Original Condition

The half bathroom is 46.5" deep x 59" wide, measured from wall to wall with the drywall installed. The pedestal sink is in somewhat rough shape, with dated brass fixtures that don't work very well. The light fixtures were brass builder-grade.

The floor was hardwood, and damaged from the toilet sweating. For what it's worth, I've always considered it insane to install hardwood in a bathroom for this reason. Even if by miracle your wax ring lasts forever, sweating of the toilet will eventually damage the floor. Especially in Michigan where water in the winter can be very cold if you flush a few times while the pressure tank is recovering. And preventing a wood floor from absorbing odors around a toilet is difficult.

The walls were a bit beat up, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with spackling and/or joint compound.

My Fixes

In September of 2015 I started the remodelling of the half bathroom. I removed the pedestal sink and toilet. I removed the hardwood floor and the lower 42" of sheetrock to expose the wall studs. I cleaned up the subfloor and gave it a single coat of Redgard just to give me more work time with the thinset. I then applied modified thinset and 1/4" cement board on the floor.

I created and installed support blocks for the edges of the drywall I cut and the cement board that will be installed. I also installed supports for the new pedestal sink.

I extended and then capped the supply lines for the toilet and sink. This let me finish the cement board and tile work without having the water main turned off.

I ordered the new toilet, TP holder, towel ring, towel bar and light fixture. I later ordered a mirror.

I tiled the floor with 3" white/gray marble octagons with small black marble accents. The marble is going to be fragile to maintain; I've already scratched some of the tiles. For now I'm going to call it part of marble's charm, and I will later buy some diamond polishing pads and a backing pad for my variable speed grinder.

I tiled the lower 42" of the walls with a glazed ceramic marble-look tile in subway tile size (3" x 6"). The top row is 4" tall by 16" long bullnose.

I used solid marble skirting (baseboard) pieces for the bottom row of the walls. These are 12" long by 4.75" tall. They were taller than I needed or wanted, so I cut them down about 1/2".

I cut about 1/4" off the bottom of the door to clear the new marble threshold with ease and to allow a rug to be placed on the floor.

I installed a new chrome door lever with square escutcheons.

I installed a new chrome commercial concave door stop with gray bumper. I didn't want to go this route, but it looks fine. All of the wall or door mount residential stops I looked at didn't have enough surface area to quell my concerns about cracking the tile if someone swung the door open hard. And I hate hinge-mounted stops, they trash the door casings and tweak the hinges, and don't really stop the door from hitting the wall unless adjusted to not let the door open very far. That last issue is a problem for a tiny half bathroom.

I was unable to find a wall cabinet I liked that would match the mirror I bought. So I built my own out of solid oak (except the back panel, which is 1/2" thick baltic birch plywood). It is mounted to the wall with a French cleat. The bottom (fixed) shelf is tiled with leftover tile from the floor. I have two large pieces of marble floor tile that I placed on two of the other shelves.

---

To-Do

• Prime, sand and paint the wall cabinet.
• Build the door for the wall cabinet.
• Install the wall cabinet.
• Install the towel ring.

Wish List

Half Bathroom Wish List by Vendor

www.wayfair.com

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Baldwin 4741.150.CD	Classic square beveled edge double GFCI switch plate, satin nickel	4741.150.CD	1	$7.74	$7.74
  Baldwin 4754.150.CD	Classic square beveled edge single GFCI switch plate, satin nickel	4754.150.CD	1	$5.36	$5.36
  Total					$13.10

Totals by Vendor

• Vendor	Total
  www.wayfair.com	$13.10
  Total	$13.10

---

Half Bathroom Purchases by Category

Tools

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Bosch GLL 2-45	Self-levelling cross-line laser	GLL 2-45	1	$199.00	$199.00
  Freud 99-286	glass panel cabinet door router bit set	99-286	1	$130.32	$130.32
  Porter-Cable PIN138	23-gauge pneumatic pin nailer	PIN138	1	$119.00	$119.00
  Skil 91015	15-piece router bit set	91015	1	$49.99	$49.99
  Lenox 1211622DGDS	1.375" diamond arbored hole saw	1211622DGDS	1	$43.97	$43.97
  Lenox 1211932DGHS	2" diamond hole saw	1211932DGHS	1	$34.97	$34.97
  Bosch BT 150	Compact tripod for laser levels	BT 150	1	$34.97	$34.97
  Drilax 050513	3.16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" diamond drill bits for tile	050513	1	$19.99	$19.99
  Diablo D0760R	7.25" 60 tooth ultra finish saw blade	D0760R	1	$19.97	$19.97
  Freud 20-301	beadboard router bit	20-301	1	$18.97	$18.97
  Drilax 051313	1/2" diamond drill bits for tile, 5-pack	051313	1	$14.99	$14.99
  Tavy 1004	1/8" tile spacers, 100 pack	1004	1	$5.18	$5.18
  Tavy 5004	1/8" T-spacers, 100 pack	5004	1	$4.98	$4.98
  Buckets	Buckets	Bucket	5	$2.97	$14.85
  Total					$711.15

Tile

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Rush River Stone 657613-P	3" polished octagon marble mosaic tile	657613-P	3	$149.90	$449.70
  Laticrete 93-S-225CQ-NS-4	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Part A and B, 4-pack	93-S-225CQ-NS-4	1	$104.99	$104.99
  Fired Earth Ceramics 3" x 6&quout; Carrara Gris wall tile	3"x6" marble-look ceramic tile, glossy	440745-P	6	$69.70	$418.20
  Redgard LQWAF1	Waterproofing and crack prevention, 1 gallon	LQWAF1	1	$49.97	$49.97
  Miracle Sealants 511 IMP QT SG	511 impregnator to seal marble tiles before grouting	511 IMP QT SG	1	$33.98	$33.98
  Laticrete 93-S-225CQ-NS-00	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Part A and B	93-S-225CQ-NS-00	3	$32.99	$98.97
  Backer-On 23415	#10 x 1.675" zinc-plated steel flat-head square cement board screws, 600 pack	23415	1	$26.44	$26.44
  Rush River Stone 657368-P	Hampton Carrara polished skirting marble wall tile 4.75" x 12"	657368-P	18	$24.36	$438.48
  Custom Building Products MGMM50	Natural stone and large tile white premium mortar	MGMM50	2	$23.97	$47.94
  MS International THD1WH4X36DB	White Double Bevelled Threshold 4" x 36" Polished Marble	THDW1-B-GRE412	1	$16.97	$16.97
  Laticrete 93-6200 #24	Latisil Silicone Caulk Sealant - High Performance Caulk with Microban #24 (natural gray)	93-8200	2	$15.99	$31.98
  Laticrete 93-6200 #88	Latisil Silicone Caulk Sealant - High Performance Caulk with Microban $88 (silver shadow)	93-8200 #88	2	$15.99	$31.98
  1/2" HardieBacker	3' x 5' cement backerboard, 1/2" thick	220023	7	$12.67	$88.69
  1/4" HardieBacker	3' x 5' cement backerboard, 1/4" thick	220022	2	$10.67	$21.34
  Backer-On 23400	#10 x 1.25" zinc-plated steel flat-head square cement board screws, 200 pack	23400	1	$8.27	$8.27
  Laticrete 93-1200P-Mini-C #88	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Color Powder Part C #88 (silver shadow)	93-1200P-Mini-C #88	4	$6.99	$27.96
  Laticrete 93-1200P-Mini-C #24	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Color Powder Part C #24 (natural gray)	93-1200P-Mini-C #24	3	$6.99	$20.97
  FibaTape FDW8691-U	Alkali-resistant 2" x 150 ft. self-adhesive mesh cement board tape	FDW8691-U	1	$6.93	$6.93
  MS International THDW1-B-GRE412	Greecian white 4"x12" polished marble base board wall tile	THDW1-B-GRE412	18	$4.99	$89.82
  Total					$2013.58

Paint

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Behr 275001	Premium Plus Ultra Pre White Eggshell Paint, 1 gallon	275001	1	$32.98	$32.98
  Purdy 14F863000	White Dove 9"x3/8" roller covers, 3-pack	14F863000	1	$11.48	$11.48
  Floetrol	Paint conditioner, 1 quart	Floetrol	1	$6.47	$6.47
  Wooster 0Q32110020	Shurtcut 2" sash brush	0Q32110020	1	$6.47	$6.47
  HANDy 2520-CT	6-pack of paint pail liners	2520-CT	1	$3.97	$3.97
  Total					$61.37

Sink

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  American Standard 0790.800.020	Town Square 24" pedestal bathroom sink with 8" faucet spacing, white	0790.800.20	1	$348.00	$348.00
  American Standard 2555.821.002	Town Square widespread bathroom faucet, chrome	2555.821.002	1	$187.72	$187.72
  Total					$535.72

Toilet

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  American Standard 2817.128.020	Town Square FloWise RH elongated two piece toilet, white	2817.128.020	1	$419.15	$419.15
  Total					$419.15

Electrical

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Lutron MA-T51H-WH	Maestro Countdown Timer, white	MA-T51H-WH	1	$29.97	$29.97
  Lutron MS-OPS2-WH	Maestro occupancy-sensing switch, white	MS-OPS2-WH	1	$20.74	$20.74
  Leviton R12-X7592-00W	Shallow duplex guidelight and GFCI receptacle, white	R12-X7592-00W	1	$17.86	$17.86
  Brainerd 79003	double decorator wall plate, brushed satin pewter	79003	1	$8.97	$8.97
  Brainerd 64778	decorator wall plate, brushed satin pewter	64778	1	$6.97	$6.97
  Total					$84.51

Hardware/Accessories

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Schlage F40FLA625ADD	Addison Collection Flair privacy lever, bright chrome	F40FLA625ADD	1	$46.89	$46.89
  Moen YB5108CH	Moen Voss Toilet Paper Holder, Pivoting, Chrome	YB5108CH	1	$31.20	$31.20
  Moen YB5186CH	Moen Voss Towel Ring, Chrome	YB5186CH	1	$25.43	$25.43
  Moen YB5101CH	Moen Voss Toilet Paper Holder, Pivoting, Chrome	YB5101CH	1	$22.20	$22.20
  McMaster-Carr 93650A155	Moisture-resistant cushioning washer, polyurethane, 5/16" screw size, .328" ID, .562" OD, pack of 25	93650A155	1	$10.58	$10.58
  McMaster-Carr 94709A318	Neoprene and 18-8 stainless steel bonded washer, 5/16" screw size, .030" ID, .625" OD, pack of 25	94709A318	1	$10.11	$10.11
  McMaster-Carr 90123A127	316 stainless steel lag screws, 1/4" diameter, 2.5" long, pack of 10	90123A127	1	$8.74	$8.74
  McMaster-Carr 91525A229	316 stainless steel flat washer, oversized, 5/16" screw size, .328" ID, .040-.060" thick, pack of 50	91525A229	1	$6.72	$6.72
  McMaster-Carr 90123A238	316 stainless steel lag screws, 5/16" diameter, 2.5" long, pack of 5	90123A238	1	$6.34	$6.34
  Total					$168.21

Lighting

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Moen YB5163CH	Moen Voss Bath Lighting three Globe, Chrome	YB5163CH	1	$151.20	$151.20
  Total					$151.20

Mirror

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Signature Hardware 909373	21" Milforde vanity mirror	909373	1	$244.95	$244.95
  Total					$244.95

