Bathroom Reno Day 16 - Almost, Ugh, Not Quite

I had every intention of getting everything functional in the bathroom today. Alas, however, today was not my lucky day. In fact, it was anything other than lucky. I started out the day by having Thom help me carry the new vanity upstairs. Then I had him help me dry fit the granite top and sink that I had gotten months ago at the ReStore. While I had meticulously measured the dimensions of both top and vanity to ensure it would fit, I did not measure where the sink was placed within the top. What we have, folks, is a top that fits but a sink that will not fit. Sigh. Luckily, the vanity came with another granite top and sink that will look equally as nice. Unluckily, the top is designed for a 4-inch centermount faucet. I bought an 8-inch spread faucet. Sigh. I need to go to Home Depot tomorrow and trade it in for a new one.

Then, I tried to tackle the toilet. We got the Glacier Bay Dual Flush from HD. This toilet, according to the reviews online, is very easy to install if you have installed a toilet before - that would not be me. Unfortunately, the directions are less than clear and they do not include a parts list so I was wondering constantly what was a gasket and which washers went with what bolts. Thom finally helped me and we figured it out. It works beautifully and the flange extenders (I used two) worked well along with an extra deep wax ring (the one that comes with the toilet is pretty flimsy). Now I just need to get some toilet shims to level the puppy out on my less than level tile floor. Sigh. Anyway, here is the commode in all its glory; painting touch ups forthcoming.

Next were the faucets for the tub/shower. This was actually pretty straight forward, thankfully. No sighs necessary.

My next sigh came when I tried to get the shower arm to go into the hole correctly as my tile cutting was less than accurate (shocking, I know). I chiseled away at a bit and got it to work.

Paul also guest starred today and came over to do a first skim coat on the ceiling above the tub. It will take a few more coats that I'll probably try to tackle next weekend. I'm not good at it but I'll give it a shot.

So, now, I'm working on figuring out how to cut out the bottom of the vanity to accommodate our screwy plumbing that comes in from the floor. Unfortunately, there is a brace right in the middle of the cheap particle board on the bottom. Sigh. I'll have to rig something else up. After I get the faucet tomorrow maybe I can install it this week sometime.

I am back to work tomorrow but I'm happy to be going back. This has been rewarding in many ways but I am admittedly frustrated that I wasn't able to finish it in the two weeks and that frustration level is now becoming chronic. It's probably good that I take a break this week to do the real work I get paid for and maybe I can come back with fresh eyes and a relaxed mind to finish this project up. I didn't get it all done in this past fortnight but I got close. At least we can pee and hose ourselves off and - hey - that's better than nothin'.