the end is nigh!

No recent updates not for lack of work being done, but because there's been almost too much of it: the moment I go up to take a photo, the next day finds the next stage finished. Plus, between lots of work, leaving before it's full daylight and getting home after dark, and some friends as houseguests for the last week, I haven't had time to update.

Anycow: tile work is nearly complete, with the stone tiles sealed and grouted, with only a few minor details to be touched up. Painting is also nearly done, again with only a few minor touchups left to be done. The plumbers have returned, and they've nearly finished the hookups in our basement and plan to set up the toilet and sinks early next week.

Basically, what's left is the final plumbing and electrical work (including installation of lighting), final work on woodwork trim (including the installation of the handrail on the stairway), and refinishing and adding trim to the stairs themselves (that's nearly the last thing that'll be done. All that remains after that are a few minor details related to ways the job has impinged upon the rest of the house (there was a mishap involving our first-floor bathroom ceiling fan, which needed to be rerouted...and the hardware in our front-hall closet, removed due to using some of that space for HVAC runs installed in the back of the closet, to be reinstalled on the new back wall). There's also the bedroom door - that's a story in itself, which I'll relate once it's arrived and is in place - and the shower enclosure, which will in all likelihood be the very last item to be installed, even after we're otherwise moved in to the space.

So, photos:

The hardware in our new walk-in closet has been installed:



Shower hardware is in place:



And our accent paint is in place on the alcove at the front of the bedroom:



As you can probably see, there's still some detail and trimwork left to be done here (as I note above), but increasingly the room looks like it will when it's finished. Finished, but unfurnished: after all the contractor work is done, we have loads of new furniture to assemble and move into place...

lack of clever reference to railings and tiles

The tile work is nearly finished - or rather, the tiles themselves are nearly all installed: next, the tile needs to be sealed and the grout applied. But here's a look at the last bit of tile, which is a little ledge behind where the sinks will be (the wood below is just a temporary support):



And here's the pattern at the edges of the floors, along the walls:



The stairway railings have begun to be installed. Here's a first look:

more trim, more tile

Truth in labeling!

Here's the woodwork on our little alcove - we'd originally intended this space to house a gas fireplace, but when our budget crunch hit, that was one of the obvious things to go...both because it's a luxury item and because it's pretty simple to do later, should we decide to do so.



And here's the side of the bathtub enclosure. Most of the tile work is done - there are just a few spots yet to be done: some infill, some edging, the little ledge that will be beneath the mirrors and behind the vanities, etc.

out on the tiles

More tiles installed. The floor of the bathroom is nearly complete:



The shower surround, likewise, is nearly finished:



You can see the logic of the layout here, I think: borders tend to be formed of a row four tiles wide of the smaller tiles with a "pencil" edging. This carries to nearly all the outlines of the various defined spaces, the main exception being the shower surround itself, which omits the smaller tiles.

For grouting, we're using a dark-gray color rather similar to that of the raw base (you can still see it on the ceiling of the shower area), which has two advantages: first, it makes the colors in the tiles "pop," and (more important, in the long run) it's easier to clean than a lighter colored grout.

merry tiler, more!

Most of the bathroom tile is in place. We ran into a minor detail of miscalculation (embarrassingly obvious) and so had to order more (which explains why the amount we paid initially was so much lower than our estimated budget...), but fortunately, there's no real delay, since it's arriving Tuesday evening.

So here's a shot of the area behind the bathtub:



Here's what's been done so far in the shower:



And here's the bathroom floor, so far:



On another note, my sister and brother-in-law have just started their own remodeling (theirs motivated by needing room for their two boys), and she's doing a blog of her own, called This Year's (re)Model (opting for the Elvis Costello rather than Roxy Music reference).

floors and tiles and paint and things

Lots of work getting done the last couple of days. On the exterior: the back window's rough frame-out is nearly done:



Inside: the first coat of paint is on the walls and ceiling:



The tile installer has put down the gypsum-board underlayment. In this shot you can also see a swatch of the accent color that will fill this wall below the ledge at the very top of this image, as well as the alcove in the bedroom. The actual color has more red to it - it's hard to get accurate color given the reliance in this photo on late-afternoon natural light or flash, which tends to wash out darker colors). You can also barely make out the tile we'll be using in the bathroom (more visible at the larger size):



And the flooring has begun to be put in place:

concretely

The tile installer has begun his work. He's put in the concrete-like sheets that serve as base for the substrate and grout into which he'll place the tiles. Here's a shot of the shower area:



Here's the shower base which, as you can see, looks a lot like poured concrete. It isn't, quite, but it's similar:



And here's Rose's tub (she's the bath-taker here), with its surround in place: