Downstairs Bathroom Renovation: Installing the Fixtures

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After the tiling was finished,

Shower walls and floor have been tiled.

and the painting mostly complete,

The downstairs bathroom is ready for fixtures.

the vanity, toilet and plumbing fixtures were ready to be set.

The sink had already been plumbed with a
Champagne Bronze Delta Saylor 1.2 GPM Widespread Bathroom Faucet with Push Pop-Up Drain Assembly and Diamond Seal Valve Technology.

I wasn’t home to supervise the operation but I left written instructions with both the contractor and Charlie about any details that might be missed.

The shower fixtures are also champagne bronze by Delta but chosen by the contractor (perhaps the Velum model).

Likewise the showerhead, hand sprayer, and controls had already been installed.

I requested that my own antique mirror be used and the lighting fixture overlap it to intensify the brightness in the room.

Before the vanity was set in place the lighting fixtures were hung.

Vanity and toilet are on the same wall.

The vanity was set in place. The toilet is a Toto ADA model that came with the house.

My first task after the installation was to hang a toilet paper holder.

I was delighted to find everything but the shower glass (which was not in the original quote) installed when I arrived home.

Jo

May, 2025: Score

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May has been a marvelous month:  lots accomplished, mostly beautiful weather, and tiny tasks taken care of.

Lots of windows on the bay view side of the house.

In addition to the numbered list below I:

  • continued to unpack 3 boxes each day.

    Still loads to unpack and put away.

  • met with my new PCP who told me to start lifting light weights.
  • whitened my teeth with Crest strips.

    Only halfway through the pack and my teeth are plenty white.

Here’s the numbered list I worked on in May:

  1.  Celebrate Memorial Day.  It snuck up on both of us.  During the entire weekend we ate delicious Maryland crabmeat and roasted vegetables.

    We hung our flag on a bayside balcony. We need a bigger flag.

    We hung our US flag and remembered our friends and family who proudly served.

  2.  Work on setting up my studio.  This has been a slow process while waiting for Charlie to clear out his stuff, making room for business and design projects, and finding time to fit it into the month but I’ve done a little organizing everyday.  My plan is to move all paperwork out of my bedroom and into the studio. Yeah!!
  3.  Decide on a name for the new house.  I’m calling our home on the bay: The Landing.

    Sunset at The Landing.

  4.  Begin to design a new kitchen layout. I measured, I drew a plan, I looked at appliances, cabinets, and countertops.

    Can’t wait to get rid of this island.

  5.  Get ready for overnight guests. Charlie and I set up the downstairs bedroom while we’re finishing the ensuite bathroom.

    My job was the DIY closet.

  6.  Paint a wall.  In fact I painted an entire bathroom and a wall in the adjacent bedroom.

    The downstairs bathroom is ready for fixtures.

  7.  Pick up stain samples to try on exterior walls.  I bought a can of Cabot’s solid stain for fences and siding in Spruce Blue which I tried on the shed first.

    For me it’s always fun to try a new color on an old thing.

    Turns out Spruce Blue is a little too gray for the house but will work fine for the shed.

  8.  Get new tires for my car. I called a local tire shop that had been recommended by new friends.

    Tire World is efficient and friendly.

    They usually only take drop offs but made an exception in my case.  I waited in the coffee shop 4-tenths of a mile away (which I walked both ways) while they changed my tires.  Win-win.

  9. Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: HOSPITALITY.
  10.  Write a goal list for June, 2025.

Jo

Downstairs Bathroom Renovation: Paint

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For some reason applying joint compound to the bathroom walls seemed to linger on and on.

Seems like a tremendous amount of joint compound for such a small space.

The original mudder called out for a week then the contractor took over on what started out as a sloppy job.

Before the contractor began I tested the color, Natural Tan by Sherwin Williams, on a large section of wall.

In the meantime I’m waiting to prime and paint the entire room before the fixtures are set in place.

I added some pale yellow (I had on hand from the primary bedroom project) to the Sherwin Williams Natural Tan to lighten it up just a bit and make it a little warmer.

From the start, painting the bathroom project was to be completed by me.  I have always done all my own painting.

The downstairs bathroom is ready for fixtures.

I started with the wall that would house the vanity and toilet.

