Home Improvement Update-Matt's Office

Matt's office was the last room that needed some paint and flooring. I completed that task along with fixing a lighting issue by putting in French doors. I loved how this room turned out and I now think he has one of the nicest rooms in the house. The results are below.


Here's a photo that shows the paint colors well. It also shows the solid doors that were replaced.


A view of the floor and with the old doors on.


With the new doors. What a difference they make. My neighbor, Tom, helped me hang them. They were unfinished pine doors from Home Depot and cost $100 per door. Tom and I routed out the hinges etc (I now know how to use a router--which means I'll probably be doing some window sills next). I contemplated staining them but decided to just paint them white to match the other doors. We've had to go with round door knobs (you can see one of the old door knobs on the closet door) because our cat, Chili, can open up the lever type. He's still trying to figure out the round knobs as he is annoyed that he can't just get into the rooms whenever he likes.

The Spare Bathroom Completed

I admit it... it took me FOREVER to finish the spare bathroom. I think I gutted it over a year ago and then procrastinated for a very long time. I found it useful to use for a closet. I'm not sure my house guest in February would find that convenient so I started working on it in December.


I cut down the floor stone to make the shower border. If you buy the border separately, it's quite pricey. I saved big bucks by taking the extra time to cut the sheets of rock.


The new toilet is a Toto. I've never been into toilets but I have to admit this one is really cool. I love the half and full flush option (like in Europe) and it has a soft close seat. It's not super compact but the shape and design opened up the space a little.


We put in a mirror that can be tilted up or down. This is nice for personal preference and height differences. The towel bar on the pedestal is really nice. I put hooks on the back of the door and the "invisible" towel holder on the wall. That eliminated the need for a towel bar.

Home Improvement Update

After gutting our spare bathroom a year or more ago (I can't even remember when I did it... kinda scary.), I decided to get the ball rolling. My goal is to have it done by Matt's birthday (December 17) as he has suffered long enough sharing a bathroom with me.

My goal for this project is to make a tiny bathroom appear a bit more roomy. It previously had a vanity that took up one whole corner, a not-so-nice looking tub and fixtures that were a bit ugly. There's no natural light to this bathroom and we got a "no can do" from the Solatube representative. Apparently, because of how our roof is and the location of air conditioner there wasn't a way to feed tubes through and get direct light. Without natural light, the room is needing some light colors and fixtures that help brighten. To help make the room feel bigger we're opting for a pedestal sink and a more compact toilet.

That being said, in between all my other weekend activities, I've been taking a few moments to work on tiling the shower.
I did some grouting today and the results are below. Next up is tiling the floor and walls with perhaps a wall project (also below).


The border tile is actually my floor tile as well. Cutting down my floor tile saved me quite a bit of money and it will tie in nicely. I'm also waiting on an order of bullnose from the tile store. I can trim out the top and the sides a little. The tile looks a little darker in the photos than it is.


Here's a photo towards the back of the tub. My brother, Alan, made a box for me to insert into the green (or in my case, purple) board. It was very nice of him, as my carpentry skills are lacking. However, it was a bit tricky because how I had intended it to fit was not how it ended up fitting. I had already done the other walls and gone half way up to where I wanted the recessed box but I had extra inches because of the thickness of the box base and top. I decided to continue with my brick pattern and just cut out around the box. Framing it with one inch pieces would have looked awkward as some of the frame would have been thinner than other parts and I'd have 2 grout lines right next to each other. I put the soap box at the back so it wouldn't get wet and gooey. It also keeps shampoo bottles and soap off the tops of the tub. Plus a recess box doesn't take away room by sticking out.

And yes... I do realize there is an area on the side of the tub not tiled. That will be later when I tile the floor and the walls.


Sorting through my home project idea book (I clip out things I like and stick them in a home improvement file) I found this recessed shelving unit. I'm thinking this would look really nice in the wall. Instead of the glass shelves (which would require more cleaning), I'm more likely to put in a towel bar above the toilet paper holder and reading rack. I'm good at cutting out holes in the wall, so I think I may give it a go. I may even attempt to do the carpentry myself this time.

Quick "e" Update

Every now and then, I'm reminded how lax I've been on my blog. Apparently, people are keeping tabs on me—which is kinda scary. But who am I to disappoint? So here's a few quickie comments on what's happening on the home front.

Arizona Weather
Still HOT! Although, we are enjoying cool mornings and now some cool evenings.

Running
It's official. I've actually paid money to run in the Tucson Marathon on December 7th. Now I'm going to be totally paranoid about getting injured. My longest training run so far has been 13 miles. At least I know I can complete a half marathon! October is the month where the training really gets ramped up. I'll be adding quite a bit more mileage. Who would have thought I could even run as far and as much as I have.

Travel
I just got back on Friday from a week in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. I was cat sitting for my Aunt and Uncle. Good weather and a nice little hang out. The leaves were just starting to change when I left. Bummer.

Next trip is at the end of October to Burgundy, France. I'm looking forward to that. My marathon training will get me down some long country roads and fall should be in full swing. I'll make sure I get some photos to post.

Home Improvements
I'm finally tackling the "closet" or what is really the spare bathroom that's become a closet. It will be a bathroom again. Hopefully, I'll be able to eek out enough days between training and traveling to get some tile on walls and floors. We had a new tub installed last week. A new sink, toilet, lights and accessories will be installed after I get the tiling out of the way. My goal is to have it done before the holidays if not sooner.

We also got a new roof 3 weeks ago. We're quite happy with the roofing company and the roofers. They did A+ work!

A Job Change
Matt is now on day 2 of his new job at DDCI. He got recruited to help DDCI take a product they bought from Honeywell (that he formerly worked on) to the market. He'll have a couple more of his former Honeywell pals join him next week. Matt's always wanted to work on useful things. This will be his opportunity to finish something started and work for a company not afraid to get it to the market.

The Economy
Oh geesh... I made the mistake of taking a look at my portfolio yesterday. Yikes! The economy is in a freaky state. However, I'm not worried about it—the market will come back and I'm only losing if I'm selling. I'm slightly torqued that the government is attempting to bail out the banks and sub prime lenders. I can go on about that forever.

So my friends that's my quick "e" update. Lots of exciting stuff coming up for the last few months of 2008. I should have some nice photos of France, the holidays and maybe Matt can get a shot of me as I throw up at mile 20 in the marathon.