Bathroom Update - Week Eight

A couple minutes after we started talking with Sid, the Floor Expert at Lowe's, we about had a heart attack. We thought we might not have had to take up the pressboard subfloor and all that horrid glue. But then we realized that pressboard is what you put under carpet and plywood is what you put under tile. Thank goodness.

So after that blood-pressure-raising moment, we settled back down and had a great chat with Sid, our hero, and knew what the next step is. We don't have to put down a moisture barrier, like we thought. We have to put a new layer of 3/8 inch plywood down.


So after going home to measure and going back to Lowe's to buy the plywood and going home to start putting the plywood down and running out of Liquid Nails and running back to Lowe's again...

We got exactly one 4 x 8 sheet of plywood down, which took at least four dozen screws, on an 8inch grid. And that was the easy part. Only one small cut.


Covering the rest of the floor is going to be a real challenge. There will be lots of cuts because the bathroom has an odd shape. If we can get all those cuts made and the plywood down, we'll be in good shape. Warren bought a bunch of Liquid Nails and I only foresee one trip to Lowe's next weekend. Hopefully we can get the rest down next weekend and then we will be faced with laying down the CONCRETE BOARD.

I figure that's a two weekend stint, because after we get the floor done, we have to cut out the sheet rock around the tub, which should have been done in the first place and wasn't, and replace with concrete board...and...oh...well...maybe three weekends to do all that...

I see another two months (and a half??!) to finish the project. Which wouldn't be such a problem, but this weekend we almost went outside to do some pre-Spring yardwork. Mighty tempting, I gotta say. But we persevered and got one 4 x 8 plywood down and quit at noon, because the rule book says so, and had a nice lunch and headed to the movies for the afternoon.

It's "Officially" Spring!

I abhor winter. I search for signs of Spring as early as January. Yup, as soon as the calendar swings around into the new year, I'm ready for Spring. This year, as with last year, we've had lots more winter than Missouri usually sees. So it's been grim around here in my search for the first sign of Spring.

But I now declare, IT'S OFFICIAL, SPRING IS HERE!

I don't care if they had 10 inches of SNOW in St. Louis this Tuesday or 4 inches over on the east side of my town on Wednesday. The blizzards raging through Ohio this weekend don't bother me a bit.


because I've found SPRING!


This little plot is located outside of where I work. It's a 3 x 9 foot patch of raw earth. For a gardener like me, I see a blank canvas waiting to be painted. Just last week, I was telling Warren how we were going to come over here soon on a weekend and level the dirt out and start PLANTING!

I've walked past this garden plot every day, dreaming and planning, looking at the dirt, wondering if it was old construction fill or if it has any topsoil with nutrients in it or if we'd have to haul some good earth over here along with the bulbs and seeds and mulch. I'm thinking we can split out some of my most prolific perennials and bring them here.

Then a couple of days ago, a faint shimmer of GREEN caught my eye as I walked up the ramp. I stopped in my tracks. What is that? Oh, wow! It's green! Some thing's growing in Missouri! Even though the green is weeds, I don't care. My long quest for a sign of Spring is over. I don't have to look anymore.

SPRING IS HERE!

Never mind the blizzards, people. The snow has already melted in St. Louis. It will melt in Ohio, too. Spring has definitely grabbed hold of the calendar and even though winter is not giving up without a fight, I know now that Spring will prevail.

Let's hear it for SPRING!