Pool House Expansion Project, Day 103 - 09/02/16

Garlic Vine, sliding glass door, Mr. Matute and Stacy, Granite, Shower Shelf

Day One Hundred Three, 09 February, 2016

Tuesday morning, I was heading from the Mennonite house down to the pool house to see what was going one with the project, when I noticed the garlic vine was in bloom again. We have about 100-feet of garlic vine along our northern fence. It's gorgeous when the lilac-colored flowers show their stuff.

Garlic Vine Flowers 9 7.40

After getting side-tracked for a few minutes with the garlic vines, I made it into the pool house. There were a couple of things going on early in the morning. One, taking up a couple of tiles beside the sliding glass door in order to add Thinset under the door track to made it rigid.

We'd noticed that around the middle, where you're likely to step on the track, it had some sag when it was stepped on. We wanted to stop that, so the easiest way was to take up the two tiles and feed as much Thinset as we could under the track.

Prying a Couple of Tiles to Fill Under Track 9 - 7.44

Then Mr. Matute and Stacy showed up and began working on the counter once again. Here, he's using the rubber grit pads to polish the oval. In this stage, it's necessary to have running water to flush away the debris as well as to provide lubrication for the rubber pads.

Smoothing the Oval Cut 9 - 8.23

The oval is especially hard on the pads as pretty much just the outside edges of the pad get used polishing the granite, so pads tend to wear out sooner.

More Smoothing the Oval Cut 9 - 8.24

Back inside, the Thinset has been mixed up and is ready to trowel under the track. You can see the places where the tiles have been removed.

Thinset to Go Under Track 9 - 8.24

Outside, the back drain pipe elbow has been persistently leaking. This time, it was taken out and really glued up. Now, no more leaks.

Down Spout Really Glued Now 9 - 8.25

Caulking the basebaord and door trim is proceeding. There's times when it seems that it might not be necessary, but after it's done, it's apparent just how it spiffs up the woodwork.

Caulking Basboaards and Trim 9 - 8.26

This shot of Dianna appreciating the fact that the vanity pieces are finally in place was when I realized she may have a problem using the mirrors in the medicine cabinet doors. This was something she herself hadn't even thought about.

As a result, we've added to the to-do list, that the medicine cabinet needs to be lowered about five more inches.

Dianna Enjoying New Vanity 9 8.38

I mentioned the rubber polishing wheels that Mr. Matute was using to polish the granite. Here's one as an example. They come in many different grits, all color-coded.

Rubber Polishing Wheels 9 - 8.43

Mr. Matute brought a whole assortment of the discs with him. Normally, with flat polishing, he can get a disk to last for around ten to eleven pieces of granite. With rounded surfaces, he's lucky to get seven or eight. Since he has to order the disks from the states, that in itself becomes quite an expense.

Whole Assortment of Wheels 9 - 8.44

Here, Mr. Matute is rounding the bullnose a bit more. Working with granite, everything is done in small steps, especially with cut openings. You have to be careful not to overheat any one part of the stone as that could lead to its cracking.

Putting Bullnose On Granite Slab 9 - 8.46

A final step is washing away the dust debris.

Hosing Off the Debris 9 - 10.30

Here, they're laying out the centerpoint for the two faucet holes.

Figuring Centerpoint for Faucet 9 - 10.45

Checking to make sure the faucet actually empties into the basin is a good idea too.

Think It Will Go There 9 10.46

Once they're done cleaning the debris off the granite, it's time to move it into the house and place it on the vanity. Because of the large hole in it, the granite is now more fragile than ever, so extreme caare and caution is the word.

Bringing the Slab Inside 9 - 11.02

Heading through the house, going into the bedroom.

And Through the House 9 - 11.03

And now into the bathroom.

Into the Bathroom 9 - 11.03

They've set it on the leading edge of the counter.

Resting on Front Edge of Counter 9 - 11.03

  And will now gently slide it to the back.

Slide It Toward Back 9 - 11.04

And, ever so gently, begin lowering it down to the counter top, being careful to avoid light switches and outlet covers. We did trash one outlet cover in the process. Granite took it out very fast.

Lower It Down 9 - 11.04

Finally, it's resting flat on the counter.

And It's Down 9 - 11.06

But then, it needs to be raised back up for Mr. Matute to apply the very expensive epoxy.

Propped Up for Glue and Positioning 9 - 11.16

Here, Mr. Matute is mixing the epoxy.

Mixing Expensive Epoxy 9 - 2.00

As you can see, it's being troweled on. It does have a slower setting time so there is enough time to trowel it onto the surface.

more Trowel Work 9 - 2.02

And another type of epoxy is used to cement the sink rim to the granite. Here Mr. Matute is spreading that over the rim of the sink.

Spreading Glue on Sink Rim 9 - 2.08

As I mentioned before, work is continuing elsewhere, like in the office, grout is being applied to a couple of tiles near the laundry piping (hidden in the wall).