I ran out of steam but painted along the bottom of the walls so I wouldn’t have to cut in the baseboard when it was applied.

Then I moved to the space toward the back of the room that will be a closet.

The entire room has been painted my amended version Natural Tan HGSW7567 Eggshell.

The room will look much smaller when all the fixtures are installed.  I can’t wait.

Jo

My Spare Tire

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When I last had my car’s oil changed I was informed that I needed new tires.

Tire World is efficient and friendly.

I took my car to a local tire shop where they usually only take drop offs but made an exception in my case.

I had avocado toast and a cortado at the nearby coffee shop while I waited.

When the car had 4 new tires I went in the office to make payment.  At the same time Charlie called the technician and asked him to check my spare tire.

Good thing I never had to use this spare tire.

The tire tech found it under the car.  When he pulled it out to give it some air he was afraid to pump it up because it was in atrocious condition — rusted, dry rotted, and just in bad shape.

My order from Ebay came within a week.

The tire shop does not carry spare tire assemblies so I ordered one from Ebay.

The original tire assembly on top, new one on the bottom.

I never thought of checking my spare tire. Duh!

The old tire has been sent to the dump.

Charlie replaced the old tire with the new one in the rack under the car.

The tire in its rack under the car.

I couldn’t lift either of them so if I get a flat I’ll be calling  AAA.

Jo

Downstairs Bathroom Renovation: Tile

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The crew showed up early to start tiling the bathroom.

The floor tile mosaic flows from the shower and into the room.

I had purchased Angora Geometric 12″ x 12″ Polished Marble Mosaic Floor and Wall Tile for the floor from Wayfair.

The tile floor procedure started in the shower area.

The start of the tiling project on day 1. The mosaic nature of the tile allows it to go directly from the shower floor into the rest of the room.

The tile is laid but not yet grouted.

The tilers worked around the the room.

Before tiling, the tilers laid out the back wall of the shower on our deck.

On day 2 the tilers started laying out the shower wall — first on the deck to check the pattern.  The flowered tile panels are not exactly the same so the wall is meant to have a random pattern of light and dark.  The flowered tile is White 10-in x 11-in Polished Glass/Stone Patterned Arabesque Mosaic Wall Tile from Lowe’s.

The shower is tiled floor to ceiling.

This tile is challenging to cut evenly and hang.

The floor is grouted with pale gray.

The shower wall tile is grouted with white.

Finally both the bathroom floor and shower walls were tiled and grouted.

Behind the shower wall is closet space (on the left).

Note how deceptive the size of the shower stall appears.

A few additional details to the bathroom area.

Jo

Naming the House on the Bay

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When I moved into my former home it was already named as were all the houses in the neighborhood.

We loved living there.

It was called The Glade.

The neighborhood mail boxes.

Now we’ve moved into a neighborhood of about a dozen houses — which to my knowledge — are not named.

Our home is accessible by land or water.

I like calling the house by a name so I have come up with possible monikers.

The dock.

  • The Landing
  •  Loblolly Landing

    The house is surrounded by loblolly pine trees.

  •  The Last Landing
  •  Eagle Landing

    We have lots of eagles in our neighborhood.

  •   Liberty Landing
  •    Final Landing

Sunset at The Landing.

I have decided on the simplest name: The Landing.

Jo

Downstairs Bathroom Renovation: Starting the Job

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Charlie had pulled out much of the 2 bathrooms that are on the first floor.

Charlie’s part.

Same view with all fixtures removed and wallboard partially installed.

On day one the contractor finished the demolition and started building walls.

The well pump was fairly inaccessible in the bathroom area.

Now a new well pump is easy to access in the garage.

They also moved the well pump from behind a wall in the bathroom to a space in the garage next to the water heater.

The downstairs bathroom before we gutted it.

The same space awaiting tile.

Extraneous framing from walls that will no longer be needed has been removed and new framing enclosed.

The former half bathroom has been removed.

Former half bath on the right and former bedroom closet on the left (soon to be a shower).

The floor including the shower area have been covered with materials from the Schluter system which allow for a no-threshold space.

Next step: tile.

Jo

May, 2025: Aims

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Just about a year ago we first saw the house on the Chesapeake Bay which is now our primary residence.

From the street the house is very ordinary.

