Custom Copper Shower

The Expo catalogue arrived yesterday and fell open at the bathroom page, and there was something I'd never seen before, never even knew existed: a copper shower.

It spoke to me enough to make me tear up the plans for the master bath and install copper instead. Before I go down that route, though, several things occur to me: Wouldn't the copper get too warm for comfort if you're taking a long hot shower? How do you clean a copper shower? What stops it turning blue? How much would a 48"x36" beauty cost? What would Greg the Plumber say?

A bit of research later and I had the answers to some of my questions, the cost starts just shy of $3000. And there is a no-tarnish option. But...... will it fit in with my cool house? What other fixtures (towel rail, toilet holder etc) and tiles would look right with it?
So many questions. Here are a couple more: Has anyone seen a copper shower in real life? Better still , has anyone got one?

Snow Melt

snow melt
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

The sun is shining and the snow is pouring off the roof. Huge drops of water are reflected in the sunlight and it's so pretty.
I love the California overhang. You may get a little wet walking beneath but there is no maintenance and that is so much better than gutters.

Setting a New Budget

It's going to be the end of the week before the plumber can do the rough work and move the shower drain so in the meantime I thought I'd frighten myself by ignoring the bath remodels and looking at the budget for the 2008 kitchen remodel.
I started this spreadsheet back in July 2004 when we purchased the Sub-Zero with a view to building the kitchen around it and completing it within two years.
It seems we were a little optimistic in our timeline.
Over the past two and a half years I have researched options for replacement cabinets and countertops, chosen 16x16" and then 20x20"floor tiles, and picked out stainless steel appliances. The spreadsheet is a thing of beauty with internet links, retail and discount prices, lead times and possible alternatives. As we changed our minds about products, new versions came on the market, or prices rose, I updated the spreadsheet but the basic price of the remodel never fluctuated by more than a few hundred dollars.
Walking around Soho one Saturday last October we wandered into Henrybuilt and fell in love with the hardwood cabinets, they seemed to have been designed with our house in mind. Suddenly the perfectly acceptable Ikea boxes didn't seem to cut it anymore, even if we used our own custom doors. The budget got a huge makeover, upwards.
Then I starting reading the Brooklyn townhouse renovation blog Here is the House. Big mistake. And I showed the post on appliances to Steven. Even bigger mistake. He fell completely in love with the Hansacanyon LED faucet and wouldn't be dissuaded even when I showed him the price.


Of course you just cannot have a beautiful, expensive faucet pouring red or blue water into a bog standard kitchen sink, even if it is the BlancoPrecision 10: Super Single Bowl Undermount, sink of choice for Varenna and other German and Italian kitchen cabinet manufacturers. Never fear, Here is the House gave us an idea for a solution. We only have to add an extra $3000 to the budget and we can be professionally washing up, chopping vegetables and cooking with the Kohler PRO CookCenter sink. Actually, this will also solve a design dilemma too. We hate seams on countertops but the quartz we have chosen only comes in 10' slabs. Our sink area is 10' 8". If we go with the mega sink it is countertop width so we can have two separate pieces of quartz on either side. Smart but not priceless.
The new kitchen budget? Even though we will save on extra plumbing by not having a prep sink on the island and we save the cost of an extra sink and faucet, it's increased by 50% since we started and that's without adding the built in coffee maker I have lusted over. I wonder what we can cut back on so we can afford this remodel before we get too old to enjoy it. Food maybe?

Setting a new timetable

It seems my suspicions were correct and Steven didn't make time to arrange delivery of the shower base while I was away because one call to the bathroom accessory store this morning and 10 minutes later I had the MTI shower base in my garage. I wonder how long it will be before it finally gets to the bathroom?
Yesterday we agreed to revise the order of work for the on-going remodel. It now reads:
1) the boys' and girls' baths will be done simultaneously - whatever part of the project is less hassle (requiring the fewest runs to the hardware store) will get done first
2) the downstairs bath will get its facelift: new vanity, sink and faucet, plus new towel bar and toilet roll holder.
3) the master bath
4) the laundry room
Depending on how long the first three take we may do the laundry room with the kitchen remodel - that's the big project for 2008.
It's funny how things can quickly change, though. This morning we woke up to 3" snow so I reached for a dog towel in the laundry and tore the sliding door off the last remaining cabinet.
The revised, revised list goes:
1) boys' and girls' bath; depending on number of tiles we use there we may have enough to tile
2) the laundry room floor, making this project #2.
3) downstairs bath facelift
4) master bath
Either way it is going to take much longer than we thought to finish this part of the remodel and I seriously think we need to increase the gin budget.

