Home Improvement Project #2

One of the first things we did when we moved into our house was to make a list of all the things we wanted to do to our house. As we finished an item on the list, we crossed it off. It took about six years to finish the list. The last item was a pool.

Fifteen years later, we are making the list again because time has taken its toll. We need to paint the outside of our house. We need to repair a leaking flat roof on our addition. We need to replace kitchen appliances and countertops. We need to replace the flooring. We need to rebuild the columns outside our house.

Tom's main goal on the list is the roof. The problem with that one; however, is it is a major repair. There is nothing wrong with our sloped shingled roof, but to repair the flat roof we would have to tear up the shingled roof. To tear that up involves tearing up the screen on the back porch.

That is last on my list, and since I'm in charge of this list (remember the dog), I have decided that I shall turn my library area into a dining room to accommodate the family for Christmas. First item to reach this goal, is tearing up the carpeting and replacing it with tile.

Tom and I visited Home Depot to look at tile. I have an idea in my mind, but everyone keeps telling me that I need to get something neutral. That I won't always have this blue furniture that I have now in my living room.

The man at Home Depot wasn't helpful. He acted as if we were disturbing his slumber and he slogged behind us muttering under his breath. We left and went to Lowe's. The employee there was quite helpful, especially after I griped about the Home Depot man. He explained the difference between ceramic and porcelain tile. He sent me home with five tiles for a total of $44.

We placed the tiles throughout the small area. We moved them around. We did this in the evening. We did it again in the early morning light and during the daylight. We walked on them. We showed them to others. We decided we didn't quite like them. We took them back.

The next place we went to was a tile warehouse recommended by a friend. This huge building had every type of flooring you could possibly need. We took nine tiles home with us for a total of $44 and went through the routine again. None excited me although Elliot enjoyed them for napping and chewing.

We took them back. We walked the store again. On one of the displays, I found what I wanted.

The problem is it isn't neutral, the tiles are a mixture of sizes and cuts, and the tiles are different colors depending on what is in the box. We discussed bringing a box home. We discussed how we would need a really good tile person to achieve this look. We discussed how this probably wasn't a dining room material. Then Tom brought up the fact that we needed to replace the windows in that room before we could put in the tile or even paint the outside of the house.

We then gave up on project #2 and moved on to home improvement project #3.