Worth The Mess

Hubby Tony and I have a long list of home projects that we want to have done.  This week we crossed one off the list when we replaced the shabby-looking vinyl floor in the kitchen and adjoining laundry room with ceramic tile.

Tony got the project started last month when he stopped into a couple of tile stores "just to look".  Soon there were installers coming for estimates.  Finding someone we were comfortable working with was easy.  The hardest part of the job for us was picking out the actual tile.  One of the stores allowed us to bring home samples.  For a couple of days there were a half-dozen tiles arranged in various parts of the room so we could look at them while we decided.  After we agreed on 'the' tile we went back to the store, picked out a coordinating grout, and paid for everything, then waited for Jim (the installer) to contact us.

The actual job started a week ago Friday when Jim, along with his assistant Tony, came and took off the baseboards in the room.  Son Donald helped me remove and relocate our things.  For the duration of the project, the cat litter box was in the master bath tub, and I had plants on a ledge next to it.  The laundry baskets were in the master bedroom.  We moved the kitchen table into the family room and arranged a temporary food area on the wet bar which held the coffee things and a selection of cups, dishes, plates and utensils.   The computer (monitor on a bookshelf, keyboard and mouse on a TV tray in front of it and tower on the floor) was also in a corner of the family room.  The dining room table became the paperwork staging area. 

The actual job started on Monday.  Each morning I'd greet the installers, then leave for work.  When I got home I'd admire their progress, and figure out what I could and couldn't do in the room.  For example, the first few nights we had to untape the side of the plastic covering the doorway and climb through the resulting slit.  We had no laundry capability for the week, but could get to the refrigerator and microwave every day but one. 

The first day of work they removed the old floor along with the washer, dryer, and stove.  The doorways into the dining room and family room had plastic taped across them so the rest of the house was unscathed, but everything in the kitchen was covered with a thick layer of dust.
 

Desk

Tuesday they began to level a sloping corner of the floor and installed the backing board.  They also brought in the first stack of tiles in anticipation of the next day's work

Every night the cats had to explore!

Wednesday much of the tile was laid, and we couldn't walk on it until the next morning.  No cooked dinner that night!  Thursday they finished laying tile and started grouting.  At the end of the day they used blue tape to show us the parts of the floor we couldn't step on.  The refrigerator was plugged into an outlet across the room by the door to the family room.

Stay between the lines

Friday they finished the grout, cleaned the floor, and moved everything back where it belonged.  After they left, Tony, Donald and I moved our things back in, hung pictures, and celebrated with dinner eaten where it was supposed to be eaten.

Finished!

Five years ago today: New Thing #317--Well Read