Hurricane Sandy
Hardy House has stood the test, as expected. Hurricane Sandy hit us with sustained winds of about 40 MPH and gusts to about 60-65 MPH and the house never even shook--not at all. Everything is intact and we are blessed. We are only about 20-25 minutes south of Lake Ontario. They were getting 15-20 foot waves last night. A lot of people don't realize how big the waves can get on the Great Lakes. We hope that others along the eastern seaboard have come through this unscathed. 

Will the Bathrooms Ever Be Done? Yup!

We had planned to tile both bathrooms this last weekend but if you've been following along, you know nothing ever goes according to plan. However, that being said, we did get all the cement board up in both bathrooms so we CAN do the tiling - probably next weekend.

Downstairs Shower

Upstairs Shower

Earlier in the week we attempted to install the cement board on the angled ceiling in the upstairs bathroom. Even after cutting more and more off, it still didn't fit right, got jammed and we ended up damaging the drywall. It is actually worse than in the pictures. It will get replaced at some point but it's not a showstopper--thank goodness.

The following picture shows how we inserted a base on the floor of the shower so that if something fell on it it wouldn't damage the shower floor. We will keep it there through tiling. Another thing I want to communicate to you is that for the cement board in the downstairs bath, we did NOT countersink the screws. Because of that the screw heads are elevated so the tiles won't be flat. We need to go back and sink the screws. We made sure we did it upstairs. Now we just need to tape, etc. and we'll be ready for tile. I can't wait.

Early Considerations

Preparing to remodel your home is usually not an overnight decision. As previously stated, we had wanted to build for many years and did not. Because of that early desire we had already done a little planning.

Get Your Visuals Organized
This is easy. Get a notebook of paper (like a 5-subject notebook used in school). Get a roll of tape and start looking at magazines. Rip out anything that you think you might like and tape it in your notebook. We started ours several years ago, then quit, then pulled it out again. We now have two of them.

Your first clippings will be of anything you like. After you get a little more focused in your design you will start to clip pictures that are more focused toward your desired outcomes. For example, I found a picture recently of some wallpaper that had the exact colors in it that I was looking for for upstairs. I clipped it, taped it, and wrote a note next to it. That's important, too. Write on or near the picture what in the picture has attracted you.

Make a List
This is also easy. Write down what you think you must have. Write down what you might consider. The list can be changed whenever you want. It's a work in progress but helps clarify your desires.