I've got day 79 and on I'll remind you guys.

Whitetail said:

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I've got day 79 and on I'll remind you guys.

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Yeah, but I've got day 39.5 and beyond to day 78...just thought I'd remind ya!

Wanna trade? You can have Mr Awesome over (almost 2 years old) and I can get stuff done around our house?

Fife, I can definitely get a lot done on this project in the few after work hours with the seven month old over at the grandparents house. That all changes today however because last night was spent giving the house a pretty deep clean so it was livable for the Mrs and little one.

ONE WEEK + 9

The bulk of the construction portion of this project is pretty much wrapped up. A couple pieces of crown and some cove moulding under the panel cap all are the millwork that remain (I will get to this delay in a bit). And since it has become apparent that I must work on this project during Aggie tourney games, the shower tile is being saved for later this week.

First thing Saturday morning, the tile leveling sytem was removed. I cannot believe how fool proof these leveling systems are. I will say you still have to do a lot of subfloor prep if you want a prefectly level floor but if you are ok with just a "level" floor, these systems make installation a breeze.




And 30 minutes after removing all the mortar haze, cabinets were installed.





Now before anyone ask, yes grouting will be one of the last things that I do. I know it would have been easiest to do it now but the construction schedule just couldnt handle me not working on this for a full day.

After the cabinets got installed it was time for all the millwork and moulding. If you would have asked me at the beginning of this what is one thing I did not have to worry about, it was running out of nails for the nail gun. Well wouldnt you know it, at 1230 last night with just the water closet crown and panel cove mouldings to install, I run out of nails. And that is basically the one common construction item Walmart does not sell.











So all the panel moulding is completely built in the garage before it is attached to the wall. The hardboard gets glued to the back of the MDF and then the whole thing gets glued and nailed to the walls. Learned this technique from the DFW Crown guy on YouTube. I believe his channel is now called FinishCarpentry for any one interested. Guy teaches a lot of good techniques.



So the hopefull schedule moving forward looks like this.

Monday/Tuesday - Caulk, Prime, and Spackle any major imperfections. Have countertop guys over for template.
Wednesday - Wall texture
Thursday/Friday - Finish coat of paint.
Saturday/Sunday - Shower tile (Hoping this is during an Elite Eight game)

Monday - Floor Grout
Tuesday - Shower Grout
Wednesday - Countertops, bath marble, shower marble, and shower enclosure install
Thursday/Friday - Finishing touches

Great progress and 2 questions/thoughts:

1) Thoughts on grouting just the bit under the vanity? I suspect this is the ADD thing where we would have put sheetrock/tape on every square inch of the bathroom too.

2) Why not put up crown after painting. Isn't that easier? You can paint near the ceiling and it does not have to be precise.

dubi, The base of the cabinets will get shoe moulding at the end so the 1/8" to 1/4" next to them that doesnt get grout will be covered up. Not a big deal since grout is only there to fill and the space and its does not add any structural stability to the tile. And for that crowd that says, what if someone comes after you and wants a different vanity but now has ungrouted tile, I direct you to the people that insist on installing cabinets first and then tiling. A couple empty grout lines is nothing compared to bare subfloor.

As far as the crown goes, I have done it both ways and perfer this method. I don't like the look of caulking with painters tape and using the tape to create a clean line. I like cutting in with paint as close to the moulding as possible and if I am going to be painting right next to the moulding, might as well do it at the same time as I am actually painting the rest of the wall.

Wow! This project is really coming together!
I am really digging that paneling, a very 'clean' look. Kudos for making all that yourself.

I can't speak at all to the technical side of things, but you've been working like crazy and I don't even mind giving up the extra days to ellebee and the rest because...Aggie bball is going West Coast. (Sadly, your streak didn't extend to the baseball team so much, so there are some kinks that need to be worked out).


Keep on trucking!

regarding the crown moulding...

I've always found it easier to paint the mouldings and baseboards first then cutting in the walls with a sash brush and a steady hand is fairly simple.

Wonder how the countertop measuring went.....

Grouting isn't too hard is it?

Oogway said:

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Grouting isn't too hard is it?

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Grouting is not technically hard; it is however very physically intensive and exhausting to grout a large area.