Renovation frustration

Okay, I didn't really expect to have all the bathroom renovations completed in the week I was away (although I did leave Steven detailed instructions) but it was really depressing to come home and find nothing had been done. Everything was exactly as I left it, except that an extra layer of dust, dirt and dog hair had accumulated.
Even the shower base that they promised to deliver on Wednesday or Thursday hadn't arrived. My feeling here is that Steven was too busy to schedule a drop off time, but I could be doing him a disservice. At this rate the boys' bathroom won't be ready for him to shower in on his birthday, we'll be lucky if it's done by Memorial Day.

So simple even a .......

The Martin Agency did such a great job for Geico with its Caveman commercials that the Caveman now has a life in cyberspace. I wandered happily through his apartment, envying the flat screen tv and his awesome kitchen and clicking on every possible clickable link (tip: click multiple times, this is a very innovative site) but it wasn't until I got to the bathroom that it hit me. The faucet, vessel sink and wooden vanity look pretty similar to what I've chosen for the girls' bath.
I have caveman taste.

Basic Needs v Bathroom Jewelry

I was extremely distressed at having to part with $500 yesterday just to ensure continuing warmth and security. The garage door opener was declared dead and that was the cost of a new one, installed.

Apparently it was a miracle that the thing had held up for 38 years because the door is heavy and the Genie opener only had a single chain. Amazing. So I should expect the other one to go any second now? Anyway, I am now the proud owner of a double chain opener, guaranteed for one year.
I had that $500 marked down for the start of the downstairs bath remodel and specifically for either one of these beauties. They are both sleek and modern but the one on the left is the angular Tosca Bergamo and on the right we have the more traditional KWC Vesuno Classic.
Strictly speaking, I don't need a new faucet, but we do have a leak on the existing one, and the vanity is starting to de-laminate and I hoped that while we were on a bathroom remodelling kick we should just go with it and update the lot. I hadn't discussed this with Steven because I know he'd be even less enthusiastic than he was when I suggested adopting a new kitty........
In the unlikely event I should have a spare few hundred bucks in the future it would be good to have the fixtures already chosen, so some input on my faucet choice would be appreciated. Vote here for your favourite

Your favorite faucet
	Tosca Bergamo
	KWC Vesuno Classic
	Either, I love them both
	Neither, they leave me cold
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Tiles & Vanity

Oh, and hardware too. The tiles were delivered in the ice storm and join the vanity in the garage. If you're counting that's two bedrooms and a garage full of stuff waiting to be transformed into the kids' bathrooms.
I scored a major deal at Expo yesterday paying $1.68 per cabinet knob, reduced from $7.99 (their price, list price elsewhere about $6.00!) As the cheapest I could manage on The Hardware Hut was $5.70, I was a happy girl. And the custom vanity countertop is being made as I type. I should have the whole thing in ten days. I'm still waiting for word on the window and the shower base, though and that's what we need to re-start the boy's bath.

Garage Door

If you were a garage door which day would you pick to stop working?
a) A warm and sunny summer's day
b) The first ice storm in several years
This house has a sense of humour.

Weekend Chores

nickel door knobs
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

The pink granite is gone and we have this splendid new knob from Baldwin in it's place. It took me two hours to finangel into place this one and the bigger version on the powder room door. Most of that was spent upside down turning the locking screw with the allen key. I was extremely nervous about dropping the knobs on the tiles, or my face, as they weigh a ton. I guess that's why they were so expensive. And I discovered by removing the old porcelain knob that the powder room used to be painted oil blue. No why doesn't that surprise me?
On Saturday Steven put a coat of primer on the new ceiling in the boy's bath and re-attached the towel rails in the girl's bath. We chose hardware for the new vanity but they are out of stock so eventually we may have to find something else. I'm hoping not as they are the right size, shape and price and we both like them. How often does that happen?
No luck getting the new vanity installed though. The faucet lines are as tightly corroded as the one's in the boys' bath were, and the P-trap won't move either. Oh well, the plumber will be here next week to install the shower base and he can wrench it apart then. Things are progressing but really, really slowly.

No room to sleep

more new fixtures
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

The cat doesn't seem to care, but the bathroom remodels are taking over the house. Every surface in this room is covered with a faucet, sink or towel rail just waiting to go into the new baths.
The vanity for the girls' bath arrived yesterday but it's so heavy it has to stay in the garage until some man with muscles can help me negotiate it upstairs. FedEx also dropped off the faucet for the girls' bath and the fixture store called to say they have the closet door knob ready to be picked up. That means we have everything for that bath except the countertop and we can only order that when we've mounted the vanity. I could do that this weekend but we would be without a sink in that room for at least two weeks until the countertop is installed and we've connected the sink and faucet. I'm not sure whether that's a good idea or not.

