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"I Am Grout."
Sep. 18th, 2021 09:31 pmThis morning and early afternoon, I had me time. Slept in (for me) all the way to 8:30, with a series of weird dreams including hanging out with a long-deceased 1980s Boston radio talk show host, and meeting at my old office down Main Street where I somehow almost caused a mistrial in somebody else's case. Then a mid-morning workout, a brief visit to Office Whorehouse, lunch, and finally a writing group meeting.
The former: brief, because apparently they've removed all floor samples of computers from their shelves. I spend a lot of my day chained, and more of it addictively connected, to my primary PC, and I want the tactile experience of trying it before buying it.
The latter: well, it was most of a meeting, because Zoom was being a total bitch when I got into my office to connect for it. I didn't present anything, but enjoyed the submissions of those who did and the stories shared by all.
But then it was time to end the me time and do some actual work around here, and the preselected task was to do the tile grouting on the one section Eleanor hadn't gotten to in the previous weeks. No pictures, because (a) people are sick of seeing pictures of our shitter more than they spend time in their own, and (b) I forgot to take any until we were done. That can't be remedied at this point, because the section in question was the bathroom wall between the toilet tank.
Here's what that involved:
* Remove tank.
That should have been the easy part, because I'd already done and undone it a month or so ago so the old tile behind there could come out and be replaced. All it is, is removing three bolts: one holding down the water line, the other two holding the tank onto the base of the thing.
Water line bolt is quick and easy, assuming you remember which end you're disconnecting it from. (Pro tip: it's the end closest to the water shutoff.) My addled brain did not remember that, and I spent close to half an hour trying to disengage it at the tank end.
The other bolts, there's no question where they need to be wrenched from. Problem is doing it, because they are under the base of the throne and require wriggling and jiggling and lying upside down to get to at least the first of them. As with the tiles last weekend, the first I tackled was the untamed beast that took close to another half hour to get out, while the second came off in a fraction of that time.
Then it was on to Part Two:
Slather the grout.
Specifically, make sure it filled in between the roughly 100 rectangular tiles suddenly made accessible by the tank not being there. Apparently, I did this very type of task six years ago when we retiled in the kitchen, but I have no recollection of any skill I picked up in the process. But it went reasonably well: she mixed the goop, I troweled it onto the wall, then poked and prodded the space between the tiles to fill with the stuff. Once the supply of grout ran out, there was drying, then sponging and re-poking and re-prodding of missed spots. New batch, new drill. Finally, she volunteered to mix a small third batch and catch those that weren't quite right, while I filled the grocery order. It was all done and dry by the time I fed the animals, and then it was just a quick final part:
Reconnect the tank.
My earlier booboo did not mess anything up, so the bolts went on a lot more easily than they came off and things are flowing, shutting off and not leaking.
That led into me making a fairly quick and dirty meal, and finishing a film we'd started the night before. I then caught friends in a Rochester Fringe Festival Production of William Shakespeare's Sharknado, and will now be soaking and sleeping before another pre-reno day tomorrow.
All that's left in the loo, which is still a pretty big All but won't be happening tomorrow? Completing the painting and resetting of the vanity around the sink (the new countertop for it is ready already); getting the rotted floorboards up and replaced with the plywood we picked up earlier this month; installing the replacement Old People Toilet that also came in this week; and finally, putting a new vinyl floor in that's been waiting for us in the hallway for a couple of months now.
The end is in sight. Which, in a bathroom, is always a good idea;)
The former: brief, because apparently they've removed all floor samples of computers from their shelves. I spend a lot of my day chained, and more of it addictively connected, to my primary PC, and I want the tactile experience of trying it before buying it.
The latter: well, it was most of a meeting, because Zoom was being a total bitch when I got into my office to connect for it. I didn't present anything, but enjoyed the submissions of those who did and the stories shared by all.
But then it was time to end the me time and do some actual work around here, and the preselected task was to do the tile grouting on the one section Eleanor hadn't gotten to in the previous weeks. No pictures, because (a) people are sick of seeing pictures of our shitter more than they spend time in their own, and (b) I forgot to take any until we were done. That can't be remedied at this point, because the section in question was the bathroom wall between the toilet tank.
Here's what that involved:
* Remove tank.
That should have been the easy part, because I'd already done and undone it a month or so ago so the old tile behind there could come out and be replaced. All it is, is removing three bolts: one holding down the water line, the other two holding the tank onto the base of the thing.
Water line bolt is quick and easy, assuming you remember which end you're disconnecting it from. (Pro tip: it's the end closest to the water shutoff.) My addled brain did not remember that, and I spent close to half an hour trying to disengage it at the tank end.
The other bolts, there's no question where they need to be wrenched from. Problem is doing it, because they are under the base of the throne and require wriggling and jiggling and lying upside down to get to at least the first of them. As with the tiles last weekend, the first I tackled was the untamed beast that took close to another half hour to get out, while the second came off in a fraction of that time.
Then it was on to Part Two:
Slather the grout.
Specifically, make sure it filled in between the roughly 100 rectangular tiles suddenly made accessible by the tank not being there. Apparently, I did this very type of task six years ago when we retiled in the kitchen, but I have no recollection of any skill I picked up in the process. But it went reasonably well: she mixed the goop, I troweled it onto the wall, then poked and prodded the space between the tiles to fill with the stuff. Once the supply of grout ran out, there was drying, then sponging and re-poking and re-prodding of missed spots. New batch, new drill. Finally, she volunteered to mix a small third batch and catch those that weren't quite right, while I filled the grocery order. It was all done and dry by the time I fed the animals, and then it was just a quick final part:
Reconnect the tank.
My earlier booboo did not mess anything up, so the bolts went on a lot more easily than they came off and things are flowing, shutting off and not leaking.
That led into me making a fairly quick and dirty meal, and finishing a film we'd started the night before. I then caught friends in a Rochester Fringe Festival Production of William Shakespeare's Sharknado, and will now be soaking and sleeping before another pre-reno day tomorrow.
All that's left in the loo, which is still a pretty big All but won't be happening tomorrow? Completing the painting and resetting of the vanity around the sink (the new countertop for it is ready already); getting the rotted floorboards up and replaced with the plywood we picked up earlier this month; installing the replacement Old People Toilet that also came in this week; and finally, putting a new vinyl floor in that's been waiting for us in the hallway for a couple of months now.
The end is in sight. Which, in a bathroom, is always a good idea;)