Awesome Tile Guy

Any time, you hire a contractor to do something, you have misgivings and concerns about what if they do a poor job or don't do it right or charge more money. You interview and meet them to get bids and a feel for their character, their skill etc. For our recent tile needs (as well as our stair rail guy), we met with 5 different guys or companies and got bids ranging in a cost difference of about $600. We were hesitant to hire any of the lower bids and I was hesitant to recommend a tile guy that only I had met, not trusting my intuition or not getting a clear feel for it either. So, we were down to two bids on the lower end, one guy showed up with pictures of his previous work and also came with a recommendation from a friend who recently built, both of which only I had met. How to choose? I went with my intuition such as it was and we were so glad. He did a fantastic job, worked hard and called a couple of times just to check up on it and our progress. He also offered to assist us with grouting the mudroom as well as doing the re-grouting of the bathroom for free-an added bonus. What a wonderful blessing! We had some hands-on instruction and found out why we had struggled so much with it. Our grout was too dry although we had followed the instructions. When he mixed it, it spread like peanut butter and he did it so fast. In fact, with 4 of us working, the mudroom was done in no time. He helped us and instructed on us how to clean it up and smooth it. It was done quick and looks great. He finished the bathroom for us. And on top of it, his job on our shower is wonderful too. Thanks so much, JB. Your work was much appreciated! And, here are a few pictures of the finished rooms and shower.
Bob got up early Saturday morning to wash down the tile and dried grout with vinegar and then soap and water as recommended. Then he began to install the faucet trim. As usual, there was a complication: the faucet was wrong! He called Moen who is sending out a replacement for Tuesday, but he was bummed because he was so looking forward to using the shower! He did get the toilet working though so now we have 4 functioning toilets if you count the garage one. No more waiting in line!
Our vanity is in place and functional. See the tile? You can only imagine how much better it looks than it did the first time we grouted. Oh, if we only had known what we know now about tiling.....

And, our mudroom, with the washer and dryer finally unwrapped and almost installed. Bob spent much of Sunday afternoon working on the dryer vent in the crawlspace. He also installed our Hickory cabinets that we had found back in December at a bargain price. We are hoping, one day, to add to them and have them go across above the washer and dryer. I can't wait to use my new front loaders!

Bye for now, ellie~