Monday, August 11, 2014

Demo day 5

Over the weekend, we drove up to San Jose to explore shower fixtures for the master bathroom. After visiting a few showrooms, we decided to stick to the Delta Trinsic line we’re using everywhere else. Although we saw a few other brands that were quite nice, especially Graff, nothing screamed “must have” and certainly nothing screamed “better deal.”

Throughout the hardware search, Chip’s dad, a retired plumber, has advised us to stick with American companies like Delta and Pfister because they typically offer lifetime warranties and are much easier to get replacement parts in the future if needed. When we first met with Mike over a year ago, we told him Skip would be doing the plumbing on the job. Sadly, a few months ago, Skip was diagnosed with a very aggressive lung cancer. Yesterday we learned the cancer has moved into his liver and abdomen and the medical staff that was initially very optimistic, is now quite concerned. We’re currently regretting that we started the renovation when we did as the guest house would have been a much more convenient place for his parents to live while coping with this challenge because Steinback Mountain is much closer to his doctor and the medical team that are taking care of him.

Speaking of American companies (or changing the subject to another shitty topic), while at the first showroom we overheard a salesperson working with another client praising a relatively new line of toilets called Icera. He was specifically comparing them to Toto, the Japanese brand we had specced for all of the bathrooms, saying they were every bit as good and a better value. We picked up a brochure and were immediately attracted to the very clean and minimal shape of their wall hung toilet as well as the fact that the company is headquartered in California. Unfortunately, they don’t appear to be making a wall hung tank system so we’re going to stick with the very reliable Toto tank systems and switch over to the Icera bowls.


Today the Tombleson crew returned for the start of a new week. One by one they cut the beams for the ceiling and secured them into place. By the end of the day, all of the beams were up. Hopefully, tomorrow they’ll get the tongue and groove boards up (which arrived today) and the roof will be ready for the outer treatments.

Here's another time lapse video of the Tombleson crew in action:


We also called our Plyboo rep Angus to start the estimate process for the 34 sheets of their bamboo plywood we hope to use for the cabinetry. We also wanted to check in on the decking and paneling we’ve already ordered and paid for to see when they might be delivered. Figuring out where to store things safely and efficiently is not going to be easy.

Still no word from the tile guy. Patience. Patience. Patience.

1 comment:

  1. I know how hard it is to be patient, but things generally shake out in the end.

    So sorry to hear about Chip's father.

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