Guest bath

Our first priority was to put together a working shower as the alternative was a hose attached to a porch post. Since we had already installed a toilet in the guest bath, we started there.

I "buttered" the tiles and Gerald "stuck" them. It took us a couple of days. On the third day we grouted. Gerald smeared and I wiped. It was unexpectedly tiring. At the end of the day, we were both beat, but looking forward to our reward.

What we hadn't anticipated was that we couldn't seal the grout for 72 hours. Then we couldn't use the sealer for 72 hours more. Having lived with ourselves for a few days, the "outdoor shower" was looking pretty good. It would have felt nice on a warm, sunny day. Of course, it was cloudy, cool and breezy most of the time we were there. Let's just say our showers were brisk and brief.

While the grout was setting, we put up the bead board. It was our intention to finish the entire room, but we realized after it was all cut that we were working with two different patterns and we didn't have enough to complete the job with either one. Note to self: check to make sure you have enough of what you need before you start. We made a trip to Prescott to both Lowes and Home Depot. Neither had the right pattern. We still haven't found it.

Nonetheless, we did what we could. It was my job to spackle the nail holes and seams and paint.

Once that was done, we moved our vanity in place and Gerald hooked it up. We had bought this old oak dresser and fitted it with a sink and faucet.

We also bought this piece of tempered glass for the shower which we thought was in keeping with the look we wanted and would have the benefit of allowing light to pass through.

We still had work to do. We needed moldings at the top, over the seam in the bead board and around the entrance to the shower, but it was starting to look like a bathroom in a house.

On the last day, Gerald and J.C. installed the shower fixtures, and our shower was done. The next time we come up, we can get clean and comfortable after a hard day's work.