Wall cabinet

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Tile Shop 658622-P	Meram Blank Carrara polished marble floor tile, 12" x 24"	658622-P	2	$34.36	$68.72
  Lowe's 1066	1"x12"x48" red oak board	1066	4	$29.78	$119.12
  Lowe's 1038	1"x2"x72" red oak board	1038	1	$29.78	$29.78
  Lowes 1043	1x3 oak board, 6' long	1043	1	$11.48	$11.48
  Hinges	Urn-tip full back-to-back wrap-around inset hinges, pair	31235	1	$9.99	$9.99
  Lowe's 6199	1/2"x24"x24" birch plywood	6199	1	$7.44	$7.44
  Kreg P-OAK	oak pocket hole plugs, 50-pack	P-OAK	1	$6.99	$6.99
  Door glass	18" x 24" 3/32" thick glass panel	11824	1	$6.90	$6.90
  Rockler shelf supports	Nickel 1/4" shelf supports, 16-pack	33860	1	$5.99	$5.99
  Magnetic door catch	Magnetic catch for inset doors	30546	1	$5.99	$5.99
  Rust-Oleum 7791812	Rust-Oleum 12 oz. white satin spraypaint	7791812	5	$3.88	$19.40
  Total					$291.80

Totals by Category

• Category	Total
  Tools	$711.15
  Tile	$2013.58
  Paint	$61.37
  Sink	$535.72
  Toilet	$419.15
  Electrical	$84.51
  Hardware/Accessories	$168.21
  Lighting	$151.20
  Mirror	$244.95
  Wall cabinet	$291.80
  Total	$4681.64

---

Half Bathroom Purchases by Date

February 15, 2014

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Lutron MS-OPS2-WH	Maestro occupancy-sensing switch, white	MS-OPS2-WH	1	$20.74	$20.74
  Total					$20.74

July 10, 2014

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Lutron MA-T51H-WH	Maestro Countdown Timer, white	MA-T51H-WH	1	$29.97	$29.97
  Leviton R12-X7592-00W	Shallow duplex guidelight and GFCI receptacle, white	R12-X7592-00W	1	$17.86	$17.86
  Total					$47.83

October 4, 2014

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Brainerd 79003	double decorator wall plate, brushed satin pewter	79003	1	$8.97	$8.97
  Brainerd 64778	decorator wall plate, brushed satin pewter	64778	1	$6.97	$6.97
  Total					$15.94

April 3, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Rush River Stone 657613-P	3" polished octagon marble mosaic tile	657613-P	3	$149.90	$449.70
  Total					$449.70

September 2, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  American Standard 0790.800.020	Town Square 24" pedestal bathroom sink with 8" faucet spacing, white	0790.800.20	1	$348.00	$348.00
  Total					$348.00

September 3, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  American Standard 2555.821.002	Town Square widespread bathroom faucet, chrome	2555.821.002	1	$187.72	$187.72
  Total					$187.72

September 7, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Redgard LQWAF1	Waterproofing and crack prevention, 1 gallon	LQWAF1	1	$49.97	$49.97
  1/2" HardieBacker	3' x 5' cement backerboard, 1/2" thick	220023	7	$12.67	$88.69
  1/4" HardieBacker	3' x 5' cement backerboard, 1/4" thick	220022	2	$10.67	$21.34
  Total					$160.00

September 9, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Laticrete 93-S-225CQ-NS-00	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Part A and B	93-S-225CQ-NS-00	3	$32.99	$98.97
  Laticrete 93-6200 #24	Latisil Silicone Caulk Sealant - High Performance Caulk with Microban #24 (natural gray)	93-8200	2	$15.99	$31.98
  Laticrete 93-1200P-Mini-C #24	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Color Powder Part C #24 (natural gray)	93-1200P-Mini-C #24	3	$6.99	$20.97
  Total					$151.92

September 10, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Fired Earth Ceramics 3" x 6&quout; Carrara Gris wall tile	3"x6" marble-look ceramic tile, glossy	440745-P	6	$69.70	$418.20
  Backer-On 23415	#10 x 1.675" zinc-plated steel flat-head square cement board screws, 600 pack	23415	1	$26.44	$26.44
  Custom Building Products MGMM50	Natural stone and large tile white premium mortar	MGMM50	2	$23.97	$47.94
  Backer-On 23400	#10 x 1.25" zinc-plated steel flat-head square cement board screws, 200 pack	23400	1	$8.27	$8.27
  FibaTape FDW8691-U	Alkali-resistant 2" x 150 ft. self-adhesive mesh cement board tape	FDW8691-U	1	$6.93	$6.93
  Total					$507.78

September 14, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Lenox 1211622DGDS	1.375" diamond arbored hole saw	1211622DGDS	1	$43.97	$43.97
  Lenox 1211932DGHS	2" diamond hole saw	1211932DGHS	1	$34.97	$34.97
  Tavy 1004	1/8" tile spacers, 100 pack	1004	1	$5.18	$5.18
  Tavy 5004	1/8" T-spacers, 100 pack	5004	1	$4.98	$4.98
  MS International THD1WH4X36DB	White Double Bevelled Threshold 4" x 36" Polished Marble	THDW1-B-GRE412	1	$16.97	$16.97
  MS International THDW1-B-GRE412	Greecian white 4"x12" polished marble base board wall tile	THDW1-B-GRE412	18	$4.99	$89.82
  Total					$195.89

September 16, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Miracle Sealants 511 IMP QT SG	511 impregnator to seal marble tiles before grouting	511 IMP QT SG	1	$33.98	$33.98
  Total					$33.98

September 17, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  American Standard 2817.128.020	Town Square FloWise RH elongated two piece toilet, white	2817.128.020	1	$419.15	$419.15
  Moen YB5108CH	Moen Voss Toilet Paper Holder, Pivoting, Chrome	YB5108CH	1	$31.20	$31.20
  Moen YB5186CH	Moen Voss Towel Ring, Chrome	YB5186CH	1	$25.43	$25.43
  Moen YB5101CH	Moen Voss Toilet Paper Holder, Pivoting, Chrome	YB5101CH	1	$22.20	$22.20
  Moen YB5163CH	Moen Voss Bath Lighting three Globe, Chrome	YB5163CH	1	$151.20	$151.20
  Total					$649.18

September 22, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Drilax 050513	3.16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" diamond drill bits for tile	050513	1	$19.99	$19.99
  Drilax 051313	1/2" diamond drill bits for tile, 5-pack	051313	1	$14.99	$14.99
  McMaster-Carr 93650A155	Moisture-resistant cushioning washer, polyurethane, 5/16" screw size, .328" ID, .562" OD, pack of 25	93650A155	1	$10.58	$10.58
  McMaster-Carr 94709A318	Neoprene and 18-8 stainless steel bonded washer, 5/16" screw size, .030" ID, .625" OD, pack of 25	94709A318	1	$10.11	$10.11
  McMaster-Carr 90123A127	316 stainless steel lag screws, 1/4" diameter, 2.5" long, pack of 10	90123A127	1	$8.74	$8.74
  McMaster-Carr 91525A229	316 stainless steel flat washer, oversized, 5/16" screw size, .328" ID, .040-.060" thick, pack of 50	91525A229	1	$6.72	$6.72
  McMaster-Carr 90123A238	316 stainless steel lag screws, 5/16" diameter, 2.5" long, pack of 5	90123A238	1	$6.34	$6.34
  Total					$77.47

October 5, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Bosch GLL 2-45	Self-levelling cross-line laser	GLL 2-45	1	$199.00	$199.00
  Bosch BT 150	Compact tripod for laser levels	BT 150	1	$34.97	$34.97
  Buckets	Buckets	Bucket	5	$2.97	$14.85
  Total					$248.82

October 12, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Rush River Stone 657368-P	Hampton Carrara polished skirting marble wall tile 4.75" x 12"	657368-P	18	$24.36	$438.48
  Total					$438.48

October 14, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Laticrete 93-S-225CQ-NS-4	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Part A and B, 4-pack	93-S-225CQ-NS-4	1	$104.99	$104.99
  Laticrete 93-6200 #88	Latisil Silicone Caulk Sealant - High Performance Caulk with Microban $88 (silver shadow)	93-8200 #88	2	$15.99	$31.98
  Laticrete 93-1200P-Mini-C #88	SpectraLOCK PRO Epoxy Grout Mini Unit Color Powder Part C #88 (silver shadow)	93-1200P-Mini-C #88	4	$6.99	$27.96
  Total					$164.93

November 1, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Behr 275001	Premium Plus Ultra Pre White Eggshell Paint, 1 gallon	275001	1	$32.98	$32.98
  Total					$32.98

November 9, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Diablo D0760R	7.25" 60 tooth ultra finish saw blade	D0760R	1	$19.97	$19.97
  Wooster 0Q32110020	Shurtcut 2" sash brush	0Q32110020	1	$6.47	$6.47
  HANDy 2520-CT	6-pack of paint pail liners	2520-CT	1	$3.97	$3.97
  Total					$30.41

November 10, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Purdy 14F863000	White Dove 9"x3/8" roller covers, 3-pack	14F863000	1	$11.48	$11.48
  Floetrol	Paint conditioner, 1 quart	Floetrol	1	$6.47	$6.47
  Total					$17.95

November 19, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Schlage F40FLA625ADD	Addison Collection Flair privacy lever, bright chrome	F40FLA625ADD	1	$46.89	$46.89
  Total					$46.89

November 20, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Skil 91015	15-piece router bit set	91015	1	$49.99	$49.99
  Total					$49.99

November 27, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Rockler shelf supports	Nickel 1/4" shelf supports, 16-pack	33860	1	$5.99	$5.99
  Total					$5.99

November 29, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Rust-Oleum 7791812	Rust-Oleum 12 oz. white satin spraypaint	7791812	5	$3.88	$19.40
  Total					$19.40

December 9, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Freud 99-286	glass panel cabinet door router bit set	99-286	1	$130.32	$130.32
  Total					$130.32

December 20, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Tile Shop 658622-P	Meram Blank Carrara polished marble floor tile, 12" x 24"	658622-P	2	$34.36	$68.72
  Total					$68.72

December 21, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Freud 20-301	beadboard router bit	20-301	1	$18.97	$18.97
  Hinges	Urn-tip full back-to-back wrap-around inset hinges, pair	31235	1	$9.99	$9.99
  Magnetic door catch	Magnetic catch for inset doors	30546	1	$5.99	$5.99
  Total					$34.95

December 23, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Door glass	18" x 24" 3/32" thick glass panel	11824	1	$6.90	$6.90
  Total					$6.90

December 24, 2015

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Porter-Cable PIN138	23-gauge pneumatic pin nailer	PIN138	1	$119.00	$119.00
  Total					$119.00

Someday

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Signature Hardware 909373	21" Milforde vanity mirror	909373	1	$244.95	$244.95
  Lowe's 1066	1"x12"x48" red oak board	1066	4	$29.78	$119.12
  Lowe's 1038	1"x2"x72" red oak board	1038	1	$29.78	$29.78
  Lowes 1043	1x3 oak board, 6' long	1043	1	$11.48	$11.48
  Lowe's 6199	1/2"x24"x24" birch plywood	6199	1	$7.44	$7.44
  Kreg P-OAK	oak pocket hole plugs, 50-pack	P-OAK	1	$6.99	$6.99
  Total					$419.76

Totals by Date

• Date	Total
  Feb 15, 2014	$20.74
  Jul 10, 2014	$47.83
  Oct 4, 2014	$15.94
  Apr 3, 2015	$449.70
  Sep 2, 2015	$348.00
  Sep 3, 2015	$187.72
  Sep 7, 2015	$160.00
  Sep 9, 2015	$151.92
  Sep 10, 2015	$507.78
  Sep 14, 2015	$195.89
  Sep 16, 2015	$33.98
  Sep 17, 2015	$649.18
  Sep 22, 2015	$77.47
  Oct 5, 2015	$248.82
  Oct 12, 2015	$438.48
  Oct 14, 2015	$164.93
  Nov 1, 2015	$32.98
  Nov 9, 2015	$30.41
  Nov 10, 2015	$17.95
  Nov 19, 2015	$46.89
  Nov 20, 2015	$49.99
  Nov 27, 2015	$5.99
  Nov 29, 2015	$19.40
  Dec 9, 2015	$130.32
  Dec 20, 2015	$68.72
  Dec 21, 2015	$34.95
  Dec 23, 2015	$6.90
  Dec 24, 2015	$119.00
  Someday	$419.76
  Total	$4681.64

Half Bathroom Diary

• December 28, 2015
  
  • I cut the pieces of marble to cover the lower two movable shelves in the wall cabinet. I then moved all of the shelves to where I want them, installed the marble pieces and reattached the shelves to the shelf pins with stainless steel screws.

