The Devil is in the Details

Detail can make a reno tricky and there are bound to be things you overlooked or miscalculated. The casita was coming together nicely when I discovered my first error.

I’d purchased faux marble tile for the counters, and I planned to make a statement using strong colors of Mexican talavera tile for the backsplash. Once the counters were installed, I brought several samples home to choose. OOP! None of these looked right. The tiles I found available in Merida came from Guanajuato and were the wrong colors, and I did not have time to go to Puebla. This is why they tell you line up all your materials before you begin. Fortunatly, I did find something that looks terrific.

While I was measuring the niche in the bedroom for the desk, I noticed the existing shelving had not been converted to a closet. The floor tile and the walls were finished, so it was late in the game. Both the builder and I had missed this detail, and he hoped I would accept using wood to extend this from 30 to 70 cm. I was not flexible on this point and he made it right for us. The painted cement was a cleaner look with wood doors.

The bathroom had floor to ceiling tile which was perfectly acceptable, but since we extended the bathroom, I needed more of it for the addition. This was old tile and no longer available but I got lucky and found something to coordinate. The albañil removed enough intact tile from one wall to complete the long wall so they only meet on corners. It is darker but the old tile has bloches of green the same tone as the new.

I expected to purchase a small cabinet with a mirror above the sink. I’d seen one at Costco once, but now, we couldn’t find one. Chipping 10 CM out of the 18 CM cement brick is a common solution but I moved the sink forward to be flush with the washing machine. A short person might have trouble reaching that far. The albiñil did a beautiful job of constructing one from cement block. He even mitered the corners of all the tile along the edge of the cabinet, it is a work of art. I am waiting for the carpinter to install a door to the cabnet.

I decided to keep the metal door behind the washing machine so the repairman will have easy access.

Overall, the casita is coming along nicely