Project 2: my deck

I have this amazing roof deck that is the main attraction of my apartment but it lacks a little bit of luster.  So, for my next project, I am going to "spruce it up"!  The biggest problem is the decking wasn't properly sealed so several of the wood slats are cracking, rotting and/or broken.  My deck also lacks organization and beauty (i.e. there is no rhyme or reason to where my plants reside, some of my deck furniture is breaking or already in pieces, and I really need to get a cover for my heat lamp before it rusts away).

Perhaps I should describe what is so amazing about my deck before I get into what I'm going to do to make it all that it can be.  I own a unit in a 6-unit building in San Francisco.  This building was built in the pyramid style on a hill.  What that means is each unit goes into the hill a little bit more than the lower unit but for stability reasons (afterall, this is earthquake country) the upper unit doesn't extend all the way out towards the street which means the bulk of the weight from the unit rests either on solid ground (i.e. the hill) or on the lower part of the building that is built above the closest ground (i.e. the hill).  The result of this design is that all of the upper units have a roof deck--er, the deck of the unit is the roof of the unit below.

So, I have a nice large deck--I estimated about 330 square feet--and I have an absolutely incredible view of downtown San Francisco, the San Francisco Bay, downtown Oakland, and Mt. Diablo.  The deck is enclosed with a white railing and (as Christophe Tissier put it) vis-a-vis.  I think that means I have a lot of privacy.

There are a few key things that have to be done to make this deck more enjoyable.  The first is the decking needs to be replaced.  I found this cool interlocking, outdoor "tile" that will allow proper drainage but will be stable and weather resistant: http://www.handydeck.com/index.html.  My thought is that I'll replace the broken slats on the current decking, seal the whole thing, and then lay the new tiles on top of the current stuff.  The reason for this is 1) to limit waste (how in the world would I get rid of all of the current decking!?!), 2) raise up my deck just a little as the current height doesn't allow me to fully enjoy my view when sitting in a check chair, and 3) the current slats are appropriately raised up to allow for proper drainage and to distribute the weight properly and I might as well take advantage of the design.  Another thing to keep in mind is since I'm a DIY kind-of-girl I need to be reasonable about the projects I take on.  Afterall, I do have a day job.

The other things I'd like to do are rebuild/refinish my wood deck furniture, get a cover for my stand-up outdoor heater, and get someone to build an awning.  Ok, I know I just said I'm a DIY kind-of-girl but building an awning is a bit much for a non-trained carpenter.  Besides, the economy is bad.  I'm sure there is an awesome carpenter out there who would love the work--eh hem, I am looking for a good carpenter...

I can't find my digital camera right now  but next post there will be pictures to show what I'm working with.

And then there was light...

I hung my light fixture above the mirror this weekend along with a 24-in towel rack and a bathrobe hook.
I finally have a fully functioning bathroom that is warm and cozy... but still no door. I think I'll have to go with a sliding door for sure. The towel rack is in the way for the door to open inward.
I'm thinking a dark brown door with frosted windows.
Thanks to everyone for your support with this project and especially to those of you who helped with the manual labor. Chris says our next project is an awning for my deck. I'll keep everyone posted!

I have a sink and toilet!

The toilet was installed yesterday, the sink was installed today, and then the inspector came back. He was pretty happy with it all.
The finishing touches will include a shower rod and curtain, an aged bronze toilet handle, and some towel racks.

Another Day Done, Another Day Older

After 3 days straight of bathroom stuff I'm exhausted! But, I'm heading down the home stretch. Tiling was finished sometime last night around 6. Today I spent the day grouting (which took 3 hours!), caulking and putting the medicine cabinet up.

Here are a few pics showing off my handy work. The haze on the walls is from the grout and will be removed when I clean and seal the grout tomorrow. Nick (my plumber) comes back on Tuesday when I'll have him help me put the toilet and sink back in place and put up all of the rest of the shower/tub hardware.

The light fixture is on back order but SHOULD get here by the end of the week. I'm not sure how easy it will be to put up a light fixture but I mysteriously still believe I can do most of this project on my own. If the light fixture poses a problem I guess I'll be having Nick come back over to help me with one more piece :)

I do want to take this opportunity to thank Chris once again for all of his work. He cut so many tiles for me over the past week and was incredibly patient with me during my times of frustration. ~sigh~

Not Anything New but Other Angles to Consider

Here are two more pics of the floor against the tub. This is a much better angle to show the decorative tile on the floor. Not much more was done last night. We cut a ton of tile and laid the base along the shower walls but that's it. Thanks to Aaron for working so hard to become a Level 3 Tile Mason and for cutting all of the tile last night!

Finally, another post!

After several days of radio silence I finally have some progress I want to share. The floor is completely covered in tile. Tonight I grout! Chris suggested I put a strip of the decorative tile along the tub and I think it turned out smashing.
The first picture is a top-down angle of the decorative tile along the tub. It's not perfectly straight which may bother me as the days go by but for now I'm completely satisfied.

I also completed 1 1/2 walls last night. In these picture the tiles look pretty straight but working with only a 1/16" spacer doesn't give me a lot of wiggle room. Thanks to Chris' solution-driven nature he was able to help rescue this project when all of the tiles started sliding down the wall...

At the end of the night the inspector decided to come into the bathroom to check on my progress and to make sure everything was acceptable by his very high standards. I think he was pretty pleased with the plumbing as he came, he sniffed, he left.

Days 2, 3, 4 & 5: a floor, drywalling and a plumber

The last 4 days have been ssslllooooowwww. I've layed my subfloor and drywalled MOST of the bathroom although there are two small areas left to still do. My plumber came by on day 4 and changed out the leaky toilet water supply valve and put the new tub/shower handle on (thanks, Nick!).

A few things I've learned so far:

1. Remodels always take longer than you think.
2. Doing a demo right upfront is HUGE!
3. Using a circular saw with the correct blade to cut concrete board is so much faster than using the scour and snap method.
4. Measure, measure, and then measure again.
5. My boyfriend is amazing.

I'm not expecting to get to tiling until the weekend (at the earliest). Good thing I had this whole week off with no plans. Construction is hard work but I'm still optimistic that it will be well worth it.