    I ordered a restocking of Yankee Candle candles. I've depleted my supply, so I ordered some votives, tea lights, small jars, medium jars and large jars. They had some of the holiday scents marked down 75%, which was nice. It is likely that I'll store some of these candles in the half bathroom cabinet.

• December 24, 2015
  
  • I picked up a Porter-Cable PIN138 23-gauge pin nailer at Home Depot. I also picked up some pin nails for it: 3/4", 1" and 1.25" lengths. I stopped at Lowe's to get some more nails for my Bostitch 18-gauge brad nailer too: 5/8", 1" and 1.5".

    I drilled the hole for the cabinet knob on the drill press. I installed the temporary knob and then reinstalled the magnetic catch.

    I installed the glass in the cabinet door using the 1/4" quarter-round I had created yesterday. I used 1" pin nails in the PIN138 pin nailer. What a nice tool; I should have bought one of these for glue-ups years ago.

    I installed the door on the wall cabinet. I installed the remaining four screws for the hinges. There are now 4 screws holding each hinge to the door, and 3 screws holding each hinge to the cabinet. It is much stronger than necessary, but that means it should last a long time.

• December 23, 2015
  
  • I put two thin coats of paint on the front and sides of the cabinet door.

    I went to Lowe's and picked up a piece of glass for the cabinet door, and a temporary chrome knob. I also picked up a glass cutter. There was only one option, an el-cheapo Kobalt.

    I cut the glass for the cabinet door, and put a thin coat of paint on the back of the cabinet door. I also created some 1/4" quarter-round to pin the glass in place. I would have preferred poplar here for its ability to take nails without splitting, but I'm out of it. I used select pine. I put a coat of paint on the part that will be exposed, without primer.

    I need a 23 gauge pin nailer to install this quarter-round. For the heck of it I tried using my 18-gauge nailer, but it split the quarter-round 25% of the time, and I don't have any 3/4" long nails for it and it looks like the local stores don't carry them. The Porter-Cable PIN138 would be a good choice and it's available at Home Depot.

• December 22, 2015
  
  • I did a bit of sanding on the wall cabinet door. I then installed the hinges on the cabinet and the door as final fitment. I also temporarily installed the magnetic latch. Everything fits fine. I still need to order a knob for it, and will need to cut and install a piece of glass.

    Side note: I could not have installed the magnetic catch without the Bosch PS10. Well, a Bosch PS11 would have been better, but to drill the pilot holes in the back of the face frame, a right-angle drill or driver was my only option. I'm so glad I bought it many months ago; I knew I'd need it for cabinetry at some point.

    I removed the catch from the cabinet door and removed the door from the cabinet. I put a coat of Zinsser B-I-N primer on the cabinet door.

• December 21, 2015
  
  • I picked up the Rockler coping sled at Rockler in Royal Oak. I couldn't trust my home-made sled for the wider rail of the wall cabinet door. I also picked up a Freud 20-301 beadboard router bit to make the single bead in the upper rail to match the mirror. I also bought wraparound no-mortise hinges, a magnetic catch, Insty-Drive self-centering bits to drill hinge holes, and the Rockler 62623 safety kit (push blocks, push stick and a single featherboard). The 62623 is for my table saw, though I'm not sure the featherboard will fit the miter slot.

    It's worth noting that I need a variable-speed router for my router table. It's a little risky running some of my bits at the high speed of my old Porter-Cable 690. It will be downright foolish to run a raised panel bit, which I will eventually need. I don't need a plunge base, and I'm leaning toward the Bosch 1617EVS.

    I measured the depth of the cove cut for the Freud 99-286. It's around .65". When I measured after fitting a joint together, I came up with .625". The stiles I cut are a total of 4 9/16" wide. The opening in the cabinet is 14 1/16" wide, but the hinge consumes 1/16". Assuming a 1/16" gap on the opposite side, I get this as the length of the rails:

    14" + 1+5/16" - (1/16" x 2) - (4 9/16") = 10 5/8"

    I cut the rails and routed the stiles and rails for joinery and the glass panel. It looks good and it appears to fit the cabinet. I routed the bead in the top rail to match the mirror, then glued the door frame together and clamped it to dry.

    It's worth noting that a rail coping sled is a blessing and a curse when using matched stile/rail router bits. The sled can't be used for the stiles, yet you have to adjust the height of your router bit for the sled when cutting the ends of the rails. When I don't use a sled, and I'm using matched router bits, I only have to adjust the height of the router once as long as the router bit is fully inserted. When I switch to the matching bit to cut the with-grain part of the rails and stiles, the height is already correct. But when using the sled, I have to adjust for each bit. What I've learned to do...

    After cutting the copes in the end grain of the rails using the sled, I use my Wixey digital height/depth gauge to lower the router by the thickness of the coping sled before changing to the matching router bit to cut the with-grain parts of the rails and stiles. I haven't had to readjust the router height using this technique, but I still make a test cut in a piece of scrap just to be sure I don't need to change it.

• December 20, 2015
  
  • I created a simple coping sled from Garolite and oak for the router table to allow me to utilize the Freud 99-286 router bit set. I had tried to buy the Rockler rail coping sled, but I didn't get to the store in time. I tested my sled and it will work for what I need to do. The bit height is now set for the Freud 99-286 bit set, and I can cut the rails and stiles for the cabinet door tomorrow. I still want the Rockler sled since mine is very primitive and limited, but I think I can make the stiles and rails of the cabinet door with my homemade sled.

    I picked up some 12" x 24" pieces of marble at The Tile Shop to use as the top of the wall cabinet shelves. I'll need to cut them to size on the tile saw. I'm just going to lay them on top of the wood shelves; they're heavy and do not need to be glued down.

• December 16, 2015
  
  • The tiling of the cabinet shelves was a complete failure. The thinset never fully cured, and the moisture that it trapped (for several days) slightly warped the shelves. What was odd... the thinset crumbled apart easily, and came off of the tile easily. No power tools involved, I scraped it off with a putty knife. I'm assuming something happened to the thinset, perhaps it was moisture cycled too many times sitting in my garage. I'm not a complete noob at using thinset; my father was a cermaic tile contractor (and a very good one), and I learned quite a bit from him.

    At any rate, I will use the shelves without tile for a while. And if I do this again, I'll use Loctite PL to adhere the tiles. And/or use plywood instead of oak boards for the increased dimensional stability. For now I've sanded the top of the boards and put two coats of paint on them.

• December 12, 2015
  
  • I cut the marble tile for the remaining cabinet shelves. This wasn't easy, especially with the mesh-backed sheets. Two of the shelves will hence be covered with the larger marble bullnose tile. So I'll have two with the floor tile and two with just white marble tile. Worth noting that the marble bullnose was much less expensive than the floor tile, and I wanted to save some of the leftover floor tile for any future repairs of the floor.

    I mixed some thinset and placed the tiles on the shelves. Once it cures (tomorrow), I will grout them.

• December 9, 2015
  
  • I ordered the Freud 99-286 router bit set to allow me to create the door for wall cabinet. Pricey but I need it. I also ordered a Systainer MIDI to hold my Kreg pocket hole tools and screws, and another Systainer Cart so I can shrink the size of my stacks of Systainers (almost hurt myself moving a 7' tall one yesterday).

• December 8, 2015
  
  • I grouted the bottom shelf in the wall cabinet.

• December 6, 2015
  
  • I cut coves in the bottom side of the front of the wall cabinet shelves, sanded the coves, primed and painted. I'm waiting for the paint to dry. I'm done with the paint on the cabinet itself, so I put it back on the wall.

    I temporarily installed the new door lever hardware on the half bathroom door and hung it again. This allowed me to mark the wall for the new door stop. I then installed the new door stop.

• December 5, 2015
  
  • I drilled the new correct shelf pin holes in the wall cabinet. Not too difficult, despite not having the benefit of the drill press.

    I spot-sanded the inside of the cabinet again to remove some runs from the first round of paint. I then primed again where needed, and painted again.

    I went to Lowe's to get another few cans of Rust-Oleum satin white spraypaint, some small stainless steel screws to hold the wall cabinet shelves secure to the shelf pins, and a pair of drywall dust bags for my 5-gallon Shop-Vac. I aslo went to Home Depot and picked up some Spax #8 x 1.25" screws since I was out of them. I bought both fully threaded and partially threaded.

• December 4, 2015
  
  • I realized that I drilled the shelf holes in one side of the wall cabinet in the wrong locations. :-( That's what I get for working a long night. I basically measured from the wrong end of the board. Why I didn't check twice, I don't know. Especially before I finished the cabinet. New holes will need to be drilled, without the benefit of the drill press. Certainly doable, but a pain.

    I filled the old holes with Rock Hard Water Putty, sanded and primed. I'll need to repaint the inside of the cabinet after I drill the new holes.

    I continued priming the shelves. I'm looking at covering them with marble, to make them look nicer and make them impervious to fluids. If I go this route, I will likely cut a cove on the front underside of the shelves before I paint them.

• December 3, 2015
  
  • I cut three shelves for the wall cabinet from 3/4" oak. I sanded them lightly and started priming them. I'm not sure I'll use all three of them, but it's better to have an extra than to not have enough a year from now.

    I lightly sanded the runs on the outside of the wall cabinet and then put a light coat of paint on those areas. Given that the sheen is satin, I'm hoping I don't need to do more work on the runs.

• December 2, 2015
  
  • I sanded the primed wall cabinet with 220 grit and sprayed 2 coats of satin white enamel on it. I wasn't able to find a satin off-white enamel I trust at the local big box stores. So the cabinet might be brighter than other items in the bathroom. I won't really know until I can put it in there again, which won't be until tomorrow. Enamel takes a long time to cure enough to be handled when the item is heavy (the touching won't be 'light').

    I did get some runs that I'll need to wetsand out and touch up. I need to wait a couple of days before doing it. In the maintime I will work on the shelves.