OP, maybe I missed it somewhere in the thread, but did you build your own cabinet frames? I recall your mud room renovation (can someone bump) and thought it turned out great.

dubi said:

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Oogway said:

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Grouting isn't too hard is it?

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Grouting is now technically hard; it is however very physically intensive and exhausting to grout a large area.

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Its not the grouting, its cleaning the grout haze off the tiles that sucks. That, and having to redo it half way through grouting 270 sf it when your wife says "Thats not the grout color we picked. You need to fix it. And I dont want it painted.". And you have to hand chisel out every damn bit of whats already in. That really sucks.

RK said:

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may have been easier to replace the wife rather than the grout.

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I swore after that I would never lay another tile again in my life. I dont really care what it costs, I'm paying some other sorry SOB to do it. Without any regrets.

Quote:

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That, and having to redo it half way through grouting 270 sf it when your wife says "Thats not the grout color we picked. You need to fix it. And I dont want it painted.". And you have to hand chisel out every damn bit of whats already in. That really sucks.

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WOW!

I would have just lived with it.

mathguy86 said:

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dubi said:

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Oogway said:

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Grouting isn't too hard is it?

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Grouting is now technically hard; it is however very physically intensive and exhausting to grout a large area.

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Its not the grouting, its cleaning the grout haze off the tiles that sucks. That, and having to redo it half way through grouting 270 sf it when your wife says "Thats not the grout color we picked. You need to fix it. And I dont want it painted.". And you have to hand chisel out every damn bit of whats already in. That really sucks.

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Something similar happened to us and we just stained the grout and moved on with life. Can't even tell it wasn't that color to begin with!

hodgesco, I did build the frames and the drawers on this project. I always tell myself to take more pictures during that process but I get caught up in getting everything assembled that it always lapses. I will take some photos tonight of some of the cabinet components. Here are the only two photos I took at the beginning.




The face frames are 1x2 poplar. Standard rail and stile width is 2" but since space is of the essence in this project that extra inch of drawer width is pretty valuable. The box of the cabinets are made from Lowe's 23/32 AC Radiata Pine Plywood. The drawers are made out of the same type of wood but 15/32 size. All the slides are from Rockler and are standard full extension slides. Since I do everything with nothing but a miter saw and a Kreg rip guide, getting everything prefectly square is a little difficult. I learned when I built the nursery cabinets, that if you want to use soft close slides, everything being perfectly square is necessary. There is enough play in the standard slides that you hardly notice any drag when you happen to get a 1/16th of an inch off here or there.

ONE WEEK + 10

It is all about paint prep at this point. Have some additional construction to do to the shower stall thanks to some miscommunication with the marble installer but will get to that later.

Water closet completely caulked


A closeup of the top trim pieces used to finish out the wainscotting


Panelling around the bathtub are ready for paint




So the marble installers came by yesterday to take final measurements and it was discovered that there was some miscommunication about what size marble was going to be used. I was under the impression that 2CM was going to be used, but they only have 3CM in stock. Doesnt matter price wise because they had always quoted me 3CM, I just never verified the size. Anyways, I built the shower enclosure accounting for the 2CM thickness and since the shower enclosure is a kit that has already been purchased, the opening width has to be precise. So now I have to take almost a full inch off the opening. The mark on the wood is where the marble installer says the surface they apply their thinset to needs to be. I will take it back 3/8" from there and then go get some 1/4" hardboard and waterproof. The trim also needs to be cut and adjusted so I still have a 2.5" stile on both sides of the paneling.


Here are some pics of the cabinet construction.






The drawers that I built. On my wife's side of the vanity, she needed a place for all her jewelry so instead of one full 4.5" drawer, it was split into two 2" drawers. And just by happenstance, these drawer sizes match up perfectly with some jewelry inserts I found online. I try to build drawers to match with standard poplar board sizes so that I have a completely straight drawer face.




The doors and larger drawer fronts are built by Twin Oaks Custom Cabinetry in Denton. I highly recommend them to anyone in the DFW area that need custom cabinets or just new doors and drawer fronts. So far I have not found anyone else in the area that can beat them on price and they do not sacrifice construction quality or installation customer service.


And a quick pic of the lighting over the tub and the dimming quality.



Still on schedule to get the rooms primed this evening and the walls textured once the primer drys.

