Scary Cabin

Cross a couple more items off the list. The utility room floor is tiled and grouted. That took about 3 days, including the time it took to empty the room again. Tiling always seem like something that should go pretty quick, but it doesn’t. Laying the tiles at a 45 degree angle means that all the tiles near the wall need to have corners cut off and small corners need to be cut to fit between them. Unless you happen to start in the corner, special care is needed to get the proper cuts to fit in a corner. Even when just laying out a row, it takes time to back butter and align each tile. The thinset is mixed in batches, about 6 batches for this small room. Sometimes, the thinset drys out and needs to be re-mixed. It does go much faster with two people.

For the utility room we’re using the same color of tile as the kitchen/bath, but using smaller 12×12 tiles. While easier to deal with when cutting, the smaller tiles do present more challenges getting them aligned. It is even worse when one box has tiles that are slightly larger than the previous couple of boxes. 1/8th inch grout lines don’t leave much wiggle room when the tiles are a 1/16th inch bigger. Yeah, I’m whining or making excuses because I’m not real happy with the way it turned out. It’s usable and I think the really bad spots will be covered but still…

With the floor done, trim work can start. The door casing was finished and turned out good. I definitely like working with wood better than tile. The inside window trim was cut, primed, painted and installed. Now all the window needs is casing and a window shade. One piece of casing shy of being able to finish it off.

While the utility room work took place inside, the outside of the cabin was prepped and stained with SuperDeck Mission Brown stain. We hired someone to do the staining as that’s one messy job and not being afraid to get up high on a ladder is pretty much a requirement. If it wasn’t still surrounded by an ugly rotting deck, the cabin would look pretty good with the fresh coat of stain.

Todo list
Utility Room

1. Fix ant infested ceiling joist
2. Get roof fixed/replaced
3. Replace electrical boxes
4. Add recessed lighting
5. Figure out washing machine drain
6. Replace dryer vent
7. Frame new closet
8. Seal up the room
9. New insulation
10. New drywall
11. Texture drywall
12. Paint walls and ceiling
13. Prep for tile floor
14. Tile floor
15. Grout floor
16. Window and door trim
17. Base boards