Here’s the list I ‘m going to try to accomplish in May:

  1.  Celebrate Memorial Day.
  2.  Work on setting up my studio.

    I have a desk and bed set up in the studio — need to add a work space.

  3.  Decide on a name for the new house.
  4.  Begin to design a new kitchen layout.

    The only kitchen improvement we have made so far is a new lighting fixture.

  5.  Get ready for overnight guests.

    I need to decide on direction for the bed to face.

    I’m just not sure until the room is put together.

  6.  Paint a wall.
  7.  Pick up samples to try on exterior walls.

    The wood siding on the house is a boring camel color.

  8.  Get new tires for my car.

    Betty is still running strong after 10 years but needs new shoes.

  9. Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: HOSPITALITY.
  10.  Write a goal list for June, 2025.

Jo

April, 2025: Score

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April has been beautiful but still rather chilly after a wet, snowy, frigid winter.

The camellias bloomed beautifully until the first windy rain knocked all the petals to the grounds.

Unfortunately we both caught some debilitating bug that laid us flat for almost a week.

I started painting trim for the closet in the downstairs bathroom.

But ever a slave to progress, I looked at my 10-item list and focused on individual items I could work on.

Charlie moved my olive trees to a sunny spot in the backyard but I fear they succumbed to the harsh winter and are dead.

We worked on projects both on and off the numbered list below.

  • I cleared out the area next to the water heater for new well pump.

    The pump is supposed to go next to the water heater.

  • Dash tried out his personal flotation device on kayak trips with Charlie.  He loves exploring off-shore islands.

    Dash can float in his PFD if necessary.

Here’s the list for April that I worked on:

  1.  Update Dash’s rabies vaccine.  I got in touch with the county health department who usually runs a spring rabies clinic.

    Dash is very needy these days.

    They will notify me when it is available otherwise Dash will be vaccinated by the vet on his visit next month.

  2.  Pick a color for the downstairs bathroom walls.  I chose Natural Tan by Sherwin Williams.

    Natural Tan HGSW7567 Eggshell

    It goes with the marble insets on the tile floor.

  3.  Make a plan for the front entryway outdoor planting.  Charlie removed the weeds but saved the liriope which he will separate and plant along the edge.

    Our Sidewalk Supervisor surveys the work that has been completed thus far.

  4.   Empty 3 boxes and organize or get rid of contents.  I got busy early in the month and have emptied and put away at least a dozen boxes of household items.

    I tried to empty 3 boxes each day for at least the first week.

  5.   Hang at least 3 mirrors.  I have hung a full length on the back of the bedroom door, a medium size mirror in the living room that reflects the bay, and a small mirror near the entrance to the house for a final check before leaving.

    I use this newly installed mirror everyday.

    Our largest mirror is slated for the downstairs bathroom when complete and 2 others await with a question mark as to final placement.

  6.   Get a library card in the new county.  I popped into the library on a Saturday morning and was issued a library card after filling out some personal information.

    Ready for action in any of the counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

  7.   Celebrate our first Easter at the new house.  We stayed after church for the Easter breakfast and spent the day at home watching the changes on the bay.
  8.   Work on a paint or stain project.

    The darker tan is the new color.

    I started painting the walls in the downstairs bathroom and the trim that will become part of the closet.

  9.   Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: HORIZON.
  10.   Write a goal list for May, 2025.

Jo

A Hole in the Wall

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As we were taking out our downstairs ensuite bathrooms ultimately everything had to go because of the new design.

This area of the new design will be a clothing closet — the mirrored medicine cabinet has been removed.

Charlie removed a standard medicine cabinet which left a hole in the wall.

I wanted to fill this space with a hidey hole.

Instead of filling the hole with drywall I thought a little framed box might be useful.

The short pieces are for the box.

I painted some boards from the closet we had ripped out.

Charlie nailed the frame together.

Using our chop saw we built a frame and backed it with a piece of heavy cardboard.

This box will ultimately be unseen.

The box filled the hole.  I have some extra painted wood slats in case I decide I need a shelf or 2.

The box has been trimmed with wood that holds it in place so it doesn’t need to be permanently secured.

I’m not sure what I’ll stash in this hidey hole. And I probably won’t share when I do.

Jo