• December 1, 2015
  
  • I filled the nail holes in the wall cabinet with Rock Hard Water Putty, and finished priming it with Zinsser B-I-N.

• November 30, 2015
  
  • I installed the wall half of the French cleat for the wall cabinet and tested the fitment of the wall cabinet. It fits, but it feels a bit too deep. We'll see how I feel about it once the cabinet is finished.

• November 29, 2015
  
  • I went to Lowe's and Home Depot for some supplies. 3/4" and 1" long #8 Spax wood screws, various sandpaper, a 1x8 oak board for the wall cabinet shelves, some Zinsser B-I-N shellac-based primer spray, some white satin spraypaint and a 10 oz. tube of Loctite PL.

    I also picked up a 3"x3"x36" piece of poplar and Kobalt foam kneeling pads. These are for a small project to make a router bit holder for one of my Systainers so I can keep them all in one place. The foam will go in the lid to help keep the carbide tips safe.

    With 80 grit sandpaper on the 1/4 sheet palm sander, I sanded down the tops of the vertical fase pieces on the wall cabinet to bring them flush with the top of the box. They were about 1/32" too long. I also sanded the pocket hole plugs again, and lightly sanded the large parts of the rest of the cabinet.

    I drilled countersink holes in the French cleat on the back panel of the wall cabinet, then installed 8 3/4" long Spax wood screws. The cleat should be more than strong enough to hold the cabinet.

    I started priming the cabinet with Zinsser B-I-N. I need to do this to prevent the tanins in the oak from staining the paint. Using the spray is much worse than brushing, the nozzle is awful (leaks and spits). Lesson learned: always buy Zinsser B-I-N in non-aerosol form and if I want to spray it, just thin it and use my detail sprayer.

    At any rate, I wanted to do the priming of the inside of the cabinet before I install the back panel, just because it's easier to get to the back of the front verticals. I later put a second coat on with a brush.

    I attached the top pieces of the wall cabinet. There are 7 clamps holding the topmost piece in place while the Titebond III glue cures. The lower top piece is glued with Loctite PL and screwed to the box. Tomorrow I'll fill the nail holes in the beaded front pieces and the screw holes in the bottom decorative piece.

    The chrome plated brass concave door stop I ordered should arrive tomorrow. It is a commercial type, but I could not find anything else that I would trust to be mounted on tile or be mounted on the door and hit the tile or marble baseboard. The typical residential ones have too little surface area. The good news is that it looks like it's a nice piece, but we'll see once it arrives.

• November 28, 2015
  
  • I routed the beads in some oak pieces to serve as the vertical face pieces for the wall cabinet. One of the beads is wider than the others, due to the difficulty of using the router bit extended so far from the router table. But I can live with it, and in all honesty I think I want the extra wood for strength. I just wish I had planned it a little bit differently.

    I drilled all of the pocket holes to hold the vertical face pieces to the frame. I then attached these pieces using the pocket holes and wood glue and a couple of brad nails. I installed the wood plugs in the pocket holes. Sfter the glue cured, I trimmed them off with a coarse pad on my die grinder and the random orbital sander.

    I cut and routed the bottom decorative piece of the wall cabinet. I used a Rockler classical bit to route the edge.

    I cut the two top pieces of the wall cabinet that will be sandwiched together. Using a 1/2" radius cove bit, I routed the lower top piece of the cabinet. I then routed the topmost piece with a classical bit.

    I cut the back panel on the table saw from baltic birch plywood, then cut the half of the French cleat that will attach to it. I then glued the French cleat piece to the back of the back panel. I am out of 3/4" long wood screws, I'll need to pick some up tomorrow to finish attaching this piece.

• November 27, 2015
  
  • I went to Rockler and picked up some things I need to finish the wall cabinet, along with some general purpose things I need and some things I've needed for decades. Things I had to have for the wall cabinet: a beading router bit, a classic table edge router bit, and a piece of baltic birch plywood. I also bought a Freud P410T 10" saw blade, since I'm tired of swapping blades for rips versus crosscuts and the rip blade I've been using (the one that came with the saw) is sub-par. The P410T is expensive, but gets rave reviews as a fantastic general-purpose blade. And I didn't have a blade to cut the birch plywood for the cabinet, so I needed it.

    I also bought a Rockler router table. The least expensive Rockler table with stand and fence (as a package). High pressure laminate top and fence guards instead of phenolic or cast iron. I got their 'A' router plate, and my Porter-Cable 690 is now mounted in it. It took me about an hour to put the table together.

    I also bought a Jet parallel clamp kit. Something I've needed for glue-ups for a while, since it includes parallel clamp blocks. And the Black Friday price was 50% off.

    I also bought the least expensive Freud 8" dado kit. I've needed this for a long time; it would have prevented me from ruining some stock with my router over the years when cutting dados. Including last week. :-( To help me stop botching dados, I also bought a Wixey depth gauge, which was very inexpensive but will be incredibly handy on the table saw and router table.

    I also bought some hinges for the wall cabinet door. It's possible that they are too lightweight, we'll see. They were cheap so it's no great loss if I can't use them here.

    After assembling the router table, I glued up the main box part of the wall cabinet and used the Kreg pocket hole screws in locations that will not be visible once the cabinet is complete.

• November 26, 2015
  
  • I started building the wall cabinet. I cut the pieces for the main box, then routed the slot in the verticals for the plywood back. I had some trouble with the router jumping on the first one. A reminder that I still need a router table. But since it is the back of the cabinet, I can repair the issue with putty after I put the cabinet together. It won't be visible anyway.

    I marked the right side piece for the holes for shelf pins, then drilled the holes with the drill press.

    I drilled the pocket holes in the top and bottom frame pieces.

    I need to go to Rockler to pick up some better quality plywood for the back panel, along with a beading router bit.

• November 22, 2015
  
  • I think I'm done with the design of the wall cabinet in SketchUp.

    I bought a drill press today. I've needed one for decades, but kept hemming and hawing on how large it needed to be (throat depth) and of course how slow the spindle speed can be set. In the long run I'll wind up with another one for metal, but that's OK. Switching between wood and metal on the same press is a hassle anyway since cutting oil used for metal will stain wood, necessetating fastidious cleanup before drilling wood, even if you're using a table and fence setup on top of the drill press' stock table. The press I bought is the Porter-Cable PCB660DP. For a 15" floorstanding drill press, it was inexpensive. And it gets good reviews. I'll only be using it for wood, so the 300 RPM minimum spindle speed isn't a showstopper. While I know the chuck isn't high quality, the Jacobs chuck with a Morse taper adapter means it's not hard to swap in U.S.-made components if desired. My current needs (for the half bath wall cabinet) are fairly tame, but we'll see what the runout looks like once I put the press together. I haven't even gotten it out of my car yet.

• November 21, 2015
  
  • I glued the edge banding to the mirror. It's clamped up and drying. I decided to not risk tacking it with nails since the banding is thin.

    I continue to work on the design of the wall cabinet in SketchUp. I made some tweaks to allow me to use the same type of French cleat as the mirror. I'm now debating if I should use oak fluted casing for the vertical face pieces, to match the mirror.

• November 20, 2015
  
  • I stopped at Lowe's at closing time to get some 1x12 oak boards and a 24"x24" piece of 1/2" thick birch plywood to start making a wall cabinet. I also bought some 1/2" thick poplar to make edge banding for the mirror to hide the French cleat. I also bought a Skil router bit set since I need a 1/2" radius cove bit for part of the wall cabinet and I didn't own one. I wanted just the cove bit, but the big box stores don't have single cove bits. I hope I can find the 1/4" collet for my router since the Skil bits all have 1/4" shafts.

    I removed the mirror, took some measurements, and created the edge banding to hide the French cleat. These pieces are 1/2" thick poplar. I ripped the pieces with the table saw and cut them to length on the miter saw. I notched them to fit around the cleat on the back of the mirror with the table saw. I put a coat of Zinsser B-I-N on them, sanded with 400 grit sandpaper, then put two thin coats of Zinsser mold and mildew resistant white paint on them. When they're dry, I'll glue and clamp them on the mirror's back. Seems like a minor detail, but... missed details tend to accumulate and make a room look like it was assembled by a hack instead of a craftsman. I might not be a true craftsman on these things, but I try. And without this banding, the mirror would be able to easily move toward the wall at the bottom when pressed with a finger.

    I'm nearly done with a wall cabinet design in SketchUp. I can't call it done because I'm still deciding whether or not to put doors on it (with glass windows) or to just make a cubby. Obviously a cubby is easier, but the main reasons I'm considering it:

    • Because it's going above the toilet, it will already be a little cumbersome to use. Doors will make it worse.
    • A cubby would allow me to put some of the leftover marble tile on the shelves and it would be more visible.

    Of course, given that I'm using oak, adding marble might make the whole thing very heavy.

• November 19, 2015
  
  • I mounted the mirror. It looks nice. I need to remove it again to create some edge banding to hide the French cleat.

• November 17, 2015
  
  • The mirror arrived early. I like it, it's going to fit it nicely. I created a French cleat for it from 1/2" plywood, and attached one half of the cleat to the mirror. Since there's no recess in the back of the mirror, this means the mirror will be 1/2" away from the wall. Given that I'm trying to prevent intruding on sink space, I ruled out using a 3/4" thick French cleat setup. I will need to buy some .5" thick oak to band the edges of the mirror frame to hide the French cleat. I can get some at Lowe's.

    In the meantime I marked the wall and the other half of the cleat in preparation to mount the mirror.

• November 16, 2015
  
  • I caulked the toilet to the floor and the wall tiles to the drywall and door casing.

• November 14, 2015
  
  • I am working on another cleaning of grout haze on the wall tile. This time with Miracle Sealants Epoxy Grout Haze Remover. It's painstaking, finger-wearing work, but it's progressing.

    I am hoping to be able to caulk the joint between the wall tile and walls tonight.

• November 13, 2015
  
  • I put the second coat of polyurethane on the new head casing. Later I nailed it in place.

• November 12, 2015
  
  • I put the first coat of polyurethane on the new head casing.

    Using my finish nailer, I finished nailing the left and right side door casings with 15 gauge nails. It doesn't really need caulk at the drywall, though I bought some DAP Alex Flex in white if I decide to caulk there.

• November 11, 2015
  
  • I cut 10mm from the bottom of the door using a 60 tooth blade on my circular saw. This leaves enough room for a rug on the floor should I choose to use one.

    The door side casings are partially installed. All of the 18 gauge brads are fired into the side jambs. I used Loctite PL at the bottom of the door casing to adhere it to the cement board. I don't want to try firing nails into the cement board. The trim is all clamped in place while the adhesive cures. It expands as it cures, so it was important to clamp it. Once it's dry, I'll finish nailing it, with 16 gauge nails from my trim nailer going through the drywall into the door frame.

    I had a problem with the top door casing. One of the brad nails hit a hard spot and bent when I fired it, causing it to exit the head jamb. :-( Of course it was the last nail I was going to place. I had to scrap the head casing and cut a new one, and I'll need to patch the head jamb since I wasn't able to remove the nail and had to cut it with a cutting wheel on my Dremel. That's one of the drawbacks of 18 gauge nails; they sometimes break when trying to remove them.

    I cut a new piece of head casing, tested its fitment, sanded it, then put a coat of stain on it. Tomorrow I'll put the first coat of polyurethane on it.

