My very first idea for a blog (way back in the day) was to make a sort of How-To site, with all sorts of useful projects.  The name of this site will be File to Fit.  I had a whole set of photos documenting the right way to fix a leaky faucet, but since that particular project ended with me, at 2 am, under the bathroom cabinet, in furious tears, and holding a hammer…  anyway….

But I was so happy about the new paint in the kitchen that I decided to keep going.  I was dead set on making the bathroom prettier.  I decided the best thing to do would be to get rid of the 6-year-old tacky glue stuff on the tiles all along the edges of the tub (don’t ask), and I got an Amazing Chemical which Removes Stuff.  I’d been avoiding doing this for fear this chemical would actually dissolve the tub.  But it did not!  It removed all the old glue, and also the tiles.  But it did not dissolve the tub.

Discovered that behind the tiles was…  nothing.  A dark, empty, cold hole full of nothingness.  The cats, of course, disappeared into it immediately.  Got a plumber in, to fix the leaky faucet.  And then…  re-tiling.  Now, it’s not the tiles that were so bad.  They’re just so persistently yellow.

See?  But once they’ve fallen off anyway, why not add nicer tiles?  Tiling is easy and fun.

First, destroy everything.  (Day 1)  Then, spend all your money at Home Depot.

(Days 2-14)  Chip away at old glue for many, many hours.  Pretending you are a dwarf in the mines of Moria does not help.   Much.  Cover any giant holes in the wall with decorative paper and try not to think about it.

(Day 15)  Fix the holes.  Drywall is neat.  Screw it in with drywall screws.  Dads are helpful here.  Cover everything else up with drywall compound so it’s like a wall again.  Make sure the cats are not inside the wall.

(Day 15 – 20) Spread disgusting tile adhesive on the walls and stick tiles on.  Stick them mostly straight.  Unless you don’t want to.

(Day 21)  Mix the grout “like pancake batter” and spread it on the tiles.  Clean it up quick though, because once it’s dry it’s a pain to clean up.

(Days 22-25)  Try to get the dried up grout off the damn tiles.

(Day 25)   Sealer on the grout!    Caulk along the edges!   Oooh, and rip up the floor too.  heh heh heh.

(Day 26 – 30) Well, at the least the shower works.  The floor will get done eventually….

And for the record, because it’s awesome, here are some photos of the mural Mom and I did when I first moved in.