Knobs

Ah, door knobs. Functional and decorative and the quickest and easiest way to give your interior a whole new look. Ha, that piece of advice comes from some design show or HGTV website. That's cyber reality.
In the real world, where I live, changing a door knob is frustrating, time-consuming and very, very expensive.
In this house all the public spaces have Schlage teak trimmed knobs, very 70s but also tasteful and they match the doors. They are staying. The closets and the front door have pewter handles from Arrow. Also gorgeous, and we will not be replacing these either. But the private spaces, bedroom and some bathroom doors have porcelain or granite knobs and these have to go.
In bizarro universe I'd just pull/unscrew the offending part off the door, trot down to the local hardware store and buy some sexy replacements. In my world, I discover that no one makes decorative trims for Schlage knobs so I have to buy a whole new knob. As a temporary solution I settle on pulling the offending pink granite trim off the bathroom door and swapping it with the trim from the basement door. The basement is now looking a little funky but who's going to notice?
Then I try to replace the above knob in matching pink granite but it requires an allen key in a size I don't possess. A quick trip to the local hardware store and $1.29+tax buys me a set of allen keys, one of which is the correct size. (This turns out to be the bargain of the week).
Armed with the offending door knob and original manufacturer's name (Arrow) I head off, at the hardware store owner's suggestion, to the local locksmith. He looks at it, declares he doesn't understand how it works, but can sell me an absolutely hideous shiny brass and glass knob in a vaguely Victorian look at a reasonable price that may work. I decline and he suggests I visit the local fancy decorative hardware store where he assures me I'll find something more my taste but "it's going to cost you".
And the local expensive store? I show the guy all the bits and he finds a manufacturer he swears is going to have a knob to fit, even though he doesn't understand how it works either. I pick out one small knob to replace the above monstrosity and two larger ones to take the place of the flowery porcelain powder room handle. Then he totals it all up for me, three knobs plus plates = $257. These had better work, I have my doubts as the knobs screw onto the spindles and I don't see how the replacements are going to do that but I'll bow to the salesman's superior knowledge.
But good grief, $257 just to get rid of a little hideous. Imagine if I had to replace every door knob in the house. Especially when I really want these beauties from
Turnstyle Designs which I believe run about $450 each.

House Art

It might be 7 below zero but I can't wait to install my lovely new mailbox that arrived yesterday. houseArt's slogan is: Finally, mailboxes you can love. And I do.
Now I have to find a post I don't hate......

Bathroom Race

mirror
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

The race is on. Although the boys' bath was started way back in late fall 2006 and the girls' bath only began last month, it's going to be a toss up which gets finished first.
Porcelanosa called today to say the tiles are in for the boys' bath, then I got a call to say the vanity I bought on ebay for the girls' bath had shipped and I put two coats of Benjamin Moore Cotton Balls on the girls' bath walls. In an attempt to stop spending money I also soaked the shower head in Oxy Clean until it actually delivered a decent flow of water. I was surprised at the weight of the shower head when I unscrewed it, in fact I almost dropped it. If that had happened it would probably have gone right through the bath and then we would have had to replace that and of course all the tiles too.
It could so easily have been a very expensive remodel after all.

Serious Ugly Revisited

Just as I'm getting rid of the fugly 1970 avocado green/pink combo in the girls' bathroom, HGTV's Design on a Dime has a great new idea for a "Pretty in Pink" bedroom using complimentary colors.
Either I'm behind the curve or have no taste because it still screams UGLY to me.

Extreme surgery needed

Will someone please help me? I think I need to enter rehab.
My problem?
I started in a small way, ordering music and books from Amazon, then computers from Dell and Apple. For a long time I was happy and then we started this remodeling project and things have gotten out of control. First I bought a sink online, then I progressed to faucets, showers and accessories, including a toilet seat.
I thought I could manage my habit, after all it was just one bathroom, a finite project. Then I started buying for the second bathroom, one we had no plan to undertake in the foreseeable future. But it was so easy, things were cheaper and readily available online. Just a couple of clicks, totally painless. So I ordered a vanity, and another faucet and I can justify it because it's a small project that will be easy to complete.
And then the madness began. I was searching for a door knob to replace the hideous pink stone one in the girls bath when I came across something I've lusted after ever since we moved here. A bronze mailbox, contemporary in style that reflects the design of the house. But it wasn't in the budget until we re-tarmac the drive. (Ironically we missed out in the great mailbox vandalism episode that struck the village last May when most of out neighbors got a new mailbox courtesy of the idiot who smashed them with a bat and was caught by the village police. End of term madness, almost as expensive as remodeling).
Today though, I was having no luck with the door knobs but one little weblink and I found my object of desire. Instantly available, it was perfect; it even looks like our roof line. And two clicks later I had ordered the Da Vinci mailbox.
I'm sure I'm going to love it when it arrives, but right now I'm feeling a little sick. I will have to buy a new post and dig out the old one and concrete in a new one in a new position. More tasks and btw it's February and the ground is frozen. Crazy woman with bad credit card habit.
Plus I still haven't replaced this beauty.
Help, I need help, either the credit card or the internet will have to be cut off.

