random aside: OMG, are you watching 24? You totally should be.
Rob doesn’t really understand my need to redecorate our entire house. Maybe we should have discussed this before we got the place. I really hate the golden tiles in both bathrooms, but I have learned to accept them in the guest bath, because a pretty shower curtain ties the whole room together. When I say golden, by the way, what I mean is orange.
It’s time to redo the master bath. Starting with the vanity, because the sink is chipped. I successfully forced Rob to help pick out a vanity and countertop, which will be installed Thursday. Some of the golden tile has to come out with the old countertop, and since I want to remove all the golden tile, I thought this weekend was a splendid time to start.
Unfortunately, Rob’s dad thought we should start with a very high profile row above the lightswitch and proceeded to carve into the wall with a “grinder” which looked more like a circular saw to me. I took over the operation and managed to pry off exactly one other tile, next to the one Rob’s dad removed, and chip several in a lower spot above the vanity.
The grinder sparked and smelled smoky and was no fun at all. I kept at it a good 10 minutes longer than I should have, because I thought, “Surely I can do this. How hard is tile demolition?”
A couple of times my hand slipped and the unwieldy powertool skidded over some of the perfectly attractive white tile, leaving black marks.
Finally, I realized that the problem was not me, but the tool, and I set it aside. Yesterday I bought a smaller handheld grinder with a little cone-shaped bit…but really a hammer and chisel works best. I have now removed 3.5 tiles on the row Rob’s dad started, and 3 tiles on the lower section. Because the tiles were affixed to drywall, the surface underneath is a mess. I have many more tiles to remove, but I think I’ll wait til after the new vanity goes in. See how dirty I can get it the first week.
I said to Rob, “It sucks that even when we get the new vanity installed, the bathroom’s not going to look good because of the mess on the walls.”
He said, “I know!” In a tone that sounded suspiciously like I told you so. Not the most effective way to convince him that this redecorating business is terrific fun.
Today I picked up some wall patching goo, so we’ll see if I can cover up the evidence before the vanity installer comes.
Kari Neumeyer 