Today is a snow day. It was the first day in the new house where we’ve actually had a significant snowfall, and therefore the first where I actually had to shovel. It took me about 1.5 hours, because there was so much of it down, but I have to say, it felt like a good workout!
I’ve been meaning, for the last few days, to post the before/after shots of the bathroom, so that you can see just how much of an awesome difference it is. Take a look:
I still have a couple of bits and pieces to put into place, like a mirror and perhaps a cabinet over the toilet, and some sort of decor on the far wall. Plus, I’ll need to add a shower curtain (right now I just have a vinyl liner in place). I’m really happy with how it turned out though – it’s a classic look, with the travertine, that won’t become dated quickly, but with the neutral colour palette, the paint colour could be changed at any time to give it a totally different feel.
Thanks to Brandie for coming over this weekend and painting the trim, while I was doing some work in the kitchen!
Also wanted to update you all on the status of the fireplace. The house came with a wood burning fireplace that had an insert installed. The insert, unfortunately, was not up to code. My fireplace guy, Mr. Hartt, said that they called them “slammers” in the industry, because back in the day (probably the 80s) when this was installed, they’d slam them into the fireplace without any proper chimney liner, etc. This created, over time, a very dangerous situation because they creosote would build up inside the chimney and create such heat and potential for massive chimney fires – some even got so bad that they’d explode and blow the chimney or the insert right out. Well, I had the thing removed, and when he pulled it out (a bill that was over $400) he uncovered the fact that in order to install it originally they’d smashed the firebox out. In order to restore it, that has to be rebuilt, or I could choose to have a different insert installed with a proper liner, or convert to an electric insert, or a gas insert. He said that would run in the $3800 and up range. I chose to go with the $2200 rebuild the firebox and replace the damper option… he’ll come back in March to complete the work. The problem is, the Insurance Company is pretty hard nosed about this – they want to make sure that they’re not insuring a home that has a huge potential of burning down (if I were stupid enough to use the fire as it was).
The fireplace is just one example that I’ve found, in so many examples in this house, where things were done in half measures… not done properly. I’m fixing that, but it’ll take a while! Oh well… lots more content to write about.