Once again, I’m standing in Lowe’s making an emergency run for insert tile (more on that later) and I get the dreaded phone call from my carpenter. His task this afternoon was to install the stainless range hood above the cooktop and “BE CAREFUL” around the glass. I thought for sure he was going to tell me he broke the frosted glass backsplash. But NO!!! he found a new and unique way to ruin it.
We had meticulously measured the two holes needed for the mounting bracket for the hood. These holes are 1/2" in diameter to allow plenty of room to put in the screws. Of course, he felt it was very important to put anchors into the solid plaster. The frosted glass is actually raised off the wall about 1/16" inch because a silicone bead runs around the rim to hold it in place. Well, he starts drilling into the plaster and small pieces of plaster and dust fall down behind the glass and it looks like a mess. And, he somehow manages to get a dark piece of dirt behind the glass. I get back from Lowe’s and just about start crying.
Everyone’s coming at me from all directions - concrete guys, tile guys, drywall guys, next door neighbor is standing in there looky looing. I try to keep myself from going ballistic. I find some low voltage wire and strip off the plastic cover and maneuver the wire behind the glass, carefully trying to make sure that the wire does not scratch the frosted back of the glass. Doesn’t work. Then my carpenter tries with a cardboard drywall shim and Voila… the stuff falls down to the bottom along countertop where it is not noticeable. Pheww!
I had many choices for insert tile for the bathtub surround downstairs but I had not had a chance to make a final decision. Next thing I know the tile guy is telling me he cannot start the job until I tell him a) where the insert is going to be, b) what size the insert is going to be and c) exactly which tile is going to be used so he can measure accurately.
Ooops… I had better get moving. So we lay it all out and I eliminate what I thought was my first choice because there just wasn’t enough contrast. I find some tile samples in the closet and, of course, the super expensive stuff is what looks great. But, that is the arabesque stuff and I’m worried how the tile cuts will look so I have to rush off and get even more expensive pencil liner stuff. They don’t have enough stock of the real pencil liner so I come back with edge tile (kind of like corner round) that he is going to have to carefully set with thinset so that it doesn’t look stupid between the two tiles. I’m very worried that I made a big tile design mistake under pressure. I think tile design can be the best part of a project and I never give it enough time and thought. I always feel rushed, but I guess that is the nature of the game.
Don’t know how Tark and Christina can stand there on Flip or Flop with 3 choices and just point. I have to agonize about it forever and then rush into a decision at the last minute. Let’s hope that this bathroom doesn’t look like one of those Newell property disasters!!! BTW, Newell has not sold yet and they will need to drop their price again.
Thank goodness the bit of dirt behind the glass backsplash fell all the way down. Maybe you should apply some type of painter’s tape to cover up the horizontal gap on top until all work in the ceiling is done?
There is a silicone bead on top of the glass - he created this dirt while screwing into wall in the small little 1/2" holes about halfway down the glass (that I paid $80 extra to have cut into the glass before delivery). Next time I’m going to have them silicone seal around the diameter of those holes also !! It will not be noticeable because range hood will cover the silicone mess
I also loaded a picture of the 12 x 24 stack of tile with the original choice of arabesque insert tile (which was a lot less expensive, of course!).
I have learned my lesson about trying to select and order tile at a tile shop, even though it ends up slightly cheaper sometimes with my contractor discount. I am always changing my mind when it gets into the room and on the wall, needing more or wanting to return stuff I decided not to use. You just cannot get ‘6 more pieces’ at the tile store - you have to wait a week for it to be delivered. And they charge a 20% restocking charge to return stuff I decided against or over estimated.
Here is the 12 x 24 tile (there is a photo below that shows it on the floor, it has a little taupe/beige variation that is not noticeable in the photos)
And finally, without going into horrifying details, I’m at $110,000 spent to date and I think I have another $21,000 needed. I will run out of cash in 2 weeks and have no idea how I am going to pay the laborers or the bills.
What caused this problem??.. retaining wall, stupid ongoing redwood fence, stucco and more stucco, concrete and a lot more drywall than I estimated. Oh, and did I mention that I splurged on tile and backsplashes more than I should have ??
I may just have to use the Flip or Flop method of selling the house = Gee??? Spent a lot more than estimated to renovate the house… Guess I’ll just set a much higher asking price to make up the difference!!
I can’t say that the arabesque accent tile is consistent with your other contemporary stylings. But, if you are set on the selection, it’s your vision.
I know, I know. It is not matching the contemporary but it is located way downstairs where the family room and bedroom will be pretty plain vanilla. I’m hoping that it doesn’t ruin the overall design. I just couldn’t help it… I love the stuff.
Maybe I better talk it over with my agent - she is always the voice of reason.