• November 10, 2015
  
  • I stopped at Home Depot on the way home for a bottle of Floetrol and a few paint roller covers.

    I put the third coat of paint (with some Floetrol mixed in) on the edges of the walls and ceiling with a sash brush, then rolled the second coat of paint on the walls and ceiling.

    Once the paint had dried, I reinstalled the light fixture and the wall plates. I can install the door casing pieces tomorrow. I'll likely wait one additional day before caulking the top of the tile and the door casings, since I'll probably use tape and I don't want to lift any of the new paint.

• November 9, 2015
  
  • I rolled the first coat of paint on the walls. It will definitely need a second coat, if not a third. Not thrilled with the coverage of the Behr Premium Plus Ultra. It'll work, but the Olympic ICON that I used in the laundry room was better. And the sheen isn't really what I expect of eggshell; it's closer to satin. I'm OK with that given that this is a bathroom, but it means I need to be more careful with my cut lines on the next coat. And I wish paint wasn't getting thicker over the years in order to satisfy VOC requirements. It makes it much harder to work with. I don't know where to get XIM locally, so I'll probably buy a bottle of Floetrol tomorrow.

• November 8, 2015
  
  • I caulked the sink pedestal at the floor with Latisil Natural Gray. I'll have to wait for it to cure before caulking the toilet at the floor. given the tight quarters, I'd risk dinging the sink pedestal caulk if I tried to to do the toilet now.

    I put a bit of joint compound on the drywall where some paint and paper came up when removing the door casing trim.

    After the joint compound dried, I sanded all of the remaining spots I had patched. I then applied a thin coat of Zinsser B-I-N white shellac primer to these areas, plus the area around the ceiling fan that had a slight stain. All of my patching looks good.

    I started painting the corners of the ceiling and the walls. I've brushed two coats of paint on all of the edges. I'll do it again after I roll the first coat of paint on the walls, then roll a second coat on the walls. I need to pick up some new Wooster Shortcut sash brushes at Home Depot.

• November 7, 2015
  
  • I sanded the door casing pieces and applied a third coat of polyurethane. I should not have needed to do this, but there were some runs on the second coat.

    I caulked the sink at the wall with Latisil Silver Shadow caulk.

• November 6, 2015
  
  • I sanded the first coat of polyurethane on the door casing pieces with a 3M flexible 220 grit sanding sponge. After wiping with a microfiber cloth, I applied a second coat of polyurethane. Once it's dry enough, I can sand the last of the spackling compound on the walls and put some primer on those areas.

    I taped off the floor around the sink and toilet in preparation for caulk. I'll be using Latisil here. Mostly because I can trust it to be waterproof and to last a long time.

• November 5, 2015
  
  • I put the first coat of polyurethane on the door casing pieces. No sanding of the spackling tonight since I don't want to taint the door casing finish.

• November 4, 2015
  
  • I put a coat of stain on the door casing pieces. I'm still debating whether or not I'll ultimately paint them white, but all of the trim in the house right now is stained wood.

    I had to renew my car registrations today and it took longer than expected. Sigh.

    I picked up a Bostitch BTFP12233 18-gauge pneumatic brad nailer at Lowe's. I need this to nail the door casing moulding to the edge of the door casing. I will use my 16-gauge finish nailer to hit the header and framing, but from past experience I know that the 16-gauge nailer is risky near the edges of oak. I need to avoid any cracking or splitting. I bought 1.25" and 2" long Bostitch brad nails for the nailer.

    I bought a couple of oak rosettes which I may or many not use for the top of the door casing moulding. Ditto for some small plinth blocks I bought. The plinth blocks are not oak, and hence I expect I won't be able to get the color to match with stain. In fact I'm guessing there's no way to stain these nicely.

    I put what I believe to be the final coat of spackling compound on the wall. This was just to fill a small divet from one of the old light fixtures. Tomorrow I should be able to sand that area and put some primer on it to hold it until I'm ready to paint (soon). I'll probably use Zinsser B-I-N here just in case I need to lightly sand.

• November 3, 2015
  
  • I put another coat of spackling on the patch for one of the old light fixtures.

    I cut the oak door casing pieces.

• November 2, 2015
  
  • I put another coat of spackling on the patch for one of the old light fixtures.

• November 1, 2015
  
  • The sink is now fully functional. Took me longer than expected because I had misjudged the local availabilty of 1.25" ID box flanges. When I tiled the wall, I assumed I could get a chrome box flange in the same outer diameter as the original. I was wrong; the local ones all have a smaller outer diameter. After hemming and hawing about what to do, I used one with a 1.5" ID. To make it snug on the 1.25" waste pipe, I sanded down the old brass-plated plastic box flange (thank goodness I had saved it), and glued it inside the new flange. It worked like a charm.

    I used solid bullnose supply lines for the faucet. They're visible if you're on the toilet, so I didn't want ugly flex lines.

    I finalized the position of the light fixture and temporarily installed it. I'm glad I did this before painting. What I couldn't see with my work light became readily apparent: I need to do more spackling of the hole I patched from one of the old light fixtures.

• October 31, 2015
  
  • I drilled 4 holes through the tile and cement board near the toilet, then mounted the toilet paper holder. I used a 1/4" diamond coring bit to drill the holes. Thankfully the toilet paper holder came with metal expansion anchors that work fine in tile and cement board, so I didn't have to buy them separately.

    I finalized the position of the sink. It boiled down to what was possible with the waste pipe. Given the shape and thickness of the sink pedestal, it needs to be nearly centered in front of the waste pipe in the wall.

    With the sink positioned, I marked the location of the two holes needed on the wall and the two holes for the floor for the pedestal. I then drilled through the tile and cement board in the wall with a 1/2" diamond coring bit. I used the same bit to drill through the marble and cement board on the floor. I then drilled 3/16" pilot holes in the wood supports behind the wall and the wood under the cement board on the floor. I mounted the sink using 5/16" x 2.5" stainless steel lag bolts with rubber-backed stainless steel washers. It is very solid while having some cushioning to prevent cracking the ceramic.

    I taped off the sink and wall so I can caulk the sink to wall joint with Latisil silicone caulk. I haven't done the caulking yet since I want to be sure that I can get the waste pipe positioned, and I'll probably remove the sink from the wall to install the valves and faucet.

    I need a box flange for the P-trap. It came with a shallow flange that won't work for my application.

• October 30, 2015
  
  • I stopped at the Lowe's in Madison Heights after work and picked up two chrome plated copper bullnose risers to connect the sink supply lines to the faucet, a braided line to connect the toilet, and a 17 gauge chrome plated brass P-trap for the sink waste connection. I also picked up a quart of Zinsser white mildew-resistant paint, satin finish.

    I caulked the remaining vertical tile joints (wall-to-wall joints).

    I installed the toilet and filled it and flushed it once. No leaks found, but I'll check it again tomorrow before caulking.

• October 29, 2015
  
  • I cut the water supply lines to length, caulked the gaps around them with Latisil, and installed the escutcheons and quarter-turn valves. All have 3/8" outputs, and I need to buy supply lines.

    I caulked two of the vertical tile plane changes. I taped the last one, so I have two remaining to caulk plus the ones at the door casings. and should be able to caulk both of the remaining tile plane changes tomorrow. Once that cures, I can finish the wall spackling and sanding and paint the walls. I still need to cut, finish and install the door casings.

• October 28, 2015
  
  • I've pretty much worn my fingers and thumbs raw cleaning the epoxy grout haze from the tile. Lesson learned: don't grout when you're tired, especially with epoxy grout. If you do, you'll wind up spending a LOT more time cleaning haze from the tile.

    I ordered some epoxy grout haze remover from Amazon. I also ordered another Festool SYS 1 Systainer, since the Bosch GLL 2-45 didn't come with a case that will hold the laser cross-hair with its accessories and it's a sensitive tool that needs a good case. I believe I can also put my Husky digital torpedo level in the same SYS 1.

    I also ordered a Storacell AA 4-cell battery holder so I can keep the batteries out of the tool. While I will have several uses for the laser cross-hair in the not-too-distant future, it will spend most of its time in the case and I don't want it to be destroyed by leaking batteries.

    I caulked the floor to wall joints with Latisil. As far as silicone caulk is concerned, I really like the Latisil. It's easy to work with, and tooling it with my finger (wetted with denatured alcohol as needed) was effortless. I also caulked the lower 4" of the wall joints, i.e. the parts where the marble baseboard pieces meet. I will likely caulk all of the wall to wall joints with the Latasil, but I'm going to wait for the Laticrete sanded caulk to arrive before making a final decision. The sanded caulk would look nicer, and this is a half bathroom; I don't really need 100% silicone on the walls. But I wanted it on the floor and the baseboard marble since those joints will get wet when I mop or sponge the floor. Which will probably be fairly frequent to help prevent scratching of the marble floor.

• October 27, 2015
  
  • I stopped at Home Depot on my way home from work. I bought three Cree 75W-equivalent LED bulbs and a Danco Perfect Seal toilet flange seal. I don't expect to use the 75W-equivalent bulbs in the bathroom. I am planning to put them in the kitchen ceiling fan. The 60W-equivalent TW series bulbs that are in the kitchen ceiling fan will be used in the bathroom fixture.

    I cleaned some of the remaining epoxy haze from the tile with acetone. I was so tired when I did the grouting of the baseboard marble that I did a poor job cleaning it. The acetone works, but it still requires a tremendous amount of elbow grease. I need some good scouring pads for the final cleaning. I ordered some from McMaster-Carr: part numbers 6377T6, 6377T12 and 6377T14.

    I started taping the joints for caulk.

• October 26, 2015
  
  • I temporarily placed the toilet and sink, just to check how long I can leave the copper supply pipes. It looks like I need to keep the toilet supply line as short as possible; I need 1" plus flange depth if I use the Sharkbite valve. Hopefully that will work. It's nice having the supply line completely hidden, but it requires tight installation tolerances.

• October 25, 2015
  
  • I grouted the left wall and part of the final wall.

    I ordered one more SpectraLOCK MINI kit for the walls, in case I need to do any touch-ups. I also ordered Laticrete sanded caulk in Silver Shadow color. I still intend to use Latisil silicone caulk at the floor and the vertical wall joints, but I may use the sanded caulk at the top of the bullnose. For one, it looks better. Secondly, it's acrylic and can hence be painted. Obviously it doesn't have the durability nor water resistance of the silicone. But these joints would be easy to recaulk.

    I grouted the final wall and the baseboard marble. I should have sealed the edges of the marble pieces; there's a fairly dramatic picture framing effect. Which goes to show that it's a good thing I sealed the edges of the floor tile. I don't really mind the picture framing effect on the baseboard pieces, and I'm sure it will dissipate a little bit over the course of a couple of weeks. It actually helps bring a little more gray into the creamier marble pieces, and also makes it more obvious that the baseboard pieces are solid natural stone.

    Tomorrow I can likely remove the protective paper from the floor and caulk the floor to wall joints and the vertical wall to wall joints. Or at least prepare to caulk them.

• October 24, 2015
  
  • I am grouting the walls. I had almost forgotten how hard it can be to use SpectraLOCK on walls; it took me hours to do 3/4 of the back wall. With all of the sand in the MINI size mix, it's hard to work it into the joints when you don't have gravity on your side. A lot of it ends up on the floor, whether using my full size epoxy trowel or the margin trowel. And the work time is short, so it gets more difficult as you work. And then you have to clean it up quickly before the epoxy haze cures on the tiles.

