Day 14: When it all comes together

Today was the day that the bathroom remodeling project was completed. Jim arrived at his customary time of 8:30AM and he immediately set to work. I helped him unload the new sink, as well as the glass shower door, from his truck. Jim carefully measured the opening on top of the new drawers and adroitly trimmed the countertop so it would fit into place. The since fit like a glove and Jim quickly attached the side boards, fixing them into place and then applying a bead of silicone and caulk along the top of the backsplash and side boards. He then attached the nobs and handles for the cabinet. His next task was to determine the best place to attach the hinges for the shower door.

The shower door is called a "Euro-Door," which means that it is designed to pivot both ways. Given how tight the opening is for the shower, Dee and I thought that this upgrade was worth the extra investment. Placement of the hinges is critical, as the door is carefully balanced to "rest" in the closed position, parallel to the axis of the hinge. Once again, Jim's persnickitiness showed through. He carefully determined where each hinge should go, drilled the necessary hole and started to install the hinges. However, he soon realized that two of the holes drilled would not support the weight of the door, as the holes did not go through a wood stud. Undeterred, he made a quick dash to a local hardware store to purchase longer fasteners. Within minute of his return, the new fasteners were married up with the hinges and the door was in place. These photos do not due justice to how great the new shower door looks in place. Jim left a little before 1PM, and at 2PM, Lance the plumber arrived. Lance quickly plumbed the sink fixtures and the toilet, and then he installed the shower head and handle. Lance was here for all of about 90 minutes and then the bathroom project was done.


I started documenting both remodeling projects back in December. I took literally hundreds of photographs, as I wanted to have a record of the transformation of these two old and tired bathrooms into the updated and modern spaces that they now are. Jim was the craftsman who did most of the "heavy lifting" for both bathrooms. His work was nothing short of fantastic on both projects.


A funny thing happened as I was taking all of these pictures. For the first few days, I never took a photo of Jim's face. There were lots of profile shots, but none showing his warm and relaxing smile. I suppose he was sort of like Wilson W. Wilson, Jr., from the TV show Home Improvement. As you might recall, throughout that TV show, Wilson's face was obscured whenever he was talking to Tim Allen. After a couple of days, I made it a point to not show Jim's face in any of my blog posts. Well, now that the project is done, I think that it is time to let the world see the face of Jim, the persnickity craftsman who did such great work on both bathrooms. I know that he is really looking forward to the tear out for our next project: the kitchen!