Author Archives: ellen
Finishing Up the Bathroom
There were a few more tasks to finish the bathroom remodel. The contractor and his helper came one more time to complete the job. The largest project was the installation of the solar tube in the ceiling. He finished the … Continue reading
Shower Niche Light Issues
The niche light was a disaster. It did not go as planned. What I wanted to do and what happened were not the same. I wanted a sleek row of LED lights that were waterproof or damp proof in the … Continue reading
Bath Assembly
It took less than a day for the contractor and his helper to assemble the bathroom. But it was not without headaches. The faucet is a used kitchen faucet I purchased on Craigslist. In my first install the edge of … Continue reading
Bathroom Tiled
This last week the tile in the back bathroom was finished by a contractor. I decided that these jobs are taking me entirely too long. I might have even skipped this remodel if I didn’t have to do it for … Continue reading
Brick Patterns
In the middle of the bathroom floor I planned for an accent inset. The tile I wanted to use was 3″ x 6″ tumbled marble that I bought at the Restore. I only had one box of the tile but … Continue reading
Why Shopping is Not Research
My normal practice is to research every part of the house remodel. I usually spend hours on the internet gathering information about the best way to design and complete a project. But every once in a while I forget to … Continue reading
While I Was Away
It’s unusual to see progress while I’m not even home. But having a contractor seems to have helped. The room was drywalled before I left and sprayed with texture to match the house the next Monday. Then the Kerdi board … Continue reading
Hamilton in the Time of Coronavirus
When I left Colorado a week ago there were three confirmed cases of the virus. I went to California to celebrate my sister’s birthday. We had a lovely time mostly with family but she had tickets to take me to … Continue reading
Insulating the Bathroom.
About three quarters of the rear wall of the bathroom is poured concrete below ground and insulated on the outside. I added polyiso to the inside of the concrete wall and replaced the Fiberglas with rock wool. The interior walls … Continue reading
Prepping the Tile
When we started this gut remodel project the goal was to purchase as many used and recycled products as possible. Besides the LEED mandate to reduce the use of new materials I was looking for items that would lower the … Continue reading
Antique Vanity
Originally I just had in mind to use a copper sink in the back bathroom. I love copper and this is the last bathroom remodel. But copper sinks are expensive so quite some time ago I found a huge copper … Continue reading
Rear Bathroom Gut Job
In order to meet the minimum standard for LEED all the substrate around a tub or shower must be paperless including the ceiling. It’s required even under tiled walls. The existing tiled walls had been waterproof for over 30 years … Continue reading
Berlin
Because our kids are living in Germany we try to get over there a few times a year. We love just being with them and the grandkids but this visit we also got to accompany them on a short vacation … Continue reading
Reused Closet Door
As long as I was working on the barn doors in the family room I decided to see if I could install the closet door. The jamb was already installed when I realized that I didn’t have a door that … Continue reading
Double Barn Doors
I bought a pair of glass insert french doors five years ago thinking they would let in the extra light from the family room into the dining area. However when I finally decided to hang doors in the space, I … Continue reading
Stair Nosing in Hall
The hall stair nosing was cracked and becoming a trip hazard. I had already replaced one of the edges with a dark bamboo piece that I purchased at a Repurposed Materials auction. I have a couple of 8 piece boxes … Continue reading
Utility Room Storage
We severely reduced the size of the original utility room to make room for a dining area and to move the kitchen into the space. But in approximately a 6’x10’ room we fit in a stacking washer and dryer, a … Continue reading
Draining the Spa
I had to drain the spa because the winter weather is unpredictable and I did not want the pipes to crack. My planned repair did not work. I ordered the new spa heater from Acura Spa but it was cold … Continue reading
ERV Fixed
Unfortunately the control board on our ERV has been fried since last summer. It was probably due to several experiments trying to get the Lutron Grafix 0 to 10 voltage dimmer to work with the ERV. My son bought a … Continue reading
Spa Wifi Controller
Last year I purchased a wifi controller for the spa so that I could set the temperature from my phone instead of having to go outside. Although the device did not seem difficult to install, it required opening the spa … Continue reading