Grouting A Couple of Tiles in Office 9 - 2.03

Now, the template that Mr. Matute made outside is positioned and the holes for the faucet are drilled.

Drilling Faucet Holes 9 - 2.18

A common problem with working with drills, is the vibration tends to loosen bits as below.

Oops 9 - 2.20

And, there we are. It all fits.

The Faucet Fits 9 - 2.27

A final step is adding epoxy to the interface of the sink and the granite counter.

Adding Grey Epoxy to Rim 9 - 2.35

Then cleaning up, using both solvents and water, depending on what's being cleaned.

Cleaning Up 9 - 2.40

Continuing to show what else is going on at the same time, Omar has just finished grouting the shower shelf. it looks very nice.

Shower Shelf Done 9 2.41

And the shower controls, that were problematical from the get-go, are now under control and looking good.

Shower Faucets Almost Done 9 - 2.41

There's many more photos than appear in each posting. You can see all the photos of the construction project on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/gp/winjama/0wVc3s. There will be new photos added each day of the project. 

Pool House Expansion Project, Day 88 and 89 - 22-23/01/16

Painting, Tiling, Repairs, etc.

Day Eighty-Eight and Eighty-Nine, 22-23 January, 2016

The past couple days have had a dearth of photos. That's because the guys are, for the most part, tiling the house. Every time I headed down to take some photos, visually, I could see substantial progress being made. But, when I looked through the viewfinder, not so much. So, generally, I didn't take a photo.

Till today. Tiling is still going on, but they've moved all the stuff out of the utility/pantry/laundry/storage room (whatever it's called) and are getting ready to paint it and do some other miner fixes in there.

For now the bathroom linen closet is in the office. We just don't have anywhere else to store this stuff till more tiling is done.

Bathroom Linen Closet in the Office

Across from it is the bed, box spring and mattress.

The Bed is Also in the Office

I didn't notice right away, but right behind the mattress is the bathroom vanity and medicine cabinet.

The Vanity is Hiding Behind the Bed Also in the Office

Also, Omar is in the office, along with the headboard for the bed, and the new, one-piece toilet (same as the one we installed upstairs in the Mennonite house. He's finishing the piping and stuff for the laundry hookup.

Omar is Working on the Washer Piping

In the utility (et al) room, just a refresher on some of what needs to be done. The filled spaces for the window (the big square on the wall), and the A/C (small square) need to be finished and painted. Well probably the whole wall needs painting.

Painting to be Done

Another view of the room, you can see the laundry hookup in the corner, still needs finishing as well as a couple small through-holes for water piping.

Utility Room Empty Once Again

There's been progress in the bathroom. It's pretty much painted. You can see below, the area where the backsplash will be tiled after the vanity and medicine cabinet are installed. Tiling needs to be completed here before that stuff can be moved in.

Bathroom Painted and Ready for Tile

Tiling in the bedroom is coming along. The Thinset is getting a bit thick toward the wall because of unevenness of the floor.

Bedroom Tiling Nearing Completion

Dining room tiling is coming along as well. Couple more rows and it'll be done.

Dining Room Tiling Almost Done

The kitchen storage has been reoriented somewhat.

Kitchen Storage

Here's the kitchen looking at the other direction.

More kitchen Storage

The laundry hook-up in the utility room is now done and ready for painting.

Laundry Fititngs Done

It's still a work in progress on the office side, but, not much more and it'll be done too.

Office Laundry Piping Being Finished

Masking tape is coming down all around the ceiling of the walkway and veranda.

Masking Tape Being Removed From Walkway Ceiling

Looking toward the veranda you can still see the masking tape.

More Masking Tape Being Removed

Finally, Dianna's shaving shelf is installed in the bath and is ready for tiling.

Shower Shaving Step

And the controls for the shower are being worked on. This presented a bit of a problem because the controls were seated a tad too deep in the wall, but that's being addressed.

Shower Fittings Being Worked On

The futon and baseboard trim and some other stuff is temporarily out on the pool deck. I asked the guys to remember before they leave for the day to put it inside, or if it starts to rain. You can't be too careful, you know.

Temporarily On the Deck

One more shot of the dining room which will probably be finished this afternoon.

Dining Room Tile Almost Done

A new development, Omar is laying out lines and a ledger board to start tiling the shower.

Omar Laying Out Ledger Board to Tile Shower

Last but not least, I just about five minutes ago, got a call from Peter's Glass Shop in Spanish Lookout, letting me know that they will be here Monday to install all the window louvers, sliding glass doors, and the roll-up door. Woo-hoo! Whole bunch more photos to take. I better make sure the camera is charged up and ready to go.

There's many more photos than appear in each posting. You can see all the photos of the construction project on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/gp/winjama/0wVc3s. There will be new photos added each day of the project.