Toto-ly too much info!

Arghhhh!

I'm sure you can think of a friend, neighbor, or relative who you listen to as she talks and you think to yourself, "Please God, don't let me ever get that obsessed with anything the way she is with - xx." And as you politely stand there and listen to her go on and on, your eyes glaze over with boredom. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I've become that way over toilets! You would be surprised and perhaps alarmed by the amount of information I now know about toilets, the Buy America Act of Congress, and the country of origin labelling practices of toilet manufacturers. I've spoken to people in Seattle, Georgia, and California about toilets. And I can only say, you can research something like this until you have the volume of knowledge that would earn you a doctorate from graduate school and still not know if you are making the best purchase. That said, I am going to keep what I have, after buying 3 toilets, returning two in order to get models that have a special "sana-gloss" finish, only to find out that two toilets from the same company, with the same style name, exact same model #, were manufactured in different countries and may or may not have the sana-gloss finish. Hence the Arghhhhh! You would not believe (ok, if you know me, you would believe) how close I was to calling the US Attorney General's office and the Georgia Attorney General's office over this. Get this, the two toilets I mentioned, are NOT made in the US, but do qualify for the Buy America Act!!! But in my own defense, if we are putting in 3 brand new bathrooms, tile floors and all, I don't want to put in toilets that need constant plunging or replacing in a year or two. I want them to last forever, conserve water, and never need plunging!

Quick update on The House. Long story short, part of the house was flooded - AGAIN - when the work crew disconnected the radiators (picture open water valves here), charged the plumbing pipes and turned on the water. The water to the radiators gushed gallons into the masterbath, and maybe other rooms too, and flooded the downstairs entry way. The one ceiling that remained from the original flood, has now been demolished. We will make sure the contractor does not charge us for replacing that ceiling.

We had the roof replaced in 2008. Now the roof is leaking around one of the chimneys. More water is pooring into the house. Called the roofer, he checked it and said we need a chimney person to fix it. Called our chimney sweep, he said we need a mason to fix it. Called 4 masons - they are all overbooked with work, or just had a baby, or some other reason they can't get out here fast! Meanwhile, the leak is getting worse with each rain - and the attic is getting wet - AGAIN!!! Arghhhh #2!

However busy masons are now, fence companies are begging for work. In the last two weeks I've gotten calls from two fence companies I had come out and give us estimates for the fence work, asking if they could work with us on a price to do the job!!! Ha, they are a few weeks too late.

I think I found the tiles we'll use in all of the rooms to be tiled now! A terra-cotta (reddish-orange) tile for the back-entry/powder room; a green marble-like granite for the master bath, an onyx-like porcelain tile for the hall bath, and a white porcelain tile for the sunny sun porch. The rest of the rooms will be hardwood. If my contractor had been sitting down when I told him the price I got for the green granite tile, he would have fallen out of his seat. He was shocked at the price, it is a beautiful stone! But I stumbled upon this tile and the onxy looking one (by the way, this onxy is creamy with white marbling, not black like a lot of onxys; I know, I know, I fell into the bland, beige and boring color I was belly-aching about a little while ago, but at least it is a pretty, bland, boring, beige color!!!) while out looking for a bathroom vanity. I had been looking at quite a few vanities on craigslist, ebay, homeclick, overstock, etc, etc, when I drove by a shop and decided to stop in and see if they had anything I liked. Bingo! I bought the vanity - it comes with a granite counter top, undermount sink, backsplash, and a mirror all together and I loved it immediately. And it really helps having it all come together as one, that means I don't have to find a sink to fit the counter, to fit the backsplash and a mirror to go with the vanity. It's a package deal and comes delivered, already assembled, rolled in bubble wrap and styrofoam in one box. Can't beat that!

Poopers and I have been feeling under the weather the last couple of days. There's so much H1N1 going around here now we were worried that was what we had, but I am feeling much better today so I doubt that was it.

And I have to tell you I have the best sister in the world! She used her frequent flyer miles to buy me a ticket to Michigan. I'll be there when the next Twilight sequel hits the theaters - I am looking forward to seeing that with my nieces. And hopefully we'll be able to get some apple cider and doughnuts while I'm there, too!