Excellent progress! I am so sorry to hear about the fubar in the thickness of the marble.

So what type of wood do you have here on the tub surround?

All the paneling in the bathroom is made from Medex MDF for the rails and stiles with the large panels made from hardboard. The hardboard is raised but an inch from the bottom of all the panelind and that is also why I am caulking all the joints so that no water can get to the hardboard edges. The smooth face is pretty much waterproof because of how they finish it but the edges will swell like an SOB if they get wet.

http://centralhardwoods.com/products/sheet_goods/medex

AggieFactor said:

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All the paneling in the bathroom is made from Medex MDF for the rails and stiles with the large panels made from hardboard. The hardboard is raised but an inch from the bottom of all the panelind and that is also why I am caulking all the joints so that no water can get to the hardboard edges. The smooth face is pretty much waterproof because of how they finish it but the edges will swell like an SOB if they get wet.

http://centralhardwoods.com/products/sheet_goods/medex

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We have had that "swelling" problem with MDF and I was curious why you put it next to a tub?

Dubi, thats why we went with the Medex MDF because it does not swell when wet. The tub is going to be surrounded anyways with a 6" marble "splash guard" so the possibility of enough water getting up to the Medex anyways to create an issue is very minimal. Between the product itself, the caulking, the priming, and the painting I confident there will not be an issue.

Bummer about the marble. Looking good though; you're in the home stretch!

Dubi, I think you're gonna cop the pool after all!

AggieFactor said:

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Dubi, thats why we went with the Medex MDF because it does not swell when wet. The tub is going to be surrounded anyways with a 6" marble "splash guard" so the possibility of enough water getting up to the Medex anyways to create an issue is very minimal. Between the product itself, the caulking, the priming, and the painting I confident there will not be an issue.

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Will you at least consider priming it with Kilz so you have an additional waterproof barrier?

We've made the terrible mistake and don't want to see you have any problems in the future.

Since this whole room is new drywall and bare wood, I am Kilz everything first before texture and paint go on so yes it was already considered.

Day 19...from the start date of 3/3/18

htxag09 said:
Entries
AW 1880 - 1 day
Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno - 11.25 days
htxag09 - 12 days
Oogway - 14.5 days
ellebee - 17 days
SoulSlaveAG2005 - 19 days
Bobcat-Ag - 20 days
hodgesco - 21 days
Dubi - 24.5 days
Scriffer - 30 days
The Fife - 38 days
Gary79Ag - 39.5 days
Dr. Venkman - 78 days

If OP pulls an all-nighter on Friday, I still have a shot!

I have been very impressed watching all of the progress. I think it would have taken me 6 months to do this same amount of work.

AggieFactor said:

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Since this whole room is new drywall and bare wood, I am Kilz everything first before texture and paint go on so yes it was already considered.

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Dumb question alert

Wouldn't you want to Kilz after the texture so it will be "water proofed"?

He is working Thursday for sure- - Miss Reveille is facing a wolverine. While wolverines are known for their ferocity and fearlessness, what some folks don't know is that prior to being called Intrepidus, the mascot's name was.....Biff.

While I expect Miss Reveille to dispatch Biff with speed and alacrity, Biff may be like the similarly named characters in teen heartthrob movies. You know, the unwanted suitor who hangs around annoying everyone until finally being sent home. The Aggies will need persistence and patience to last the entire game. This is where AggieFactor's diligence to the streak will pay off thus the Aggies can move on to the Elite Eight....

The priming the walls before prevents the texture from being absorded into the drywall paper, leaving an uneven finish, and causing you to have to come back with two or three more coats to get an end result you are looking for. I learned this the hard way with the laundry renovation. And the primer in the final coat of paint should be enough to act as a sealant to the texture.

Interesting product. Still a good idea on using oil base primer for extra protection. I've seen regular mdf in a 7 figure house that was ruined in all bathrooms after only 2 years.

Coast, countertop space is an absolute premium with us. Also, as you can see from some of the pics, space can get a little tight in there. For that reason, we went with the offset vanity so we would have some maneuverability in front of the shower and if we had a 22" vanity all the way across that would not be possible. We both leave for work and get ready for bed at two totally different times so there will not be any prep issues.