^^^They do the same thing with mattresses.
Perhaps a Google image search could find that counter top choice at another vendor under a different name.
Perhaps a google search will,find something less expensive that has the same look…and then the money can be used for a second new bathroom vanity!!
The tile guy worked all weekend and has the tile laid and grouted in the laundry hall (between garage and kitchen), laundry machine area and the small full bath off laundry room. I’m still trying to figure out why there is a full bath between the laundry room and the garage. It’s not really accessible from anywhere except the office which is actually a full bedroom but is going to be used as an office.
I insisted on using real epoxy grout for the high traffic laundry area. It is something I think they should spend money on for less maintenance because they still do their own cleaning. In the hall bathroom we used regular powder grout but I had the guy add the Grout Stain additive liquid to the powder mix.
I’ll try to remember to take pictures - but don’t shoot the messenger!!! I did not pick out the tile, but I did limit the selection to samples that I brought from all over the place.
CB, we know that you are not driving the ship here. You are just mitigating the number of icebergs it hits on the destination. 
Kudos on choosing epoxy for that area! So thoughtful of you. Laying epoxy in your climate is not an easy task because that stuff cures in temperature-dependent manner. I grouted our shower in the winter… just opened the window and took my sweet time to do it.
^^Great metaphor, BB!
Lol.
“On the way to the destination” pardon my iPhonese.
Coralbrook, what is your opinion on epoxy grout? I was just talking to a tile store this weekend and they highly recommend it, wow, it’s a lot pricier though!
Our contractor just said he was going to seal the grout even though the bag says you don’t need to. Not epoxy, though.
It’s TEC Power Grout, “a unique breakthrough in grout technology.”
The tile in my new bathrooms didn’t need to be sealed. I asked if it was expoxy and contractor said they don’t use that anymore.
That’s probably just your contractor. Epoxy is still sold and used elsewhere. Install requires some skills for sure, and it is not right for every kind of tile.
The tile itself does not need to be sealed. Ceramic and Porcelain tile do not have to be sealed. That is where the contractor may have been confused. It’s the grout that needs to be sealed between the tiles! Grout will stain and age if it is not sealed properly, as many of us have experienced with the time traveled 4x4 ceramic tile kitchen counters!
If you are laying down a natural stone tile, then the whole floor has to be sealed.
In my opinion it is OK to use TEC Power Grout and/or the Grout Stain Resist liquid additive to the powder. My tile guy just hates the epoxy goo and so I usually give up and go with the TEC Power Grout and/or the liquid additive to regular grout.
Well, I dodged a design bullet with the contemporary style (think IKEA) wall mount vanity with no legs. Not because I convinced them it doesn’t quite go with the style of ANYTHING in the house, but because I measured and we were going to have to rip out the wall and raise the drain plumbing up higher in the wall. That convinced him!!! No need to waste money on that task.
Great news.
Over the weekend my agent begged me to go meet with a young couple buying their first home who were overwhelmed with what to do first, second, third, etc to the house they are purchasing before they can move in.
It amazes me how young newlyweds are so renovate averse. They wanted me to recommend painters to repaint the walls and give them estimates. Really??? You guys cannot pick up a paint brush and repaint some bedroom walls? My answer… it will be 2 gallons of paint, a roller, a good paint brush and some drop cloths. They had received a quote for $2,200 to paint the interior of their little 1,000 sq ft cottage (which is adorable). I can think of a lot better things to spend hard earned money on… refinishing the original hardwood floors!!
The trim is in good condition and does not really need painting. Just the walls.
They did have a dilemna that the cottage has original wood single hung windows with glazed single pane grids. They are beautiful windows. BUT, the paint company wanted $400 / window to strip, fix some broken panes, reglaze and paint the windows. That is more than brand new dual pane wood windows would cost each.
Ahaha… it would have cost $5k to paint our MB and bath because of the very tall vaulted ceilings and the blasted trim… we bought a sturdy 12-ft tall scaffold at HD on sale for $500. Added paint supplies for $300 (expensive because it needed several coats of primer and two coats of paint to cover up the nasty poop grey color!) and let BB up on the scaffold… it was a weekend project. I plan on using the scaffold elsewhere!
I never painted a room before engaged. My ex to be was renting an apartment to a young couple, to be ready after their honeymoon. When his painters wouldn’t show, he asked me for help. Well, I learned fast. By the End of the weekend, I felt confident to do my own repainting. Point is, now I am comfortable doing everything but exterior. If you have never tackled a room before, especially with one that needs smoothing and fillers, you just don’t trust in yourself.
Search “how to paint a wall” on youtube, and after an hour of watching videos anyone can figure it out. They just need a little encouragement.
DD had a summer from Hades when she realized she had picked the wrong major and didn’t get the internship she applied for. It got better, but during the time she was home I taught her to paint so the Amythest Cream and ?Cookie Monster Blue kid bedrooms reverted to a nice neutral off-white. It’s good to remember that we survived that summer and are still close. And now when she needs to paint a room she won’t wonder whether she can do it.
My father is a perfectionist with painting, and always has been. I have only recently realized how my mother got around that… she let me repaint . I was the golden girl, so he never criticized. My bedroom went from lavender to apple green one weekend when he was out of town. He never said a word. The next year I “surprised” my sister coming home for her soph Christmas…out with the pink paint and canopy, in with yellow walls and a 10’ wall of burlap covered bulletin board with burlap flowers and letters.