    As far as coverage is concerned, the 4-pack of MINI sets that I bought may not be enough. It will be close. I'm hoping I don't have to order another MINI set, since it'll hold me up. I really want to be done with the really messy work before the weekend is over, so I can start cleaning up and prepare to install the toilet.

    At the moment, the back wall and right wall are grouted.

• October 23, 2015
  
  • I installed the final bullnose and baseboard marble pieces.

    I made a final pass at cleaning the joints and tiles to prepare for grouting. I also taped the plumbing with painters tape (3M blue) in case I get grout on them. SpectraLOCK sticks to everything, and I don't want to need to clean SpectraLOCK off of the plumbing when I'm ready to fit the valves.

• October 22, 2015
  
  • I installed the final wall tiles, all but one of the remaining bullnose, and all but two of the baseboard marble pieces. I need to wait for the final wall tile thinset to cure before installing the final tiny piece of bullnose and the final two pieces of baseboard marble. The ledger board is still in place and will need to be removed to install the final baseboard marble. I'll set the final pieces tomorrow evening.

    Theoretically, I should be able to grout the walls this weekend. I might be able to caulk the floor to wall joints on Sunday evening, but I'll probably wait until I'm ready to install the toilet and sink since I don't want to waste any of the Latisil caulk since it's $16 per tube.

    I need to set aside some time to cut and finish the oak door casings.

• October 20, 2015
  
  • I cut the eleven subway tiles for the remainder of the fourth wall. I installed a very small ledger piece for these tiles.

    The Silver Shadow SpectraLOCK grout arrived a day early. I'll be using this on the walls. The Silver Shadow Latisil caulk arrived in the same shipment. It is 100% silicone. I'm not excited about the look of silicone caulk, but it can't be beat for durability and water resistance.

    Twelve of the marble skirt pieces are now cut. I wish I had completely levelled the floor with levelling compound and removed the marble tiles from their inconsistent backing, so I could make all the same cuts. Not a huge issue, but it's more work than it would have been had I used levelling compound on the floor.

• October 19, 2015
  
  • I temporarily reinstalled the remainder of the old door casing in order to get a tile measurement for that part of the wall.

    I removed the ledger board from the 4th wall.

    I cut two of the three remaining pieces of bullnose. Tomorrow I'll cut the remaining wall tiles and baseboard marble, and install the remaining wall tile and bullnose. I can then pull out the protective paper on the floor and lay down the tarp and some tape to protect the floor for the baseboard installation and wall grout.

• October 17, 2015
  
  • I cut two piece of the baseboard marble just to get a feel for how tall it should be. I think I'm set.

    I removed the ledger board from the left wall since I don't need it anymore. I did most of the cleaning of the grout joints on the left wall.

    I reinstalled one side of the old door casing temporarily, then set the wall tile for the final wall except for the very small part between the door and the left wall which I may do tomorrow. I left about a 1/8" gap between the edge of the tiles and the door casing, which will be caulked after the new door casing is installed.

• October 16, 2015
  
  • I finished installing the subway tiles on the left wall.

    I installed the bullnose tile as the top row on the back wall, and 2 pieces on each of the side walls.

    The grout for the walls will be here on Wednesday. I think I can finish laying the tile before it arrives.

• October 15, 2015
  
  • I picked up the bullnose tile from The Tile Shop on my way home from work, and a polyethylene tarp at the Lowe's right down the street from there. I have a fever and am not feeling 100%, so I might not do any real work tonight. I quickly checked that the bullnose is going to work as planned, and it looks like it will. I'm anxious to get the tile work done by next week. Winter is approaching and I have much to do before it arrives. I don't want to be dealing with buckets of water and thinset in the cold, much less the wet saw.

• October 14, 2015
  
  • I picked up some solid oak door casing at Home Depot on my way home from work.

    I ordered a 4-pack of Silver Shadow SpectraLOCK MINI grout sets from Tile Store Online. Hopefully this will be enough to do the walls of the half bathroom. I also ordered two tubes of matching caulk. There was a lot of hemming and hawing on my part about using epoxy on the walls. Mainly because my experience with SpectraLOCK from years ago led me to believe that sagging was a problem. If I believe what I've read recently, the newer PRO formulation is firmer. I can't say that was my experience on the floor, but I left out 10% of the sand on the floor due to the narrower joints. In hindsight I don't think that was necessary, and it led to less full joints that I might touch up.

    I'm still debating which caulk color to use for the joint between the walls and floor.

    I put 6 more rows of tiles on the left wall.

    Tomorrow I should be able to pick up the bullnose tile at The Tile Shop. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to finish laying the tile some time next week. I believe the grout won't be here until next week, so that's fine. And I need to cut and finish the door casing before I can tile the last wall.

• October 12, 2015
  
  • I bought new marble skirt tiles at The Tile Shop. They were expensive, but the ones I bought at Home Depot just weren't going to work the way I'd like. They were too thin. The good news is that I'll probably find a use for them; I'm thinking about a pair of shelves with the extra floor tile, and they would work nicely to trim the edges. They were really just marble bullnose tiles, just labelled as baseboard tiles due to their height.

• October 11, 2015
  
  • I attached ledger boards to the 2 remaining walls so I can tile them after I'm done with the right wall.

• October 10, 2015
  
  • I cut the two tiles that surround the sink waste pipe and cold water supply plumbing. I cut a fairly large space for the waste pipe, since the compression nut will be somewhat recessed and I will need room to tighten it.

    I cut and attached a ledger for the right side wall so I can start tiling there. I didn't use my clamps to hold this one, since I don't want to be tripping over the clamps. I used three screws. I will fill the screw holes with Redgard after I remove the ledger.

    I hope to finish tiling the back wall and most of the right side wall today.

    On Monday, I should receive some silicone foam rubber bulb seal (McMaster-Carr 9141K177) that I'm hoping to use to cushion the toilet from the floor to avoid scratching the marble during installation and seal the toilet to the floor. Of course I'll likely still caulk it, but the bulb seal will make installation easier. I'll probably use the same bulb seal to protect the floor when installing the sink pedestal.

    I should also receive an EPDM foam rubber bulb seal (McMaster-Carr 93085K15) that I intend to use between the sink and its pedestal. The bumpers I tried to use don't work very well; the glazed ceramic is too slippery for their adhesive.

    There are 7 rows of tile on the right side wall now.

• October 9, 2015
  
  • I tiled more of the back wall. It's almost done. I need one more row at the top, and a couple of cut pieces around the sink plumbing. I will start the second wall this weekend. The remaining walls will be a little easier since they're smaller and have no plumbing.

• October 7, 2015
  
  • I ordered 4"x16" carrara gris bullnose tile from The Tile Shop. This matches the wall tile. It will arrive at the store next Thursday.

    AS of tonight, I have put 4.5 rows of tile on the back wall.

• October 6, 2015
  
  • I bought a 12.5 lb. bag of CBP Polyblend grout at Home Depot. This is just for a color test. If I like it for the walls, I will likely order Laticrete Permacolor in Silver Shadow.

    I covered the new floor with 2 layers of paper protection, in preparation for tiling the walls.

    I pinned a 1x3 oak board to the back wall using my long Irwin clamps. Its top edge is where I want the wall tile to start. It was levelled using the Bosch GLL 2-45 and double-checked with my digital level. This will allow me to start the base row of wall tiles with support to prevent movement from sagging. I don't really expect much sagging with the thinset I'm using, but it's best to prevent it.

    I set 7 wall tiles, just to get a feel for the spacing. I'm happy with it, and can hence proceed with more tiles later this week. I'm going to change thinset though; the stuff I'm using just doesn't like the 1/4" x 1/4" trowel very much, and I don't want to use a larger notch trowel for 3"x6" tiles.

• October 5, 2015
  
  • I continue to hem and haw over the wall tile layout. Given where the cement board ends, I need two 4" tall rows of tiles or a wood border at the transition to drywall. I have 4" tall baseboard tiles I think I'm going to use, which leaves me with another 4". The Isabella listello from tileshop.com woudl be a perfect accent, but I have a nagging feeling that it's quite a bit thicker than the wall tile. I do want the 4"x16" bullnose, or at least I _think_ I do.

• October 4, 2015
  
  • I grouted the floor with SpectraLOCK in natural gray. I have one mini kit remaining. If I buy a full unit to do the walls, this should let me finish all of the walls and still have the mini kit remaining to touch up and low spots once all of the tile is grouted. However, I honestly don't think I'm capable of using a full unit on vertical surfaces before it gets too hard to work. I'm probably better off buying some PERMACOLOR. grout. A single 12.5 lb. bag would be enough.

    I picked up a Bosch GLL 2-45 self-levelling cross-line laser and Bosch BT 150 compact tripod at Home Depot. I need these for the installation of the wall tile, and obviously they'll come in handy for other purposes.

• October 3, 2015
  
  • I found another loose square tile. I replaced it using Loctite PL Premium instead of thinset, since it's difficult to get a good bond with thinset of such a tiny surface. I had to do the same thing for a partial square tile at the edge of the toilet flange. It had so little surface area that the thinset couldn't hold it; the tile was taller than it was wide since the tile is almost 1/2" thick. This particular tile will never be seen but I don't want it to be loose.

    I measured and marked the center of each wall, then drew vertical lines on the walls for every other grout joint that will be present with the subway tiles. I did this using my digital level and a straightedge. These lines are just guides. I will be buying the Bosch GLL2 self-levelling cross-line laser level tomorrow which I'll use when laying the tile. My guide lines will be covered with thinset and hence the laser will be much more useful.

    Very late at night and into early morning, I started sealing the marble floor tiles in preparation for grout. Yes, I've decided I'm going to go ahead with the SpectraLOCK, "picture framing" or not. I applied 511 Impregnator to the edges of the tiles, hoping it will prevent most of the picture framing. From what I've read, a single coat such as I've applied should not act as a grout release for SpectraLOCK in the joints. I sure hope that's true. I applied the 511 Impregnator lightly with a chip brush. I did not pour it anywhere, and from my test tile I believe it penetrated into the sides of the tiles with very little remaining on the surface.

• October 2, 2015
  
  • I cleaned out the remaining floor joints that had thinset in them that would have prevented good grout depth.

• October 1, 2015
  
  • Yesterday I decided that I don't want to risk "picture framing" of the marble on the floor by using SpectraLOCK. There isn't a huge benefit to SpectraLOCK with marble anyway, since the marble itself needs to be sealed and resealed occasionally. And obviously I'll be resealing the grout at the same time. So I bought some natural gray cementitious grout at Home Depot on the way home and I'll use that on the floor. I will of course still use the SpectraLOCK on the wall tiles.

    I also bought a grout saw, Dremel bit, Dremel diamond EZ-Lock cutting wheel and a grout brush to help me clean thinset out of the tile joints before grouting. Normally I would have kept the joints clean while setting, but with the tight pattern of the tiles it wasn't possible while still cranking out the tile setting. Thinset doesn't stay workable forever, and you can't add water to modified thinset after the initial mixing without compromising its strength. And I didn't want to mix more than 2 batches of thinset due to the shape of the tiles; the tiny square tiles on two edges of each sheet demand that you have a good amount of thinset past each sheet as you lay it down.

