Friday, February 26, 2010

Progress...Finally!!

Remember, way back in December when I posted about our home troubles, specifically the mess of the pipe that burst in our bathroom?

Well, the reason that there's been no update in 10 weeks, is because there's been no progress until this week. And, while I shouldn't complain because we are lucky that we have two tiny bathrooms in our 1928 house (many people don't!) this was the only bathroom with a shower, which means that for 10 weeks we've been taking baths in our cast iron pedestal tub every day and washing our hair in the kitchen sink. The tub is a great for the historical integrity of the house, but OMG I do not want to use it every day.

In a previous post, I mentioned that insurance was not going to cover our issue and that we may have to clean out our 401k to get the money to pay for the damage. We were freaking out.

Then, the best thing that could have possibly happened, happened. I was asleep one night when Rob came running into the bedroom yelling about a leak in the bathroom. We opened the door to find water pouring out of the faucet into the tub, overflowing onto the floor which was several inches deep at that point. It was incredibly bizarre-- the water was OFF! Anyway, we took a lot of pictures that night, called the insurance company again to file another claim & this time, they ruled it as sudden and accidental damage.
Covered.


So, they sent out people to rip out the walls and rip up the floor. Then they set up huge dryers and heaters to start drying the water. And it stayed that way for about 3 weeks:



Once everything was dried out, we were ready to start reconstructing the bathroom-- only, the insurance company decided to take their sweet time in getting the settlement finished and our check issued. So, we've just been waiting. And waiting. And waiting. We finally got the check this week and the work started back up.

The drywall is finished, we have a new light fixture installed, the tile surround behind the tub is done and the floors were tiled this morning!!

We picked white subway tile for the walls (sorry the pic looks so dark):


and white penny tile for the floor with a light silvery gray grout (will be lighter when it dries):


I think that the tile is a nod to the 20's style, but still very clean and versatile. We like simple cottage style. Thinking about painting the walls a very pale silvery blue, but haven't decided yet. If you have any ideas, let me know.

We have the plumber coming out on Monday to install the valves for the sink and toilet, then the shower hardware will be added, the new pedestal sink will be installed, the old toilet will be reset, the walls will be painted and our new medicine cabinet will be hung. It's looking like everything might be done by next Wednesday. I'm counting down the days!!

I'll be sure to post complete before and after pictures once everything is finished!


8 comments:

  1. Ooooooh LOVE the tiles you chose. We, too, just did a bathrom reno (although not the result of a leak, thankfully) and went with white subway tiles and penny rounds on the floor. Versatile, yet modern.

    And how nice that it was covered by insurance! Congrats! Must have been such a load off.

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  2. I've only seen tile like that on TV! Cool! We too live in an old house (1910) and know those problems are just part of the character of the house (HAHA yeah right). Good luck finishing the project and keep the pictures coming!!! I'd love to see before and after photos!

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  3. Gorgeous, Stef! I love subway tile. You made some nice choices.

    I think a silvery/sage green with the white tile and white enamel fixtures could be really lovely. Can't wait to see the finished photos (and I'm SO glad you didn't have to turn to the 401ks, especially now that Baby Blakely is on the way).

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  4. Its amazing how things work out!!! I love the penny tile!

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  5. I'm so glad you guys were covered eventually - but what a looong painful wait to be w/o a shower!! The new tiles look very nice and I think a pale silvery blue would go perfectly.

    Can't wait to see the finished product!

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  6. I love those tiles! My hubby is a plumber so he's very specific and has a lot of opinions on bathrooms. And whenever we re-do ours (in the waaay future) he wants that subway tile. I love it too!

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  7. I was just wondering how the repair and renovations were progressing.
    I think it's great that you were able to get insurance after all - how lucky! (It's not often that a freak flood due to a possessed tap can be considered lucky!)
    I like the tiles, looking good!

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