave Blue!

Love the color! I'd recommend a nice contrasty shower curtain - something in the subtle yellow family but I'm not really a designer. Is that a six pack sitting in the tub? - cause you've earned it.

d said...

nicely done m5's

sister jen said...

Is that a true representation of the color? It's gorgeous! What a lot of work--and on a full Thanksgiving stomach, too. Well done, you.

margaret said...

hooray for bold paint colors!

Elaine said...

Just very impressed that you had the confidence to rewire the fixture yourself. You do realize, don't you, that Electricity leaks out of sockets trying to get you? James Thurber's mother tipped me off to that one.

I learned about sones the same way you did--replacing a ventilation fan.

Jenners said...

Good job ... like the color. But what is the deal with the incredibly high towel ring????

gl. said...

i can't believe you actually went with the Moroccan Ice Cave Blue! that whole trip to morocco was totally worth it. ;)