Stay healthy and be well!
Poodle

House renovations with pictures!

I was at the house today without any of the construction crew so I could take lots of pictures. This first one is of the new fence with a seasonal display of mums and pumpkins I placed beside the new fence in celebration of autumn. Some losers in the neighborhood have since stolen some of the pumpkins. It's a post and rail fence with a hardly visible green wire mesh stapled to the back side of the posts. I think this type of fence is also called split rail. Looks kinda country doesn't it? I hope it keeps Hairy confined!




This next picture is of the new ceiling frame in the kitchen slash dining room. That pipe-looking pipe passing through the right of center of the picture is the old central vac piping. It will obviously need to be repositioned agains the outer wall. Where it is in this picture is where the old wall was between the old kitchen and dining room. The wall has been removed to make one big kitchen/dining room. I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!!!





In this picture you can see the plumbing and shower floor (odd shape and all) for the new "Master Bath." I think a more appropriate name for this itty-bitty bath is the Junior Bath. Oh well, it's a helluva lot better than the old one. I like how our contractor described the old master bath: Not even big enough to change your mind it that!



Here is a picture of the "Hall Bath" with the new and very heavy enamaled cast iron Toto tub.

In this picture you can see the plumber's equivalent of an electrical panel in our freshly thermosealed (painted white is what that looks like to me) basement. I called it a medusa of water lines the other day and I think I hurt his feelings. I didn't mean anything bad by it. I guess I have to remember this project is their work and they take pride in it being well liked by the home owners.

Well I took a thousand more pictures, but I thought this was a good amount to share today. Please let me know if you have any feedback on any of the construction progress so far. Poopers and I are taking our contractor's opinion on practically everything. Because we don't know what is the best (fill in the blank) when it comes to AC, plumbing, framing, etc, etc.

Until next time,

Poodle

Where to start?

Thanks for your comments - I think. Why are you all still posting anonymously? It's not like this blog is popular and everyone will know who you are - no-one will know, you're safe here. Post away - be brave - identify yourself!

So, just got back from an animal health conference. Heard lots of good speakers. But, as usual, ask two experts for their opinions and you'll get three answers. No kidding. I went to two lectures on the Canine Influenza virus given by two different experts and their info couldn't have diverged more. One said it's a huge problem. The other said no problem. One said it primarily infects dogs housed in outdoor kennels, like racing greyhounds in the south. The other said it is really only a concern for dogs housed indoors where they are within 20 feet of other dogs.

Of course, I was worried about poor Hairy (you may know him as Little Shit) the whole time. He was being kenneled with other dogs while I was away. Would he get the Canine Influenza virus? Was he kept within 20 feet of the other boarding dogs? Probably. He's so little and when you pet him, his small size is made more obvious when you can feel how small his little bones are. His fluffy coat makes him look bigger than he is, and his Big Dog 'Tude makes him seem bigger too. But the guy at the kennel made the right call, when he said he has the Napoleon Complex of Dogs, aka, Little Man Syndrome. Evidently, little Hairy wanted to take on all the big dogs at the kennel.

But the best thing and the oddest thing at the conference were some key chains one of the vendors was handing out. They were little soft plastic dogs, that when you squeeze them some brown goo pokes out of their rear ends. I had to get two, for Poopers, you know! GROSS.

The weather is getting cold. In fact they had to close one of the major streets in the city today because of ice build up! So of course this made me worry about the house, and the pipes, and frozen pipes, and nightmares. Of course the plumber is working on the water lines so all of the radiators have been drained. I told them to get them working ASAP!

The new fence is up at the house now, too! Yeah! Hairy had a chance to run around and explore last weekend. And he didn't jump out! The fence is 4 ft high. But I think he has springs in his legs and he could easily jump over if he decided to try.

I almost forgot! I ran in the 5k run on the grass course the other weekend. I didn't meet my time goal, but it was fun, and the weather was perfect. I will definitely run on that course again.