    Inspecting the floor now that the thinset has dried enough to walk on it, there are a couple of the tiny black marble tiles that are dramatically lower than surrounding tiles. I tried to put extra thinset under those tiles so they wouldn't just be straddling a single thinset pile from the notched trowel, but it looks like I blew it in a couple of spots. I will try to knock those tiles out and reset them. It doesn't matter if I destroy those tiles in the process since I have plenty of extras. In fact I might intentionally do that to avoid risk to surrounding octagon tiles. I was hoping to finish prepping for grout tonight, but it looks like that probably won't happen.

    Well, inspection of the floor isn't so great. It's a bit 'lumpy'. That's my fault for doing a medium bed application of thinset with this particular tile. Also, a few tiles were loose; the thinset didn't penetrate the mesh backing and the tile released from the mesh. At the moment this appears to only have occurred on a few tiles, and it was one of the first tiles I installed last night. I suppose I can hope that the thinset wasn't quite ready when I applied that tile.

    Thankfully, this is a small floor. But it does make me sad that I might have to rip it out sooner than I'd like. And it makes me think that I should use the SpectraLOCK grout on the floor just to get the additional strength it provides.

    Lesson learned: don't use this type of patterned tile in a medium bed application. Despite levelling it while setting, it will move a bit while curing. Especially the tiny square tiles relative to the larger tiles. If I had to do this again, I would have put Ditra on the floor and used a thin bed.

    I have replaced the tiles that didn't bond. I also cleaned all of the joints that had thinset in them except the area where tiles have been replaced (tile sheet #13 in my numbering scheme). I did the cleaning with a Dremel grout removal bit, and it went well. I did not find any additional loose tiles. So maybe tomorrow I'll get to clean up the surface of the tiles and grout the floor. That would allow me to start working on the wall tile on Sunday.

• September 30, 2015
  
  • I installed the floor tile. There is a bit of lippage in places, but I couldn't do better given the tile inconsistency and the shape of the tiles. You can't do much tile wiggling with this tile shape, and there's only so much you can do to correct lippage within a given meshed sheet (short of removing it from the mesh, which I wasn't up for doing in a tiny space that's hard to work in).

    I'll need to get some thinset out of various joints before grouting. I chose a gray grout but the thinset is white. I wanted a gray thinset, but the selection is limited at the local big box stores. I also debated this for a while because I wanted the white marble tiles to be as bright as possible. White thinset behind them helps a _tiny_ bit on that front. I didn't want a white grout because even with SpectraLOCK, it will eventually get dingy. And I am going to be using SpectraLOCK because I'm a firm believer in a quality epoxy grout. But it's not going to be easy to apply since the grout joints are less than 1/8" wide but not 1/16". And it's not going to be easy preventing the SpectraLOCK from staining the marble. I will probably try it on a test board first.

• September 29, 2015
  
  • I installed the threshold. I left a 1/8" gap between it and the hardwood floor which I'll caulk. This is to avoid cracking from the different expansion/contraction rates of the hardwood versus tile and marble. Marble, once properly sealed, is dimensionally stable but hardwood (and the subflooring) is not.

    I installed two floor tiles with the remaining thinset. This marble tile isn't fun to install. The tiny black marble squares are the main issue. They're not all properly aligned, and I didn't notice a really bad one on tile #2 until after the thinset was fairly dry. In addition, the mesh ont eh back isn't consistent. Some tiles have one layer, others have two layers overlapped in places, and some have incomplete mesh. This makes it difficult to prevent lippage. I'll have to live with it and hope that I can minimize the lippage. And live and learn: check these issues when buying tile. I backbuttered the tiles to help, but it's not fun when there's lippage built in to an individual sheet due to variable mesh thickness.

    Tomorrow I hope to install roughly half of the floor tile. If the pieces I put in today are fully set, I might be able to install all of it.

• September 28, 2015
  
  • I removed all of the floor tiles since I'm done with layout. I used a Sharpie to label their locations on the floor, just as another reference. I removed the threshold and lightly sanded the edge of the hardwood, just to take off the sharp corner to avoid snagging a rag or dust map when cleaning and the give a little more surface area for caulk. Tomorrow I will install the threshold.

• September 27, 2015
  
  • I continued cutting tiles for the floor. The ones around the toilet flange were tricky, but I finished all of the cuts. I then labelled all of them with masking tape and a Sharpie. I also created a diagram I can reference when reinstalling them, and checked it in to my source code repository so it will get backed up.

    After I remove all of the tiles, I need to sand the edge of the hardwood floor. And the first piece to be installed MUST be the threshold, else I'll have to remove the door jamb.

• September 26, 2015
  
  • I applied a second coat of Redgard to the cement board.

    Once the Redgard had dried, I checked my layout lines again and then started cutting tiles. Many of the straight cuts are done, and the most difficult cut around the toilet flange is done. But I still have amyn cuts to make for the floor.

    I need to lightly sand the edge of the hardwood flooring first, to eliminate the sharp edge at the threshold. This is just to provide a nice easy transition to caulk. I'll do the sanding with my Bosch MX30.

• September 25, 2015
  
  • I did a little bit of joint compound sanding. If I need more joint compound work, it's going to have to wait until the tile work is done.

    I cut the marble threshold to length and trimmed the door casing to accomodate it. The door casing is kind of beat up from the previous owners' dog(s), I may eventually replace it. But it'll work for now and I am now able to install the threshold. Obviously I left room for thinset and color-matched caulk.

    The tile saw from Harbor Freight works fine, it went through the marble (which is soft) like butter. The water tray sucks, since its stopper leaks pretty badly. But with the Bosch blade I don't anticipate any problems cutting marble and ceramic. No porcelain involved in this particular job, but I think the Bosch blade would do just fine with it. The pump works fine, and if I put it in a clean bucket of water instead of in the tray, I think it will work for a long time. But I'd like to be able to keep the pump in the tray. What I need is some stainless steel filtering mesh to keep tile silt out of the pump area. McMaster-Carr 9419T11?

    I applied the primer coat of Redgard, then the first full coat.

• September 24, 2015
  
  • I put more joint compound on the screws I installed yesterday. I'm hoping to wrap up the joint compound work tomorrow and get a coat of Redgard on the cement board (thinned 1:4 with water since it'll be a primer coat). While this room isn't a wet area, I want some protection as well as some isolation.

• September 22, 2015
  
  • The American Standard Town Square toilet arrived a day early. I haven't opened the boxes yet. I also received the Moen YB5163CH light fixture, Moen YB5108CH TP holder, Moen YB5186CH towel ring and Moen YB6101CH tank lever.

    Separately, I received the Bosch TS1003 left side support and Bosch TS1002 rear outfeed support for my Bosch 4100-09 table saw. I installed them. I also received the Leecraft BH-1 zero clearance insert, which I have not yet installed but it looks like a nice piece. I'll cut this one for 90 degree cuts and order a second one for 45 degree cuts. This should help prevent tearout.

• September 21, 2015
  
  • I ordered some diamond drill bits from Amazon to cut through tile when installing the sink pedestal and TP holder. I also ordered some stainless steel lag screws and cushioned washers for the sink pedestal, from McMaster-Carr.

    I put another coat of joint compound on the holes from the old light fixtures. Tomorrow the new light fixture should arrive, and hopefully I can decide where it will go on the wall despite not having purchased a cabinet or mirror.

• September 20, 2015
  
  • I taped and mudded the cement board joints.

    I need to order some 316 stainless lag screws to mount the sink pedestal to the floor. The base of the pedestal is roughly 5/8" thick, the tile is about .4" thick and the backer board is 1/4" thick. 1/4" diameter should work, and I probably need 2.5" long ones. McMaster-Carr 90123A127.

    I also need a carbide tipped drill bit to drill through the tile. McMaster-Carr 2954A5?

    I also need a cheap plastic level to eliminate lippage when I lay the floor tiles. The red Task Force one at Lowe's is perfect. Cheap and possibly not accurate, but I don't need it to be accurate. I just need it to be straight and non-metal so it doesn't scratch or chip the tiles.

    The toilet should be here on Wednesday, at which point I can check that the new supply location will work. The new light fixture, towel ring and TP holder will be here on Tuesday.

• September 19, 2015
  
  • I removed the old light fixtures, which were mounted to a 2x4 support behind the sheetrock. There were 4" holes for the mounting boxes, unlike the mess in the master bathroom. I removed all of the old wiring all the way back to the junction box in the basement, then ran new wire for the new 3-light fixture that will go above a mirror/cabinet. I guessed at where it will be located, since the fixture hasn't arrived and I won't be sure of centering until the sink is in place. I only put a 1" hole in the wall for the wire so I can move it and patch if necessary. The key was getting one contiguous run of wire that was long enough, and that's now done. It would not have been possible with the cement board in place, so thank goodness I hadn't fastened the cement board yet!

    The 2x4 support that was behind the old fixtures was lumpy from screw removal, which would have made it difficult to patch the holes. I used my pneumatic die grinder and a 3" 60 grit aluminum oxide Roloc sanding disk to smooth them out and allow me to put drywall patches in place.

    I cut and installed drywall patches in the holes from the old fixtures, each fastened with a single drywall screw. I left about a 3/16" gap around the edge to fill with joint compound. I then applied the first coat of joint compound.

    I fastened all of the cement board with my 18V impact driver.

    General observation about remodelling versus new construction: it's always the little things you find along the way that slow you down, and you can't plan for everything. Some things you can't see until you've ripped out some sheetrock or flooring. But, some of this is my own fault... I could have planned a few more things if I had made purchase decisions earlier. For example, I waited until the last minute to order the toilet (hemming and hawing between the 1-piece and the 2-piece), which meant I couldn't plan the toilet supply because their requirement for hiding it are different (I have no idea why; the skirt looks the same in pictures). And there are things that are new: I had never used cement board before and while it's not hard to work with, it's not the same as doing a mortar bed. When you need to use the same stud to support the edges of two pieces, it's difficult to not get tear-out. Worse than sheetrock, because you can't use a standard countersink for very many holes before it's dull.

• September 18, 2015
  
  • I moved the toilet supply line to a location that should be usable with the new toilet. It's 2.25" inches from the centerline of the trap, and about 5.5" from the cement board. With the tile, it will be closer to the floor than American Standard's recommendation, but from the diagram of the back of the toilet, I think it will be fine. The toilet will be here during the week, and I'll know for sure once it arrives.

    All of the wall cement board panels are cut, and I tested their fitment. I'm good to screw them down and mud and tape when I'm ready. But before I do that, I need to figure out where I'm going to mount the new light fixture and get wiring in that wall. It will be near impossible to get a fish tape through that section since it's crammed with plumbing, supports and insulation. Hence I need to do it while I have the cement board off since it will be much easier.

• September 17, 2015
  
  • I ran into an issue with the plumbing. The toilet supply line isn't in a usable position for the toilet I plan to order. Good thing I checked the installation instructions! It needs to be moved. So I made a run to Home Depot for plumbing parts. While I'm at it I might redo the sink supply lines. This would allow me to put longer copper and caps in place until I'm ready to officially install shutoff valves. Unfortunately they're hard to access from below. I might be able to sweat new pipes in the tees in the wall, but I'll have to be very careful due to proximity to PVC and wood. Wish I knew what I did with that roll of flashing material I had...

