Remodel Day 160 - 7/12/2011

It's been a long time since I've posted and believe it or not we've been pretty much stalled for the past 2 weeks.  The shear wall did not pass inspection and it has been bouncing back and forth between the contractor, the engineer from the city, the architect and back again.  It's been very frustrating. 

It hasn't been totally dead I guess.  The drywall crews have been in to spackle and sand and re-spackle, but we can't proceed with much else.  It's like a game of dominoes.  The drywall has to finish, before the paint crews come in to prime coat the walls and then after those 2 things are done, the floors will go in.  But since the shear wall is not approved, the drywall cannot be completed etc, etc, etc.  You get the picture.  And that picture would be of me...with a VERY unhappy face.

All in all we are pretty much dead in the water.  I'm not happy.  Did I mention that already?  We've been using the time to start looking at tile for the bathroom and to visit more granite yards. 

The tile for the bathroom proved to be a more daunting task than we had thought.  Mainly because Tom and I didn't agree.  I wanted a more flat or satin finish.  After 11 years with two white bathrooms (counter tops AND floors) I am completely over shiny white tile.  It is a pain to keep clean and when you add four kids and a dog into the mix, it is pretty much dirty as soon as I clean it.  Tom is looking for a marble like finish with a high gloss in a light color.  The thought of putting in this type of tile horrifies me - not because it wouldn't be beautiful, but because I will be cleaning the bathroom floor every half hour. 

We went to CTD Tile on Magnolia Boulevard.  I was totally unimpressed.  The staff was pleasant but unhelpful to customers like us - the clueless types when it comes to design.  We also went to Lowe's.  Pretty much the same experience. 

After taking a few days to regroup (and cool off) we headed out to Emser Tile in Chatsworth and were told to ask for Juan.  (A suggestion from our contractor Rich.)  Hallelujah!!!  We walked into the showroom and talked to Juan.  We each made a case for our separate likes and dislikes. 

Juan started talking.....

he brought us some samples......

he made a few suggestions.......

suddenly the clouds started to part.......

the birds started to sing.....

AND TOM AND I AGREED ON A DESIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here it is. 
A simple sketch from Juan
that put 2 weeks of dissension to a rest. 
Thank you Juan!