Toto toilets anyone? Does anyone have Toto toilets? I could tell you so much, but I'll try to keep it short. First of all, let me tell you, evidently they are the HOT thing to have in your bathroom now. You can get the eco friendly dual flush type (one for #1, another button for #2), or the Drake or the Neorest with a washlet, etc, etc. Well, evidently this is a Japanese company. The Dual Flush toilet is made in China. (Thank you Terry for the warnings on the dual flushing toilets!!!) The Drake's bowl is made in Vietnam and the tanks are made in Mexico. I bought one of the Dual Flushing toilets for the downstairs bath with an ADA height seat (higher than usual), and two Drakes for upstairs. One of the Drakes (note: both had the same model number) had a sanagloss finish according to the sticker label, and the other didn't. I returned the one that didn't have the sanagloss. Don't want any skid marks, if you know what I mean, and the sanagloss finish is supposed to prevent that.

Ok, enough toilet talk. I suspect tiles will be next. What colors would you use in your high traffic entry/mudroom? Bathroom floors and walls? Sun room? Please let me know your opinions of ceramic, porcelain, stone, etc! ASAP!

Thank you!

And the countertops are...drum roll please...

After much agonizing, a lot of fretting, too many trips to too many granite and stone yards (think slaughter plants with a little less blood), reading lots of reviews, forums, and three home shows later, I finally bought our countertops today!

And guess what I got?

First a review: You may recall I've wanted soapstone. I love the look and warmth of soapstone. People would advise against it because it requires frequent maintenance - primarily oiling. I also love marble, but everyone warns against it because it stains so easily - due to the fact that it's so porous. But marble lovers also love Miracle 511 Porous Plus on their honed marble - prevents staining for years and years. Granite was a possibility mainly because of its relatively low maintenance requirements, but I couldn't stand the cold feeling from the shiney-polished surface so many granites have.

Enter - Black leathered granite!!! Yes, that is what I purchased. I think it has the feel and warmth of soapstone, without the maintenance requirement and it was much more affordable than soapstone (from any place other than the one stone yard that had it cheap, but was rated an F on the Better Business Bureau).

Here is a picture of the slab I bought today and the salesman is standing next to it:

Of course, it helped that when I walked into this huge granite yard today, it was the owner who asked me if I needed help and it also just happened that the salesman we met at the homeshow last weekend was eating (inhaling) his lunch. So the owner showed me some stones and must have been in a good mood, because he gave me a level II pricing for a level IV granite. Evidently the "leathered" treatment normally costs quite a bit more than the polished, shiney look.

Now, for those of you who are disappointed or even maybe disgusted by my pick, that's ok. In fact, I can remember the first time we went to a stone yard and looked at granite for the very first time. That was back when I didn't know what a "backsplash" was, muchless the difference between laminate, soapstone, corian, quartz, quartzite, granite, marble, cultured marble, leathered finish, satin finish, antique finish, honed, polished, etc, etc, and I didn't like black counters then either. Too dark. Who wants a dark kitchen? Not me! And then I read, touched, talked, drove all over creation, read some more and yes, I picked a black leathered finish granite for my countertops! And I'm excited about it, so in case you are like me and didn't like the idea of black countertops at first, that's ok.

(Officially, the color is called Steel Gray Leathered Granite. That is to avoid confusing it with any of the following black leathered granites such as: Absolute Black, Jet Mist, Premium Black, Virginia Mist, Nordic Black, Angola Black, Cambrian Black; I think you get the picture!)

Also, for those of you upset with my dark choice, you may get some relief knowing that we have 3 large windows in our kitchen, we will also have undercabinet lighting, and oh yes, we will be getting a white marble island top and white marble full height backsplash. All this white marble (with gray veining, or "movement" I think is the technical word for it) will add some depth and lightness to the room, too.

Now I have to send a follow up email to our kitchen cabinet / kitchen designer lady. She came out to the house this morning for "final" measurements. We will order our cabinets Tuesday! This is getting so exciting.

Enjoy your weekend. And hey- this is the time for renovating. There are some great deals out there - our granite price was great, but we also get a sink and faucet in our package, too.

Poodle