Bathroom Tile Work

As the progress occurs now its an everyday something more gets added each day.  On our last visit through the house we were surprised that the tile work for the two upstairs bathrooms had been completed.  If you remember back to the post about flooring we had upgraded the master bathroom tile originally to level B but upon arriving at the flooring company we found out level B was not what we thought.  

The base level option Level A is small square white tile, which you will see a little later in this post when we look at the hallway bathroom.  It was our thought based on some conversations we had that Level B allowed for a fancy textured tile, we came to find out that was not true. Level B is just a larger white tile, with an off-white option as well.   

Level C does provide for a large number of options from which we choose one of the latest additions to the selection list, Heathland.  We loved this option when we saw it in the flooring showroom and we couldn't wait to see in in actual application.

Tile Sample - Heathland 

Well the time has come for that very look.  The Square large 12 inch by 12 inch tile will make up the flooring of the master bathroom while the rectangular one, 9 x 12, will make the walls of the shower and contain the mosaic accent.  In the actual application under different lights it appears the tile is a little darker.  This could be the lighting or the fact that the work was not complete since you can see the grout dust still on the wall.  I didn't notice the color difference until looking at the above picture of the tile sample versus the up close of the actual application below.

Master Bathroom Shower - Tile Closeup

The double shower looks fantastic with the fancy tile of Level C, it really brings the bathroom to life and provides a great selling point to the house.  As we all know kitchens and bathrooms are the rooms that finalize the deal in housing.  You will have options to add additional tile shelving, but we decided not to go with that option. The shower without that option will still have a soap dish as seen in the below picture.

Master Bathroom - Shower

Master Bathroom - View from the Doorway

The tile in the shower reaches to within six inches of the ceiling, I would have preferred for it to have reach all the way to the ceiling, but this must not be the design.  I think it will certainly be one of the things I mention on the post delivery survey.

The floor tile was laid down as well, but covered by a cardboard layer to keep it as clean and pristine as there was a small section not covered for which I took a quick picture.

Master Bathroom - Floor Tile

Out in the hallway bathroom, the tile is only in the shower as we stuck with the base option, which includes a vinyl floor and small white tiled shower.  The tiles are the standard 6 inch by 6 inch tile, inside the shower, just shy of the ceiling.  There is a simple white soup dish on the side wall of the shower.  Below is a picture of the shower, sorry for the poor quality with the shadow caught on the bottom.

Hallway Bathroom - Shower Tile

Next up will be laminate flooring, electrical and plumbing fixtures.

Journey to the Inside of "Florence" Part 2

Yesterday we explored the inside of the first floor, but left out the trip down stairs and upstairs for sake of not running one post on too long.  So here is the first look at the inside of the basement and first floors.  

As one might expect the basement was quite dark, there is very limited windows in the design, just a small one, maybe one foot by three foot in size, that is situated at the back of the foundation wall just below the morning room.  I wish there was a few windows along the left side of the house to bring some natural light into the finished basement side, but that was not to be.  We never asked about adding some since we were already budget maxed with the other upgrades, but if your building a Florence it might not be a bad thing to ask about.

The frame for the finished basement walls are already up, and the drain plumbing was in but little else.  The hot water heater had been delivered and sat in a dark corner of the basement.  I tried to get my camera to take some pictures but couldn't pull enough light for it to work.  Bob was able to help out by using a flashlight app on his cell phone in order for me to catch just a couple.  The first is the area is where the hot water heater, furnace and sump pump will ultimate reside.  Sorry for the blurriness not my finest work!

Unfinished Portion of the Basement

The second picture is taken from the base of the stairs looking into the finished portion of the basement facing the front of the house.  You can see the wall for where the storage closet in the front of the basement will reside.  additionally you can see the reddish color in the upper right portion of the picture this is a steel beam support running across the house surrounded by wood so that the walls can be finished.

Finished Side, or soon to be finished

After checking out the basement we headed back up to the first floor and around to the back of the house into the family room.  From there we went up the stair case to the second floor.  At the top of the stairs off the the left, front right of the house when looking from outside, just above the garage is the loft area.  The model home has the fourth bedroom option so this area is all walled off in it, so we never saw exactly what it looks like, still can't fully see it but it looks giant in the pre-drywall state.

Loft

The area in back left of the picture will be the walk-in closet for the master bedroom.  I spun to the left taking another picture from the same location, but you can see through to the back of the house, it gives you a good look at the full size of the house before the walls are up.  Additionally you can see the tub has already been placed for the hallway bathroom and a good look at just how big the walk-in closet will be.  It is bigger in the layout with the loft over the four bedroom version, as they take away a portion of it for the closet in the fourth bedroom.  I think especially for us the loft was by and far the way to go!

Loft looking through walls at bathroom and master closet

We moved around the stairs and down the hall towards the master bedroom situated at the back of the house  and looking to the right we get another angle on the hallway bathroom.  Looking in from the door, rather than through walls.  You can see the tub and location of the drain for the toilet.

Hallway Bathroom

After looking in on the bathroom, I took the first look at the master bedroom.  Taking a look to the right from the doorway we can see the main area of the bedroom and the corner window. The corner window is one of the optional windows we chose, and I am happy we did it will bring much more light into the room.  Off to the right is the entrance to the walk-in closet we saw through the wall from the loft picture.

Master Bedroom

A look into that closet, wow that is big, much larger than the closet in our current house, they didn't use up much space for closets in older homes, but they sure do now.  Looks to be a return vent in the upper right of the picture.

Walk-In Closet in Master Bedroom

Next we took a look at the master bathroom, we chose the large shower stall and linen closet option.  The garden tube seemed unrealistic for us, as we imagined how little we would use it.  In speaking with Bob he mentioned that from what he has been seeing in Florence models this setup has become more of the normal scenario but with Milan models the garden tub still holds the lead.  It will be nice to have the linen closet in the bathroom itself, in our current home its in the hall, and it can be annoying.  This would be especially more annoying in this scenario as the other linen closet is in the hall between the first and second bedroom which would require you t go out down the hall to grab a towel.  You can see in the following picture the shower basin and closet.

Master Bathroom

The window for the bathroom will be on the wall just off to the left of this picture, and i am standing where the sink will be.  The final look is down the stairs from the landing outside the loft looking into the family room.  I missed taking pictures of the second and third bedrooms, I will get them next time.

Stairway

Wow what a long post, guess it should have been a three parts!