Condo Tile and the To-Do list

One of my favorite things about home improvement is getting to work alongside my husband/ best-friend to accomplish something that looks good or functions properly (or both!).  I don't think we're quite to the status of looks good because of those awful yellow-orange walls, but the floor alone looks good!

We're not nearly as "in the groove" with tile projects as we used to be since we hired out the tile in our home bathroom and haven't otherwise done any tiling since Noah was an infant.  While figuring out our groove again, a somewhat surprising separation of roles occurred.  Brian was the mudder, I was the cutter.  What?! The female in the equation is the one operating power tools while the guy does the highly detailed mud and setting job?  Yep, that's how we roll.  Brian has a lot more experience with all types of mud and trowels and I can cut a straight line.  He's also much more picky about the final look and wants to only be able to blame himself if something is slightly crooked or less than awesome.

Enough chatter, here's the progress and the floor.

Bathroom, tile in progress

Hall with coat closet and main unit entry, tile in progress

Fun stuff getting the piece cut to go around the radiator pipe.  This is probably the truest tile color in my pictures.

Trickiest cut imaginable.  I made a template out of cardboard to make sure I could make it work.

Success, it fits!

Getting some grout in there, then wiping it off again.

Finished product as you would see it from the entry door.  Looking sharp!

Finished product in the bathroom.

That's going to look so good when the walls are light gray and the door is not dark green!

Phase 1 as we're calling it consists of the entry hall, bathroom, and the small bedroom (Noah's bedroom).  We really just want to get it painted, replace the flooring, and update the bathroom fixtures.  It didn't seem like nearly as much when we first talked about it, but the tenacious, textured wallpaper that wouldn't come down slowed us down.  The shower-head coming out of the wall at shoulder height slowed us down - when we decided it had to be raised 12-16 inches so that one could stand underneath it, which then involved replacing the shower surround completely.  Selecting a vanity that goes great with our vision for the place, but not so great with paneling on the bathroom walls didn't slow us by much since my dad took all the paneling out... And uncovered MORE wallpaper underneath.

Remove bedroom wallpaper

Install hallway light fixture so you can see something when you walk into the unit

Remove bathroom paneling

Tear out old flooring in bedroom, bathroom, hall

Remove bathroom fixtures

Prep hall and bedroom paneling for paint

Get plumber to relocate shower head and install new tub

Replace electrical fixtures with fresh, modern white ones

Install tile underlayment

Tile hall and bathroom

Install shower surround cement-board

Clean and tighten radiator shrouds

Prep bedroom walls for paint (clean up wallpaper removal dings and fill many, many holes from Suzy)

Prep bathroom walls for paint (clean up wallpaper removal dings and poor initial install job)

Re-hang bifold door at bedroom closet

Prime and paint wood (paneling, trim, door?)

Prime and paint walls

Paint radiator shrouds

Paint ceilings (they've seen better days and a fresh coat of paint can make the rooms look so much fresher)

Tile shower surround

Install bathroom fixtures

Get carpet installed

Then comes the fun part of adding all the things that makes is pleasant to stay there - furniture and textiles.  I think Phase 1 would have come together much faster had we included so many of the other things we did during that time - installing light fixtures throughout the place so we could see, cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning, wall prep on the second bedroom, radiator clean-up on additional radiators, bringing in basic kitchenware and a dining table to make it more functional while we work, bringing in a mattress so we could sleep somewhat comfortably while we work, etc.  There's only so much car space, shopping time, and tools available!

The current goal is to get it humming with Phase 1 finished by June 1st.  Then you all are going to flock to the shore for vacations!