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!

Day 4: Drywall Tales

Our craftsman Jim was here at his usual time this morning and he did not dilly-dally. He set right to work, with his goal today to have all the drywall up and installed so he can start to apply mortar and mud (not to be confused with Marble and Mud) first thing Friday morning. The photo to the right shows the insulation, studs and firring strips Jim had put up the day before. He installed even more insulation and the effect was almost immediate. This formerly cold and dank space was now warm and inviting, and he has yet to put up a single tile!

Jim spent a few minutes this morning installing the hardware for our first bathroom project. Jim expertly installed two hooks and a towel bar. I am happy to say that project is now complete!

It never ceases to amaze me the care and craftsmanship that Jim constantly exhibits at each point of this renovation. The best word I can use for him is persnickity. He will look at a joint or a piece of drywall or the shower base and say to me, "There is something not right with this. I need to add a few pieces of shim to make this square." He also came up with an idea that will make the even shower better. The contract called for two niches to be built into the shower, but after Jim looked at it he said to me, "You know, I can make a couple of corner shelves out of some scrap Corian we have back at the shop. I think that you might like having two small corner shelves instead of two niches."


All I could say to him was: "Sold!" He will now make a single niche in the shower, and install a couple of small corner shelves. It is actions like this that endear me to Jim and will make me keep using HWC for any future remodeling projects. Additionally, Steve the production manager stopped by yesterday and today to check on the progress of the job. It is apparent that HWC prides itself in the quality of its work.

Tomorrow will be a bit of "Hurry up and wait" as he will apply the first few coats of mortar to the shower and mud to the drywall. Updates
to follow!

Game on!

No, I am not talking about the NFL playoffs, rather I am talking about the second remodeling project that began today. HWC Homeworks, who did a fantastic job remodeling our main bathroom, started work on our second bathroom this morning. The craftsman, Jim, who did most of the work on our first project is back again to ply his trade and give this bathroom a complete makeover.

Of course, to make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs. Today and tomorrow Jim will be demolishing the old bathroom and making structural repairs to any flaws he discovers. This project is not as involved as the first bathroom makeover, so there should not be anywhere near as much dust and grim as was created in the first project. Once again, this house is yielding up some old and dark secrets. When Jim ripped out the vanity, he discovered yellow tile on the floor underneath. When Jim removed the mirror that used to be above and behind the toilet, he uncovered some of the ugliest wallpaper that I have ever seen. You would think that when this bathroom was last remodeled that the contractor would have had the common courtesy to remove the old wallpaper. The offensive wallpaper can be seen in all its glory below this text. I have saved a small piece of this wallpaper so that Deirdre can see it when she comes back from her job at the Kingdom. I am starting to run out of places to find strange things in this house, but now nothing surprises me. Look for updates daily as this project continues!

Almost done!

I am happy to report that on Day 11 our new bathroom became operational. However, there is one more thing that needs to be done before we can use the shower: The vent fan needs to be installed. First, an update on what happened on Day 11 of the project. I suppose that we could use the shower as the bathroom has not had an exhaust vent in years, but we are willing to wait until the vent fan is installed. I also want to let you know that the lens of my camera is not dirty. The small round things on the image to the right are reflections from the dust floating around the bathroom.

Jim arrived at his customary time of 8:30AM and he immediately got to work. Today was the day to tie up all the loose ends and put the finishing touches on the project. Jim needed Lance the plumber and Paul the electrician to complete their work in order to finish the bathroom completely. The first thing Jim did was to set the remaining bullnose tile, then he put the hardware on the cabinets and drawers. I continue to be amazed at his attention to detail and his craftsmanship. He carefully measured each drawer and precisely attached the handles and knobs to the cabinet. One of the most critical projects of the day was installing the shower door assembly. I assisted Jim in this evolution and it was certainly a lot more challenging than either of us thought it would be. Jim expertly put up the track and guide assemblies, but attaching the handles to the sliding doors was quite a process. The next time any of you who read this blog pay us a visit, I will describe the process over an adult beverage or two!

