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Showing posts with label Home Improvement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Improvement. Show all posts

10.17.2013

Magical Grout Refresh

I've been working hard on several home improvement projects lately. One thing that's been bothering us for a while now is the grout in all our tiled areas. We have light colored tile and what used to be white grout.. but 6 years of traffic and 1 flood later, our white grout is yuckily close to black.

We've scrubbed til our backs, arms, and fingers hurt, purchased industrial strength cleaners, and even hired a professional to work on the grout. Still it was, at best, a dark gray.

Then I found out about this:


[cue angels singing] It's actually a grout paint with a sealant mixed in. It costs about $12 at Home Depot and comes in a variety of colors. It's so easy to use. You just paint it on with a toothbrush and then wipe it off with a towel. I did end up having to do two coats in most areas to achieve the brightest results.



Here you can see my guest bathroom after I'd painted the first few tiles. Night and day difference, right?

This is all you need!
We chose "Antique White," and against our beige tile it looks really bright and snowy, which I like, but I'm glad we didn't actually opt for the "snow" option.


All white lines! We also purchased an additional spray-on sealant that I plan to use to make sure this look lasts. While it wasn't hard to do, it took a good bit of time. I've now finished the entire kitchen and dining area as well, and have spent at least 10 hours painting and wiping grout. But it was totally worth it! The results are so instantly gratifying, you may find yourself hunting for more grout lines to paint.

I discovered this little gem from Live, Love, DIY's review. I was a bit skeptical at first, but at $12 a pop, why not? You know how they said, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is??" Well, in this case, it's not!! This product really delivered. I haven't had a chance to test its durability over time yet, but I'm feeling optimistic!


And now that I've added my DIY shower curtain ribbons to match the new sink, our guest bathroom is finally, officially, finished!


Remember the sink and counter update? Now we have a sparkling clean floor to match!
Brought to you by... seekerkay 0 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Labels: Home Improvement

4.05.2013

Bathroom Remodel


Presenting...



Our new bathroom!!

We've been talking about remodeling our guest bathroom for a while now. I actually bought the sink waay back around Thanksgiving (!!) and the faucet shortly after, but we could never settle on a counter top. I thought I wanted mosaic tile, but could never find the right one. So finally we decided on granite. We visited a warehouse and checked out their remnant pieces, since they wouldn't cut a large piece for our small job. We found one we liked and ordered it! They said we had to remove the old sink and counter top before they came to install the granite, and my hubby was going out of town, so I went to work myself!

Before the demolition
I started by cutting all the seals with a razor blade...



...and various other tools. And then I man-handled those side-splashes right off of the wall!


After the man-handling, I turned off the water to the faucet and disconnected the tubing to the pipes (see below). In order to completely remove the sink and counter, I had to unscrew the drain from the pipe in the wall. I was able to unscrew the hardware, but there was a suction or something keeping them together and I ended up having to wait for my husband to help me finish it. I was so mad, I wanted to do the whole thing myself!

Official Plumbing Assistant
 Fortunately, he was able to [watch a YouTube video and] figure it out.

Ready for installation!
The granite guys brought the counter all in one piece and drilled the holes for the sink and faucet onsite to make sure it was just right.

Work in progress
Drilling the holes
After they were gone, it still wasn't an easy task! Hubby had to connect all the plumbing to get it working properly and prevent leaking. He had a little conundrum on his hands...


The sink drain didn't line up with the wall plumbing!! Somehow, after multiple trips to Lowe's, he managed it get it all up and running. Now we have a beautiful bathroom and couldn't be happier with it!! The only bad news is - now we want to redo the master. 



Brought to you by... seekerkay 0 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Labels: Home Improvement
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quiddity

\KWID-ih-tee\, n.:

1. The essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity of a thing.
2. A hairsplitting distinction; a trifling point; a quibble.
3. An eccentricity; an odd feature.

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