Living room fireplace is now done - we're back, baby! Progress pics, from how it looked when we bought the house (paneling over the fireplace tiles!), to the original tiles uncovered, to Bill having to rebuild the base brick layer, to final finish tiles and trim. It was a bit scary when we removed the top tiles only to find that the bricks underneath would bounce when touched. Not ideal. Fortunately all is stable, and much prettier, now, without losing any old house charm.
The original clawfoot tub now has a new faucet and a shower!, which gives us a full working bath upstairs. We first thought the tub would require professional reglazing, but it turns out that some sanding/painting on the outside and a serious cleaning on the inside was all it needed. Shower conversion kit arrived last week and Bill set about the super-fun task of removing all the old parts and hooking everything up. Boy, does he love plumbing! Old faucet and previous "shower", a short length of garden hose with a plastic sprayer on the end: New faucet (which is so bright and shiny, pic doesn't do it justice, love it): Ready for shower curtains and final touches: It did take 5 trips to Lowes and 3 trips to Home Depot IN TWO DAYS (damn those old, non-standard plumbing sizes), but it works! In other news, I think the second color on the hallway is going to work (first one = too beige), so Bill will start on trim this week. Full final before and after pics are here .