Day 263: Let There Be Even More Light!

When I last updated, we were debating the merits of cold and warm light bulbs and still hadn't grouted the shower. My how things change after a couple weeks of silence. Check it out:

It doesn't look like much has changed, eh? ...Frankly, not much has. Here's the photo I put up last time:

So what's different? Four things that have really brightened up the place.

Lights
Turns out all that debating about warm 2700 K versus cold 4000 K colour temperature was not really that necessary. We found some bulbs at Lowe's that are 3000 K and, more importantly, emit 450 lumens... way brighter than the 280 lumens that the other measly bulbs were capable of. I don't know if it's the fact that the light is warmer or just that there's way more of it. It's probably both and, in any case, it's a big improvement!

Drywall
Another factor brightening things up is the addition of drywall. Yes, we have one more board up behind the toilet. At this rate, we'll be done drywalling around Christmas. That's a frightening thought! This board took a while to get screwed in. I'd like to say this one took a bit more time because of all the holes that had to be cut out for the toilet and sink supply lines and the light box. Truthfully, it's because I was the one putting it up. Timidness with the drill and being a perfectionist are a poor combination if you want fast drilling with perfect dimples.

Wall behind the toilet and sink ready for drywall

I took this photo to help us keep track of everything behind the drywall so we didn't drill into anything we shouldn't. There was a close call with a screwdriver and the toilet vent but I think we're good. It's amazing how much more light is bouncing around the room with just the one board up. Granted, it is the board right behind the temporary light we've got up on the vanity light box. Speaking of vanities, one item we got done during the last couple weeks of silence was finding ourselves some fixtures for the bathroom: two sconces for the vanity and a faucet for the sink. We also picked up a free mirror at a garage sale that will fit perfectly above the sink... there's just the minor detail of needing to build a frame for it :)

Shower Grout
This last item may not brighten the room quite like actual lights or large expanses of white but it certainly adds some sparkle to the space. Only three (four?) weeks after we grouted the floor tile, we finally got around to the shower walls.
It's amazing what a few white lines can do.

Tidying Up
I'm not sure how we went from "I'm going to sweep up this dust" to a spontaneous effort to clean up the disaster zone also known as "the rest of the basement." A few of the crates we threw together with scrap from the demo became The Plumbing Box, The Electrical Box, The Tiling/Drywall Box, and The Paint Box.

The Plumbing Box and The Tiling/Drywall Box

Garrett also put up a nifty little temporary organizing centre for some of our more frequently used and annoying-to-put-in-toolbox-so-end-up-lying-around items. There's nothing like a nice, clean, organized work area to make you feel better in any situation.

The Impromptool Centre

After the flurry of progress we had a mere 90 days ago, it feels like the wheels on this bus have come to a grinding halt - or at least a very slow churn - the past few weeks. The truth is that we've been trying to keep things balanced and sane. What with work, thesis writing, and a smattering of other non-house projects on the go, we've had a nice recipe of do-a-bit-of-house-work + relax-and-savour-what-little-remained-of-summer. Summer is decidedly over (proof: low of 2 degrees last night). Thesis writing will be done very soon for one of us. And boy am I looking forward to a functional shower!