...2.9...Friday House Update...Now and Then...

...around the house this week...

...this is the back hallway...and there was a crack to the right of this doorway...we were worried that it might be structural...but I chipped away the plaster and found that it was not...just a place where they had not finished the metal to tape seam very well...and so the overlaying spackling had cracked...so I re-taped it with fiberglass tape and respackled and sanded...and now it's ready for paint...

...the Man has been paiting all of the doors and trim...it's nice to have everything brightened up...

...and he started on the hallway bathroom...really just testing things out...and I hung up a shade over the tile block windows...we hope to replace those soon...and not with tile blocks either...but the shades should help with some of the heat coming in those windows this summer...

...and I made a little tent...and did the final sanding on the wall in the kitchen...

...and now back to the past...

...I had already showed you the beginning of the fireplace project...because like the little space in the guest room...it was weirdly built and fastened...

...but the Man screwed it to the top and it's a lot more stable now...

...and then we faced it with cement backer board...getting ready for the tile...but we were trying to decide on whether or not to keep the black surrounding the firebox...

...we decided to keep as little of the 'black' as possible...so the Man is re-doing some of the backer board...

...ready for tile...

...the Man sorted all of the beautiful tiles...

...and I made a template...

...so I could lay out the tile...sort of a rough draft...

...and started laying out the tiles...they're fossilized limestone...and I love the soft neutral colours...

...and when I was happy with the layout...

...I went up the stairs to see the effect from a distance...

...and then I taped up the backer board...

...and spackled it with thinset...

...and then it was time to start cutting and setting the tile...

...the trickiest part was over the little black hood/shield thingy...

...but I used some spacers and moved on up...

...and soon we were finished setting the tile...

...zoom out a bit for a better view...

...this is a closeup of the pretty tile...

...you can even see a little fossil in this piece...

...then it was time to cover everything with plastic...

...and start grouting...

...about halfway done...

...and grouted...

...and then after a bit...it was time to sponge off the excess grout...

...a couple of times over...

...all done...except for the sealant...which is probably not really needed in the living room here...as probably no food or water will ever get on it...

...and it will eventually need a mantel...more to come...

~Have a lovely day!