(More than) Fourinarow.net

Didja miss me?  I know I haven’t posted in what seems like forever.  But, it’s not due to laziness.  Just the opposite as a matter of fact.  Dan and I had a very productive weekend. (And no, I don’t mean that #5 is on the way — we do know how to be productive in other ways.)

Over the long weekend (extra long for me and the kids, as it was so cold school was canceled on Friday) Dan and I made a lot of improvements around the house.

I hung curtains in our living room, so I was finally able to take the paper off our windows.  We hung three more interior doors, completing our door-replacement project (although I still need to paint).  And, Dan successfully replaced the valve stems in the main floor bathroom.  Now we can take a shower in there!  But not really!  The tiles need to be re-grouted.

The project that makes me most proud, though, are the new bamboo shades I hung in my kitchen.  We have odd sized windows (go figure) but I found some online at Overstock.com.  I got them on Friday and wanted to hang them right away.  They were too wide.  By a hair.  I got online to process the return and guess what?  They’re UNRETURNABLE.  Shit.  But maybe not…  I started looking at the blinds and decided that I could trim them down myself.  And, I did!  While I was at it, I shortened them, too, as they were miles too long.  Then I hung one and decided that the color wasn’t right.  They were too light:

Our cabinets are pretty dark and with the white window trim, the shades just didn’t look right.  So, I decided that I could probably stain them.  And I was right!  Now, they are PERFECT.  I love them and they fit my windows just right.  Now when Dan wants to pay grab-ass in the kitchen I don’t have to worry about the neighbors.

Let’s see… what else?  I just replaced the deadbolt on our front door.  It doesn’t match, of course, because  guess what? Mine is so old that they no longer make that size, so I had to make due with the one the lock store managed to find.  And, I’m going to have to do some filing on the strike plate before it’s right.  But, at least we can lock our front door now.

Now, besides the painting I have to do, there’s The Grout Project.  In the shower of the main floor bathroom, there are gaps in the grout where water can get through and leak into the wall.  You can see where this has happened in the past, because a) the tiles are bowed out; b) there’s a row of tiles along the top of the tub that don’t quite line up or match; and c) there is grout on top of grout.  (Those previous owners -  a stellar job as always.)

There is a lot of tile in our bathroom.  A LOT.  I mean, it goes all the way around the room 4.5 feet tall.  In the tub area, it goes to the ceiling and covers the ceiling.  The tile is 4×4.  I wasn’t worried about The Grout Project though, because I have a Dremel!  And it has a grout removal tool!

I did about six tiles, alternating between the Dremel and a chisel before the Dremel ran out of juice.  It took me over an hour, and those six tiles still need some work.  There are over 432 tiles, not counting the ceiling or the other part of the bathroom – just around the tub.  They look like crap and although new grout will save us from leaks, it’s all going to look about as crappy when it’s finished as it does now.

Thoughts?  I’m thinking that ripping out the tile and replacing it is going to be the better, and definitely the faster, way to go.  The problem is, of course, it’ll be more expensive.  Maybe I can find a tile warehouse somewhere…  Or maybe we can just put up a cheap surround.  I don’t know.  I do know that my kids will be in college before I finish removing the grout on 432 tiles.