Duct, Duct, Goose!

Oh man, this was some of the most tedious work.  Running ducting under in the second floor to prep for our new HVAC coming next week!  

Did I mention how hot it was? And how I ended up assisting for 2 hours?  Not complaining, but ouch.  

 But after a few days of putting the puzzle together, the ducting is ready to go! Bring on the A/C!!

Bathtime!

Ain't it purty??  Darcy got to enjoy the first bath in the new tub. No pics. :-)  She enjoyed playing "basketball" - trying to shoot her bath toys into the cubbies. Cutie patootie. 

 

One of those days...

Today has been one of those days.  More steps backward than forward. Tiles chipped out to replace with better cuts.  Finicky grout.  HEAT.  Frustration.  

All at the end of an eventful week: James was laid off on Monday, something we could see coming after 10 weeks of furlough.  We're grateful for God's abundant provision, sad about the losses, and clueless about what's next.  

But as Lily reminded us all, God provides. 

Counters and Grout

Our counters/sinks were installed today!  Cultured marble made at a small local place. We're really happy with the results!

(Leaving the shrinkwrap on for now!)

Tile's done. Time for grout!

Going with a faint, faint gray grout.  It's already looking gorgeous!

Tile!

We went with a larger format white subway tile. So first up, the bullnose.  No small project - measuring, leveling, double- and triple-checking. Don't want to start wrong!

We're tiling the ceiling as well - the ceiling is pretty low here and we don't want to deal with splashing on sheetrock/paint!  

Making good progress. And it's so pretty!

Building a Bathtub

With the vanities built, it's time to tile the shower. That means building in the cubbies. There will be 4 - one for each big girl who will be living up here.  But those four girls have very different ideas about how the cubbies should be used.  Who knew...

Next up, tar paper.

Now time to install the tub/shower plumbing...

And lastly, Wonderboard!  Magic stuff.  Ready for tile!

New Toys - I mean "Tools"

It's been a while since James bought some new tools - and considering cabinet-building isn't something he's done before, it was time.  Here he is, attempting to convince Meg... :

A fun new toy he found is a Kreg pocket screw jig.  And notice those new clamps?  They were necessary too. 

But very cool to see the results!

Also needed was the orbital sander. Technically, he bought this to finish the cabinet door staining project, but it's been absolutely vital here. 

Boxes and faces done on the three vanities!

And the first coat of Kilz on! (We're happily painting these white - we've had enough staining for a while...)

Now time for drawers! Another first-time project, but Wow!  The results!!