This is "gentle" remodeling

Steve agreed with me that the white ceramic vessel sink I ordered would look even better in the girls' bath, so we ordered a brown glass vessel for the boys' bath and went off to shop for counter tops. We immediately honed in on one, an ivory color with sage green and silver in it, turned to each other and said simultaneously: "That would be great in the girls' bath". It was that easy.

All we had to do then was choose a vanity base. It has to be a cabinet so we don't have to touch the tiles which are in excellent shape, but I don't want anything that looks traditional. I've narrowed it down to a couple, both wood in the same tones as the doors and I have a couple of faucets in mind too.
And the ugly medicine cabinet? We're taking it out, patching wallboard in the hole and installing this beauty from Design Within Reach
Today I painted the olive green doors in Benjamin Moore Silver Satin, a bright, grayish white and it has made a huge difference.
If only all remodeling was this easy.

And we've paused

After two days we have wall board up except where the plumbing needs to be changed and we can do no more until that is done, and the window and the tiles have arrived. It would be really nice to get on with things but I'm quite enjoying the nice clean space that's there now. I'm sure I will be really sick of it by the time we start again (mid Feb) but at least we have a jump start.
Until then I will leave you with these photos of the fixtures in the girls' bath that I plan on pulling out.

Project Bathroom - we're underway

It feels like we have really started on the bathroom project now, the workers arrived at 8 am and we have a lot of progress already. The electrics have been re-wired to code (GFCI) and in future we shouldn't go bang when we plug in that hairdryer that has been lying in a puddle of water . The new fan/light/nightlight combination is up too, so the contractors will have light to work by. The walls and ceiling have been insulated and the backer board ceiling has been tacked up.
I spent most of the morning on the phone. I checked to see when I could expect delivery of the tiles, and it's a good thing I did. Although my copy of the order form says they had been ordered on January 5th, under one tile sku it says "get from NJ". This was obviously an aide-memoire for them rather than an order, as there was no record in the system. It's been taken care of now, and I should have the whole lot in a week or so. I was a little tigged because I need the wall tiles to take to the cabinet guy so I can choose a co-ordinating top, but Porcelanosa offered to send samples of the tiles by UPS and I should have those in a couple of days. Then I can order the countertop and I think that's it for fixtures.
The plumber called to tell me the toilet I chose is the one nobody has in stock so I can expect a 4-6 week delivery. That should put it right there with the arrival of the window. I asked him to get me a second toilet that we can put in the green bathroom because that thing has a mind of it's own and it's also seriously uncomfortable: low down and round. Apparently that is the best style for potty training little girls but it ain't good for grown-ups. I can see this turning into a "while we're about it" scenario. Once the green toilet is gone, the vanity is going to look old and nasty so we might as well replace it, and obviously you wouldn't put the old faucet back on a new vanity, would you? And we'll need to take the matching green laminate door off the full-length medicine chest.......
The sweetest part of the day? I asked the contractor if he wanted a cheque for part of his estimate now. I expected to pay him a third on agreement of the contract, a third when he starts and a third on completion. His reply? "I have enough to live on, let me get started first." I think we picked the right contractor.

It blows

Q) How many trips to X-pooh does it take to buy a bathroom fan?
A) Three.
Trip One: because the contractor wants to start on the electrics tomorrow and then sheetrock the ceiling and I haven't ordered one online yet. I arrived at the "luxury" big box store and asked the Customer Service Rep where they were located. "Oh, I think they are all special order. But you could try through the arch at In-store pick-up". Through the arch there are faucets and hardware and pillows but no ventilation units. An employee asks what I need and it turns out they do have them, just installed last week and hidden behind the faucets with no sign at all. There is one brand, Nutone, six models and they are all ugly. I leave and try three other stores, only one of which carries bathroom fans and that is Hopeless Desperation and they only sell Nutone, but even uglier, less powerful models.
Trip Two: Back to Exasperating to purchase the most energy friendly, least ugly, and most expensive, model.
Trip Three: To return that model and purchase the second most expensive model because that has 4" diameter ducting and the one I had taken home was only suitable for 6" ducting.
Three trips, starting at 2:30 and finishing at 8 pm. I need to go stand under the fan to cool off and in future I must learn to read the box properly before I leave the store.