Back Splash

Well, the last 2 days of our "vacation" were pretty grueling. They were LONG, we didn't stop for meals until really late, and things did not go Taylor's way. But, we're getting close. Here's Taylor cutting tile on the wet saw that my sister, Millie, and her husband, Kevin, bought when Taylor tiled their bathroom in San Antonio. It sure is nice to have our own saw.


It took both of us working pretty quickly to put in the back splash tile. Here's me putting in the next-to-last piece.

Here's Taylor putting in one of the final pieces on the wall at the sink.


It's not a very good shot and there are still holes where electrical outlets are hanging out, but this is the biggest wall of tile. We still have to grout everything.


Taylor spent the last day trying to install the sink and the dishwasher. The dishwasher wasn't such a big deal, but the sink is quite large and did not want to fit and then clip into its hole. Taylor had to do a lot of problem-solving and creative wood working to get it in. Then, there were the problems with plumbing parts not fitting properly. One part was defective, and he needed different extension pieces, but of course, we didn't find that out until the stores were closed. Here Taylor is working on the dishwasher.


Now he's fighting with the sink, which, by the way, is a granite (silgranite) sink. Taylor calls it plastic, and we've argued over and over about it because it's 80% natural granite stone that has been chemically polymerized with resin. 20% resin does not make it plastic!!! Granite sinks are highly resistant to chipping, scratching, and staining. They can also withstand really high temperatures. They're also not cheap, so again, where he gets off calling it plastic?!

Here's Bucky taking a break from following us around and getting all anxious when there are loud sounds like power tools and frustrated humans yelling.

Here's Taylor sweating pipe with the propane torch. Too bad the flash from the camera wipes out the cool blue flame blowing almost into the wall. Taylor is working on the backside of the kitchen where we have a closet in the extra bedroom. He's had to do a lot of plumbing work from this location, which has been convenient for him, but we've been without our second closet for several months now. Can't wait to put it back in order. Here he's doing the last of the plumbing, so the closet wall will get closed up soon.


Today I finally bought the correct plumbing piece for him so after we went to dinner to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary which we both almost forgot, he came home and finished the plumbing. Here I'm finally getting to wash dishes in the new sink. Yipee!

Taylor took a picture of one of his hand-made tiles. He made several with a variety of textures in them. This was one of my favorites but there was only one with this design, so even though it was a bit warped, I put it in this prominent place anyway. It looks pretty cool against the glass mosaics, but we haven't cleaned off all the mastic or grouted yet.


So here's what we have left to do... install the edging on the counter tops, put the trim, toe kicks and space fillers onto the cabinets, tile the small counter top near the stove, and finish out the pass-through wall and counter when we convert the garage into the living room. We will do most of this finishing work on the evenings during the weeks because this weekend we start on the garage. FUN!