The clearing continues

Progress continues on our unplanned laundry room redo.  Through a serendipitous event, the metal shelving unit that was in our bedroom fits perfectly next to our washer.  Why would we have a shelving unit in our bedroom you ask?  Well, during our tile backsplash project (see prior blog posts) we bought it to store all our items for our project - it moved from our dining room, to our study during the project and then somehow made its way into our bedroom as a handy collector of Christmas presents from out of town family.  Yes, Christmas was three months ago, but we never moved it - obviously destined for this moment to make its way into the laundry room.

We sorted and dusted and reorganized.  And by "we" I mean actually WE - yes I even pitched in!  The surprises in our reorganization - a long lost wood burning kit and more picture hangers than we have pictures.  We have literally turned the corner on the project and now are working on the opposite wall.

Here is the after photo of our shelving unit - sorry no before - it was a disaster area,  who takes pictures of that?  I wouldn't want you to judge.

It started simple....

It started with a simple (well maybe not simple) "do you smell gas?"  At first glances went to the dog, but then clarification was gas coming from the dryer.  This is not the smell you want just before you are to leave to drive your daughter back to college.

As we gathered a group of noses to confirm the smell, it included leaning and twisting ourselves behind the dryer and washer.  It was then we discovered the huge BULGE from the water hose on the washer.  So off with the water and off with the gas.

The pulling out of the dryer and washer revealed more dust and dirt than I care to admit. So first came the "let's clean this first" (and by let's - I mean my husband).  Once it was cleaned he then declared that now would be a great time to paint the laundry room. This of course brought us to the question we hate to utter because of the emotional impact it will take on us all ...... "what color?"

My mind began to drift to some magazines I had seen with new exciting colors.  Then came the declaration to use colors we already have in the house "no more paint cans".  We eventually decided on the same color we had used in the master bath (NOTE: I thought we agreed on the kitchen color....but they are both similar). Of course a trip to the garage paint cabinet revealed empty paint cans - so more paint cans were still in our future.

It is now one week later, it is painted behind the washer and dryer.  No more gas smells. A water hose with a lifetime warranty. We (and by we I mean my husband) are moving slowly around the laundry room, clearing and cleaning and painting.  Which is why my dining room now looks like this.....at least the laundry room will look better.

Ta da! Backspash finished

While for most installing a kitchen backsplash can be a weekend project, for us it took a few months. However we can say it was well worth and we are quite proud of ourselves.  Our goal was to have the kitchen not inspire comments like "Oh, did you do it yourself?" and instead give a professional look.  With some diligence we wiped the grout to ensure it wasn't in all the nooks and crannies and that the glass shined - mission accomplished!

To truly appreciate the "after" you have to see the complete "before". This would be when we bought our home 7 years ago with the ugliest wall paper imaginable, white appliances and the dreaded backsplash.  While we still hope to stain the cabinets (ourselves or hire? hmmm) and replace the equally dreaded white floor, we are quite pleased with the transformation thus far.

The kitchen in all its white and floral glory at purchase in 2005

The after shot - okay we update appliances a while ago too

The tile is done! 2012

Grout Day - 99% done!

Our new surge of energy and determination to finish has continued.  We finished the tile - cutting many meticulous cuts to get everything fit around windows and an outlet. Today we began (and finished) grouting.

While doing this process we determined a few things

• You get faster and better at it as you go
• Getting into a rhythm helps
• With two people you can grout and wipe more efficiently
• Wiping off grout from the tiles is TEDIOUS
• Even though you wait 20 minutes before wiping grout you never rest!
• Giant yellow sponges work better if you cut them in half - less rinsing because you have more available that are clean
• It is a lot more tedious to wipe off grout when you have a lot of little tiles
• Just when you think you're done you spot a new tile that needs to be wiped or an area the grout missed
• You realize you might have some perfectionist tendancies

Tomorrow is caulking and then our kitchen can be put back together for the first time since July.  I'd send a picture now, but the kitchen is a wreck and we don't want to do anything about it....at least right now.

And we push on

While Sunday is traditionally a day of rest, for us it was also "we're EXHAUSTED what were we thinking". Who knew standing on your feet and pressing in tiles could take so much out of you.

We are now determined to get it done with.  We used our last bits of mortar to place tiles that didn't need cutting Monday night.  Another trip to Lowes (who knows what number it is by now).  The gaps needing special cutting seem to be mocking us.  In one moment of clarity we knew what peice would go where and how it needed to be cut and/or replaced with a different tile.  Unfortunately that clarity faded to a mental fog as now all pieces look alike and my helpful notes now seem like jibberish. Next time I think I will video our epiphanies!

We can almost see the end.....almost

After a change in weekend plans, we found ourselves with an unheard of open weekend.  That coupled with the fact that we will be hosting a party in October inspired new motivation to move towards the finish line. So Friday we started with thin wood strips to keep everything straight. 

After realizing that it is far easier to seal tile while it is flat rather than precariously placed on a wall, we began by laying out the tile and then sealing. Almost as exciting as watching paint dry is waiting for sealant to absorb.

Just as we were rounding the corner we came to the sink area where inspiration struck "maybe we should do something different under the sink".  After taping different tiles in place to see what it might look like, and googling "images of tiles behind sinks" we decided it probably wasn't worth the effort and went back to the task at hand.

So this is how we spent our Saturday - tiling and intermittently watching the A&M vs Arkansas game.  We even did a pretty good job piecing tile around the one outlet.

Happily the day for us and the Aggies the day was a success. My feet are killing me; but we can see the end. The best part....I really like how it is looking.

And we're back!

Well the kids are back to college, we had a nice vacation and now we're ready to finish the back splash!  The added motivation that family may visit during the holidays (which are closer than you think) helped us get back to it.

Following the lead we have seen on many home improvement shows, we had a good breakfast and got started.  (Why do they always cook a full breakfast before starting?)

We found that once again a hammer and whacking the tile works better the meticulously trying to save the drywall.  Wrapping the faucet and soap dispenser in trash bags and tape, worked much better than shutting off the water and removing the them. We will see if we can tile with them still in place.

We even enlisted a daughter in vaccuum duty while we hammered off tile.  Drywall, taping and priming followed.

Tiling to come soon (we hope)

Oh and while the we literally waited for the pain to dry, we installed a ceiling fan.  It boasted "5 minute install". Three hours later it was up and working ..... and we were too exhausted for any more projects.