Ya Git Whatcha Git

"Ya git whatcha git and ya don't throw a fit." -- Aidan Atance, courtesy of Miss Terri

This morning, the Tile Guy announced that he was unable to find tile to place along the bottom of the wall where the baseboard molding once was. Originally, white subway tile was supposed to go all the way down to the floor. When the Tile Guy removed the molding, however, he discovered that the material used to make a flat wall did not go all the way to the floor. (See picture) In order to put subway tile to the floor, he would have to recreate that part of the wall. More time. More $$$$. As an alternative, he recommended that he cut the white floor tiles to cover the area where the molding was. The only problem was that he had not ordered any more white floor tiles than what would be needed for the floor. The Tile Guy spent all morning combing Roanoke for matching white tiles with no success. For a couple of hours there was a mini renovation crisis where we were considering ordering the needed tile. While waiting for the tile to come in, the Tile Guy was going to start another project and get back to us in TWO WEEKS. Keep in mind that Joel's parents are coming to visit this Friday and Joel's mother is planning to stay for a couple of weeks. At least we have another full bath, so it would be inconvenient to wait 2 weeks, but not unbearable. Before you get your panties in a twist over the "whys" and "what ifs" in this situation, please be aware that the potential crisis was averted when it was agreed that the Tile Guy would use black tile as a border as opposed to trying to find a matching white tile. He was able to find black tile that matches the dots in our floor.

The moral of this story is that flexibility and creativity are required during a renovation project. We could have insisted upon the subway tile to the floor. We could have insisted that the Tile Guy wait around for the replacement tile to come in rather than start a new job. We could have insisted that he at least reinstall the toilet for that two week wait. But a better solution was to just switch the tile color. Problem solved. Lovely bathroom. Everyone is happy.