Lance the plumber arrived and he immediately set to work, attaching the Moen faucets to the sinks. Lance and Jim put the sinks in place on top of the cabinets, and then Lance attached the water supply lines and the drain line from the sinks, and then he installed the shower accessories. In no time he then set the new Toto toilet and in a little more than 2 hours, he was done.

The "long pole in the tent" became Paul the electrician. Paul had a lot of work to do to day as he needed to install the lights over the sinks, the vent fan, the can light over the shower, the control switches for the lights & fan, and two electrical outlets. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete all of this work, but no matter, he will return on Monday and install the vent fan. Paul was a consummate professional, quietly and quickly setting to his tasks. To be honest, waiting a few more days before we can use the shower works out well, as the caulk Jim applied along the seams in the shower need 24 hours to cure.

Dee and I have a new problem: We now have a fantastic bathroom with wonderful walls that need something hung on them. Dee and I also have to do some cleaning up around the house this weekend as there is a little bit of dust pretty much everywhere!

Below are a few photos of the bathroom. Dee and I could not be more pleased with how this project turned out.

Day 3: Plumbing work begins

The bathroom remodeling project is moving ahead with all deliberate speed. In the past two day, the carpenter Jim hauled away three trailers worth of debris from the demolition of our main bathroom. I think that there is dust everywhere in our house, but is often said, you gotta break some eggs to make an omelet. Today was the first day of plumbing work. Lance, who works for Grandville Plumbing, is doing the work. As some of you know, one of Deirdre's greatest fear is any sort of plumbing problem. Well, the pipes in this house had some unique work done on them in the past, as Lance pointed out to me. He is going to replace some galvanized pipe (which is cheaper than copper) and use plastic returns lines, so hopefully once he is done with plumbing in the sinks, shower and toilet we will have many, many years of trouble free plumbing in the new bathroom.











I am comfortable doing electrical work. I understand Ohm's Law and how the electrons travel from the power company into my main electrical box and are further distributed to the outlets and light switches in our home. I am nowhere near as comfortable with plumbing work. I would much rather pay a professional to do the job right the first time and not have to worry about a pipe leaking or a drain line not draining. Lance has been nothing but business as he works to plumb in a the supply and return lines for the bathroom. This project is really starting to take shape, now that the demolition is done. Updates to follow!

Bathroom Demolition

Today was Day 1 of the project to remodel the main bathroom in our house. Steve, the production manager, and Jim, the carpenter, arrived at 8:30AM to review the project. Jim then started to work on demolishing the bathroom. Attached are some photos from today's evolution. Lots of dust and dirt and general entropy!


There was some collateral damage, however. When Jim was ripping out the tub and the ceiling above it, he inadvertently put a hole through the wall in the Guest Bedroom. Dee and I were planning on repainting that room anyway, so now after Jim repairs the drywall, we will have a reason to paint!

Bathroom Remodeling Project

Some of you who read this blog have seen our home in East Grand Rapids. For those who have not been to our house, it is an unusual property for this city as it has a very deep backyard. Most of the homes near us have much smaller yards than ours. The land upon which our home sits is what gives the property its value. The two bathrooms in the house are 1960s vintage and they have been telling us since we moved in almost 7 years ago that they needed a facelift. Well, things have finally settled down enough for us to move ahead with Phase One, the remodeling of the main bathroom. We settled on a contractor and found out after we started negotiations with them that the owner is a former Navy Supply Corps Officer! I suppose that it is not surprising that we liked this company. We signed a contract a few weeks ago and today we went to the design center and selected the hardware for the cabinets. The production manager told us that they expect to start the demolition of the current bathroom on 6 December. He is hoping to complete the project in about two weeks. They also gave us a discount for letting them do the work in December, which is usually a slow month for work for them. Dee and Samson and I are not going anywhere for the month so it was a logical fit to "let" them do the work and take the discount. Look for more updates and photos from the demolition and construction on this blog.