I generally used a squeegee to dry the tile after showering. Only occasionally I had to use a cleaning product of any sorts; the last one was a Method.
I still love my countertops! The designer mentioned the matte finish to me, but she did not have a sample as it was very new, so I decided to stick with what looked good for sure.
Moving during holidays sucks, but not moving sucks even worse! We moved two days before Christmas - talk about scrambling to put up a tree and unpack the kitchen stuff to make the holiday meals!
@snowball , yes, sealing the grout is necessary. My Dâs builder told her that the grout needs to cure for a month before itâs sealed and said thatâs why itâs a homeownerâs job (at least in their case.) Sealing will protect your bathroom substrate from mold by keeping water from seeping through. If you have a tiled kitchen backsplash, it will make clean up easier if there are grease splatters.
D1 used a small foam roller to apply a sealer, I think it was a Laticrete brand product, to both her bathroom and kitchen tiles. It seemed to work much better than the small foam âbrushâ or regular paint brushes that I used. Be sure the area is very well ventilated when you apply the sealer. Itâs rather nasty stuff.
I used some sort of spray on product that was supposed to be less nasty. Canât remember the name because we regrouted the shower with epoxy, so no more sealing games.
@coralbrook gave me the name of a spray on product, so will most likely use that. I assume I need to also do my bathroom floors, not just the showers? We are under the wire here, and while I donât want to pay to have someone else do it, I have better things to do than to spray and clean 3 bathrooms and kitchen backsplash! Of course, I am sure I will not be happy with the way someone else does it, or their cleanup!
Had I know this needed to be done, I would have ask them to take care of this prior to closing.
Usually epoxy grout comes pre mixed in a tub. But, I have seen one product that comes in a bag that has the No Seal qualities.
Hereâs why builders/developers do not use Epoxy Grout (as mentioned above). They would only use it if building specifically for a client that is paying them to use it.
It is very expensive⊠$55 for a true epoxy grout tub versus $10 for a bag of standard non sanded grout. That adds up if you are building 100 tract homes
Tile installers hate the Epoxy Grout premixed goo. It is sticky and very hard to work with. It sticks to everything and requires a large amount of clean up. It doesnât spread as easily. Therefore, if they realize they are doing a huge job where Epoxy Grout is specified, they will charge a higher install price. There is one product easier to work wi th⊠the bag of powdered grout that is Non Seal but not technically âepoxyâ
Buyers are usually not savvy enough to even ask 'is the tile installed with epoxy grout?". Or even ask if the tile is sealed. I have sold many homes where I spent the time and money on Epoxy Grout and believe me, I donât get to charge a premium for my house versus the house down the street because it has Epoxy Grout and they donât
Major construction has been over at our house for about 2 weeks. We are still waiting for a back-ordered front door and a metal piece that had to be cut for the hood. We had some problem with the grout seam (the grout or whatever it is was kind of curling) in the seat in the shower in the master bath which they are going come by and re-do. We are slowly moving into the house and trying to de-clutter along the way. The good news is that we have been sleeping in our own bed and cooking in our kitchen which has been wonderful.
Somehow in the remodel the wall control for the ceiling fan was lost. Of course they donât make them anymore, and the universal remote that they sell is not compatible, but they referred me to a company that sells refurbished wall controls. So I ordered one. Fingers crossed it works out.
Now that we are back in, it is obvious that we need new furniture. So we are not moving the majority of the old furniture back in and are working on buying new furniture, but it is going slowly.
Glad to hear that your remodel is nearing the completion! I usually grab things like remotes and unique wall switches and guard them like a hawk. What a pain to look for replacements.
Got our roof cleaned and checked. Replaced the leaky Velux skylight- $$$$$. Yikes. A no name brand skylight would have been 1/3 of the cost. The previous owners of this house were skylight crazy. Even the garage has a large one! I wanted to yank it out and patch over, but the roofer guy said they would need to bring a crane to lift it out⊠nope. Keeping it for now.
I can totally relate. Everything we install always has some part that goes on after paint or whatever. Or the special screws that only fit that old cabinet we are keeping. Or the glass light covers Iâm trying to keep off until we are done with dust and sanding. Millions of pieces and parts. I start on Day 1 designating a special closet to keep these things. No one pays attention. They are strewn everywhere. The painters clear out the closet and then someone else thinks itâs all trash and throws them away. You name it.
I spend the last 3 weeks of every project trying to track down and purchase some missing part
We had to scramble to get an airgap for our dishwasher after the countertop folk tore it out and threw out (I was not present to guard it - was really, really out having a medical procedure:) ). Do you know that HD and Lowes do not stock air gaps in stores anymore? At least here in my neck of the woods. Had to order one off Amazon. It was cheaper than replacing the D/W. When it dies, a soap dispenser will go into that hole.
I found pure gold! A tube with rolled up blueprints from all three major remodels of our house. Now I know where everything runs.
And I was gobsmacked to see âsave ivy covered stumpâ written next to a fuzzy bubble on one of them. Really? The 2000 remodeler was into preserving old rotten wood?! The first landscaping project we did was that stump removal!!! Two yard waste pickups worth of wood rot and noxious weed. Ugh.
Yes!! Moreover, I realized that there are some plans for the remodel that never happened. I might use some of them later to update the upper level. Of course, it will need a new set of plans and permits, but it is easier than starting from scratch!
Just keep in mind that contractors donât always follow those plans.
Iâm working currently on a plan for a small deli and the plans are off by two feet! I couldnât figure out why my client was sure all his stuff would fit until I went back and remeasured the space. Mystery solved.
A neighbor recommended we take pictures during the remodel when the walls were opened up so we knew where the pipes and wires and ducts were. We did. I wish we had printed them and included them in the file with the receipts. Maybe thatâs a job for a rainy day.
âJust keep in mind that contractors donât always follow those plans.â
I am aware of that, thanks, mathmom. I know the plans are not the Bible, but they give a good idea of where the stuff is. Having 3 different sets from 3 remodels helps with pinpointing the discrepancies. Plus, Mr. has stud sensors and cameras that can be stuck into the walls to see what exactly is in there. We already used it to wire the island good with good success. The good news is that the original footprint of the house was never messed with.
Not following the plans:
A neighbor had to have septic work done and the county decided that a condition of that permit was that they needed to move the water line from the street to be X feet away from a septic line. Fine, whatever, they hire the guys who then proceed to cut their concrete driveway an 18" wide section the entire length and then turning and going the entire width. Yah, no water pipe was found near the septic. It was never an issue in real life, just on the plans (why?) and guess who had to pay for all that and now it looks much less appealing than previously.
Oh my! What a great, sunny Sunday. So much done around house2. I finally sanded and stained the cedar wrap on our kitchen skywall. After learning how much it costs$$$ to rebuild those things, I am going to baby that skywall. And we took out the last remnants of the infamous âivy covered stump.â Egads. How would anyone want to save that? It is a major puzzle to me. Mr. B seriously trimmed the vegetation around the house - took a truckload to Pacific Topsoils for recycling.
And it looks like Mr. B found a goldmine - a hot water heater for the sink in garage! As is, it is a ticking time bomb waiting to rust and leak. If taken out, the circuit can be used for an EV charger!
Egads. How would anyone want to save that? It is a major puzzle to me. Mr. B seriously trimmed the vegetation around the house - took a truckload to Pacific Topsoils for recycling.