Heading Towards the Finish

The rain has really put a damper on getting things done, both last week and this one, with rain to continue through the holiday weekend.  We really need it so I won't complain too much, but having no place dry to set up my wet saw makes cutting and laying tile a little difficult.  I finally got a break Sunday, so I put some down:

I'm hoping to get the rest down soon so I can put in my cabinets, tile those and be finally finished.  After that comes the real fun part of tiling the rest of the house, painting, etc.  Here's what my sink side looks like finished and in use:

I fixed the sink so it's now flat all the way around and everything is sealed/caulked.  I will have to do a little touch-up painting but I'll wait until the whole kitchen is finished to fix a couple spots where the caulk got a little messy as I'm sure it will be the same on the stove side.  

A Bit Of An Issue

So, tile is done, but not without some problems:

Yeah, the sink being the big one.  For some reason it does not sit flat in the front while the rest of it does.  I have no idea why or how that happened, but I do know it's going to be a huge pain and require many clips to get it all down and flush with the tile.  I also had to make a run last night to get bigger clips and screws, as the ones they give you work with regular installs, not really custom ones like this.

Tiling wasn't too bad.  I used regular mud but splurged and got the no sealing required grout which was a bit of a pain to work with.  It's thick and pre-mixed, though it does settle so trying to stir it is like trying to stir chilled peanut butter.  The edges were a pain because they kept wanting to slide down, even after putting a board to rest them on and taping them down.  Overall though, I think it came out nice and not too bad for a first-time job:

I just have to fasten the sink down, caulk around it and the tile and that side will be officially done!  Then comes the rest of the floor and the other side, which shouldn't be too bad.  Budget-wise I am just shy of $7K, with the bulk of it being the cabinets and tile but the little things add up too.  I am still way under budget for what I was quoted ($14K) for a complete remodel, so by the time I am finished I expect to be under $9K for the whole thing, which isn't too bad.