Bathroom Update!

Yes, this post is totally worth an exclamation point in the title, but let me build up to that--

I mentioned in Friday's post that I'd been working on the bathroom again. I spent a little time over the last couple of weeks finishing the painting, and then spent a little time Thursday cleaning the floor. Friday, I used our new Dremel (thanks to J's folks for that awesome toy!) to clean out the grout lines where thinset had squished up between the tiles when J laid them back in October. After clearing the grout lines, I tackled the fun task of cleaning the floor. And by fun, I mean not.

In order to get the tiles really clean (necessary for sealing), I ended up laying flat on the floor with a rag and bowl of water. While the rag was useful, I spent more time using my thumbnail to scrape up paint splatters, thinset, and drywall mud that had found its way to the floor. The paint splatters were most surprising, since I was quick to wipe up any paint that dripped last week. It makes me wonder how many microscopic droplets of paint are on the wood floors in our bedroom leftover from last year's paint job in there!

Anyhow, after spending a good couple of hours on the floor (that averages out to just over 5 minutes per square foot for those keeping count), I finished up just as J got home. He was ready to collapse for the night until I explained the reason for getting us so close to done--I'd scheduled the plumber for Monday (today). Needless to say, J found his second wind, and we found the tools (after a quick trip to Lowes to replace the grout float that I know he bought in August) to grout the floor. 72 hours or so later, we've got a floor that looks better than ever.

Today, the plumbers came back to re-install the toilet. Since they came at lunchtime, J came home at the same time and got to meet the guys. We've had the same two for each visit, and will probably have them back at least one more time before we're finished. They were incredibly complimentary of the tile job, and even joked that they felt much safer on the floor than before! I'd say they are right--it's vastly better than that quarter-inch thick trampoline-like subfloor the previous owner left us with!

So here we are today--toilet installed and working great! (As far as J is concerned, this is why this post title is worth an exclamation point. Four and a half months without a working toilet on the main floor, and several near misses on the stairs during an early morning stumble down to the bathroom have taken their toll!)

You can see the new vanity in this picture, too. It will move back towards the wall behind it about four inches, and we still need to have the marble slab countertop fabricated for it. Oh, and J's job this week is to find a new toilet seat for us--that oak, like the old vanity and medicine cabinet, has got to go!