The Powder Bath Saga: Part 2

After the subfloor had dried Seth laid down new non-mold and waterlogged particle board to even the tile with the neighboring slate. Well, as even as it can be with slate that is uneven by nature. By the way, the stench left as the mold layers were removed. Thank goodness.

We debated on tile choice for a while. Do we try to find a tile that matches as close as we can to the slate color or something different. We ultimately decided to do a pattern completely different and found little black and white octagon tiles for our tiny powder bath. Seth measured and laid out the tile (and measured again). And when he ran out of black squares he snuck two white ones in under the toilet and convinced himself that no one would know. Well, now we all know.

 We ALL know.

Seth breaking in his new tile saw. (About the same price to rent one). Happy man with new tools.

Next came mortar. Then came grout. Dark grout. Beautiful but messy. HGTV makes it look a lot easier than it is. Seth got new trim, with a price. He could get the same height in a different patter or the same pattern slightly taller. He got the taller and successfully trimmed it down. Totally sucessful.

And then.. and then... he is done! He reattached the toilet with a new wax seal and support thing. We even flushed it and no water came waterfalling into the basement apartment. In just ten days he tackled all of this madness with no prior experience. This was a great project for Seth to get his feet wet on a LOT of homeownership. We're thankful for Jeff being his on-star help and the abundance of information on youtube and I'm thankful for Seth's determination. 

It appears that the chronic leak is now fixed, never to return. Now I'm anxious to fix up this bathroom to honor all of Seth's efforts. I want to paint the cupboard and the beat up pocket door a glassy black and definitely remove that epic wall paper. I'm thinking black and white stripes. But patience. Slow and steady wins the race... First we need to patch the ceiling in the apartment and get a renter.