Progress Part Duex - YAY!

Oh how beautiful it is! Finally, we have the tile backerboard up, and though I know it looks a little rough now, you have no idea how happy I am to have it up. This has been such a wonderful experience. Our contractor has been friendly, professional, on time, and best of all - knowledgeable making him worth every penny! He has a couple of coats left, and then will have to sand back the mud to a smooth finish, leaving the wall ready to tile on Tuesday.

When we started, the bathroom was a 3/4 bath. The "short repair" flipper took the older tub out and replaced it with a pre-fab shower floor pan. Scott and I decided that we wanted to put in a tub, even though we'll probably never soak in it, for the opportunity to have a full bath on the second floor. The shower pan was a bit wider (3") than the new tub, so we have to patch that space with plywood subflooring to allow for the floor tile to lay evenly. Of course, the flooring is a somewhat distant reality. There are a few more pressing things on the list:

installation of subway tile shower surround
installation of plumbing fixtures (faucets)
moving the plumbing to allow for the pedestal sink

And speaking of faucets/fixtures, MrsBen asked in the comments to share the specs for my bath/shower faucet. After much thought, Scott and I decided that we were going to have satin nickel finish on the bathroom fixtures, including the faucets. Because we needed to get one quickly, (before the wall went up) we went with a big box option from Price Pfister. It certainly fit into the budget, at $168. Now, we also have found that a handheld/fixed mount shower head is a fantastic thing! So, we've also purchased that from Moen.

If I've found one thing to be true during this bathroom reno, it's pricey. All those pennies start to add up quickly, so I'm hoping to get the bulk of it done before I start balancing checkbooks. Posting about the flooring next week.