    I installed the remaining blocking between the wall studs to support the sheetrock and cement board, including support for both sides of the sink. I cut three pieces of cement board and installed them before the sun went down.

    I then went to work on the plumbing. I wanted longer pipes coming out of the wall for the sink supplies, since their length was iffy once the tile is installed and I knew the ends were not in great shape from the last time I had the valves off. And since I need to install the cement board and tile, I really wanted longer pipes with soldered-on caps so I don't have to worry about them while installing cement board and tile. The hard part here was just getting enough water out of the system so I could solder. Other than the toilet supply in this bathroom, these valves are the lowest valves in the house and are fed by the same branch that feeds the second floor bathroom and the master bathroom. I tried opening all of the faucets, shower heads, etc. and draining into a 5-gallon bucket, but as usuall it wasn't effective. I would up having to use my air compressor with 100' of air hose to blow out the water.

    I now have two longer sink supply pipes coming out of the wall, with soldered-on caps. The water is back on, and there are no leaks. So I can proceed with cement board and tile there without worries. When I'm done tiling, I can cut the pipes to length and install valves.

• September 16, 2015
  
  • The Redgard dried on the subfloor.

    I went to Lowe's to get chrome flanges for the plumbing, Miracle sealants 511 impregnator for the marble and sash brushes to coat the edges, and another chrome shutoff valve.

    I went to Home Depot to get 8D common nails (just to use as spacers for cement board), 6 Simpson GA2 gusset angles, 22 Simpson A23Z angles and some Simpson screws. The Simpson stuff is to put blocking in the walls to support the ends of the cement board and sheetrock where I cut the sheetrock.

    The cement board is now on the floor. I put thinset down with a 1/4 notched trowel, then placed the cement board and screwed it down with backer board screws using my Bosch impact driver. This was a painful process, only because the room is so small that it's difficult to work in. One piece of cut-to-size cement board is 2/3 of the room!

    I created most of the blocking supports that I can use, but still need to add a second block to some of them.

    I have figured out what I need to do on the left side of the sink in terms of anchoring it to the wall. It's not easy, but it'll work with some creative use of the Simpson A23Z brackets. On the right side, I don't have great options because the PVC waste pipe from the second floor is in the way. I'll probably just stack three 2x4's to the stud. It looks like this is what the original builder tried to do with the original pedestal sink, but they were placed incorrectly (too low). And it was done with 16d common nails, which I probably can't get out without tweaking the drywall on the other side of the wall from torque. I might be able to alleviate some of that issue if I can get some of the nails cut off first. That would allow me to use longer blocking pieces for better support.

    At any rate, all of the blocking I can use is installed except for the sink supports and one of the blocks on the left wall where there is plumbing. I just need to cut and stack a second piece there, and I can't do it at night since it needs my table saw. I'll finish these supports in the morning and then start installing cement board on the walls. This will require turning off the water main since I'll need to remove the shutoff valves again.

• September 15, 2015
  
  • The SpectraLOCK grout and matching caulk should arrive today.

    I taped down 2 swaths of protective paper in the foyer to protect it from the demolition work that will get gypsum dust and sawdust on the floor.

    On the list for today: remove the toilet, finish removing the hardwood flooring, remove the sheetrock, and figure out how I am going to support the new sink on the wall. There is plumbing in the way, we'll see what I come up with. I also need to finalize how I'm going to deal with the parts that were missing from the sink/pedestal combo, namely the rubber bumpers that suspend the sink above the pedestal. Without figuring this out, I can't accurately determine where the sink anchors need to be placed in the wall.

    Well, it took me a couple of hours to figure out what to do to place the sink on the pedestal, before I realized I had it upside down. I feel like an idiot since I spent an hour creating a spacer I don't need, but problem solved. I still need rubber bumpers that were missing from the sink/pedestal combo, but I can make do with cabinet door bumpers for the time being.

    I removed the toilet, as a single piece. It wasn't too messy since I used a siphon to get all of the water out of the bowl beforehand. I then removed the remainder of the hardwood flooring. The toilet supply valve leaks just like the others, I'll need a replacement. For now I've got a bowl under it. Very slow drip, but annoying just the same. I've got a 500W halogen light pointing at the subfloor there for now, to dry out the little bit of moisture.

    I put my double door fan in the front doorway and then removed the door trim and cut out the lower 42" of drywall.

    I cleaned up the subfloor with my Shop Vac and a damp rag after fixing high spots from hardwood floor nail pullouts. I then applied a single thin coat of Redgard waterproofing. I am not sealing the subfloor; my only objective here was to give myself more work time with the thinset that will go between the subfloor and the cement board. Even though I only need to lay two pieces on the floor, it's not going to be easy because the room is so small; there's almost no room to work. So buying myself a little more work time with the thinset is a good idea.

    I need to put some blocking in to support to edges of the drywall and cement board. The only tricky spot is the space for the sink plumbing. I might not do that spot, and instead just hope that it will be OK. It's not as if someone can bump into the wall there, the sink will be in the way.

• September 14, 2015
  
  • I picked up two more pieces of Hardie 500 cement board at Home Depot. I also picked up a pair of DeWalt sawhorses and four 2x4's to use when cutting sheet goods. I also bought a 4"x36" white marble double-bevelled threshold for the door threshold, and 18 pieces of Greecian White baseboard tile. These aren't a perfect match to the floor or wall tile, but they're close and they were 25% the cost of the matching baseboard ceramic tile from the Tile Shop.

    I started the hardwood floor tearout. The hard part is done: cutting and removing the boards that traverse the door threshold. I cut across using my oscillating tool. I had to modify a wood blade for my oscillating tool by halving its width with my bench grinder so I could get under the door casing without removing the casing. I may later remove the door casing.

• September 13, 2015
  
  • I started the prep work for the half bathroom. I removed the quarter-round and baseboard on one wall so I could get a measurement of the thickness of the hardwood floor. It's 3/4" as I had hoped. Hence my solution of 1/4" Hardie backer should work fine with the marble tile I purchased. I will be doing some more tearout today if I have time after yard work. I also need to make a run to Lowe's for paper drop cloth, and while I'm there I should probably pick up a small amount of clear vinyl tubing to replace the kinked stuff on the tile saw.

    Given the pulled muscle in my back, we'll see how much I can get done today. I haven't had more than a few hours of sleep at a time in 6 days and it's finally starting to get to me. Hopefully I'll feel better after my run to Lowe's and some yard work. Keeping surrounding muscles loose helps, but at the same time I have to be careful to not overstress the muscle that's injured. Doh!

    Well, after the yard work, I feel OK. Not 100%, but today is the first day in a week that I haven't had to take Vicodin just to function. On Thursday I had to take five, and I still didn't sleep much. Yay for some healing!

    I picked up a roll of drop paper to protect the hallway while tearing out the half bathroom. I'll do some of it tonight, but I expect to do most of it tomorrow. The trickiest part will be removing the hardwood flooring since it extends into the rest of the house. I need to cut it straight across, which is a crosscut. I think I can do it with my oscillating tool, but it won't be easy.

    I removed the baseboard on three of the walls, and removed the door. I'm now preparing to remove the sink. I'm going to need some new hardware there; the existing valves are corroded brass and it looks like there's a poorly rigged adapter setup. The waste pipe is part brass and part PVC. Once the sink is out, I'll have a closer look at what needs to be done. I haven't opened the new sink boxes yet, I'll do that once I have the toilet and old sink removed.

    OK, the sink has been removed. Unfortunately, the shutoff valves don't work. They drip fairly regularly when closed. I'll need new ones, preferably chrome and preferably not quarter-turn ball valves such as the ones that are leaking. I'm old school, for a reason. It's damn silly to have el-cheapo quarter-turn ball valves for a bathroom faucet supply. How often do you turn sink supply valves off? Pretty much never, and when you do, it's because you're replacing the faucet or faucet lines. In which case, you surely don't want it leaking.

    I think I've decided that I need to buy a marble threshold. That will allow me to keep water in the bathroom if a leak ever develops, and makes the transition to the foyer easier to manage. Not to mention it should look better. It means I'll probably have to trim the bottom of the door, but that's no big deal since it's a solid wood door.

• September 10, 2015
  
  • I picked up supplies and small tools I need to install the Hardie board. Buckets, thinset, grout/thinset mixing paddle, Backer-On screws, FibaTape, 1/8" masonry bit, digital torpedo level, microfiber towels.

    I also stopped at the Tile Shop and ordered wall tile. I haven't ordered skirt tiles or bullnose yet; I'll do that soon. The skirt tiles are ludicrously expensive; $15 per 5.875" x 8" tile. It is really worth $360 added cost?

• September 9, 2015
  
  • I ordered Laticrete SpectraLock PRO ground and Latisil caulk in Natural Gray from Tile Store Online. I'll pick up some thinset tonight.

• September 7, 2015
  
  • I bought .25" thick Hardie backer board for the floor of the half bathroom. I also bought .42" Hardie backer board for the walls (Hardie 500), but I only bought 5 pieces and I likely need 2 more. This coming weekend, I'll start the tearout of the existing bathroom floor and the lower half of the wall that I plan to tile.

• September 4, 2015
  
  • The American Standard Town Square pedestal sink with pedestal arrived from National Builder Supply. I haven't opened the boxes yet since I was at mom's tonight helping complete her new laundry machine installation and getting a measurement to complete her dishwasher installation.

• September 3, 2015
  
  • I ordered a chrome American Standard Town Square widespread faucet from National Builder Supply.

• September 2, 2015
  
  • I ordered an American Standard Town Square pedestal sink with pedestal from National Builder Supply. It's model number 0790.800.20.

• April 4, 2015
  
  • I ordered an Elk Lighting 52002/3 Acadia light fixture for the half bathroom. I didn't want to order it now, but availability is non-existent for the oil-rubbed bronze version so I figured I had better order the brushed nickel one before it becomes impossible to get. I've had this fixutre on my wish list since last year. I will need to reconfigure the electrical in the bathroom to accomodate it, but that's not a big problem.

• April 3, 2015
  
  • I ordered the remainder of the marble tile for the half bathroom floor. I'll pick it up on Friday.

• March 31, 2015
  
  • Earlier this month I bought a 10" wet tile saw from Harbor Freight. I also bought a Bosch Premium Plus blade for it. I picked up a sample of marble floor tile from The Tile Shop in Bloomfield Hills. It's 3" octagon white polished marble tiles with small black marble square accents. It's very pretty, and very traditional in style. It's pricey at $15 per square foot, but the half bathroom floor is tiny and it's worth it for a timeless look. I will order enough for the floor later this week.

    I need to start putting together a list of materials to renovate the bathroom. I will choose wall tile on Friday, but I also need to choose paint, lighting, etc. And come up with a list of Hardiboard, thinset, etc.

• October 4, 2014
  
  • I bought Brainerd 79003 and 64778 wall plates at Lowe's and installed them.

• July 10, 2014
  
  • I picked up a Lutron Maestro MA-T51H-WH timer switch at Home Depot for the exhaust fan in the half bathroom. It is now installed.

    I also picked up a Leviton R12-X7592-00W guidelight GFCI outlet for this room. It is now installed, and I like it a lot. While I'm not a big fan of tamper-resistant outlets, it is VERY convenient to have a nightlight built into the outlet so I don't have to consume an outlet with a discrete nightlight. And it has a light sensor so it's only lit when it's dark. I will be using more of these or similar.