What You Caulking About?! Part Three

Hi friends!

As my dear friend Ili suggested, this post should actually be titled "Caulk Off!" 

Why you ask? Well, because after over a month of not using our master bath while Dr. Love removed existing caulk/silicone, prepped the area, and then attempted to re-caulk the tub, the frustrating end result is that this DIY project was a "Paris Tries" failure.

How so? Well, to start off, I delegated most of the work to Dr. Love. The blog is called Paris Tries, but sometimes Paris makes Dr. Love try...much to his dismay :).  When Dr. Love got to the re-caulking step and attempted to use the prescribed application tool, the thing was ridiculously impossible to use and wasn't producing smooth looking results. By the end of the afternoon, Dr. Love was so over it and concluded that it made more sense to call in the pros.

The cost estimates I received back from the pros ranged from $45 for full job (labor and materials) to about $150/hour for labor, not including materials. The $45 guys got the gig, came in, did the job in an hour and everything seemed perfect...UNTIL.... My friends, this a true example of a DIY turned "bring-the-pros-in" turned never-ending project. Everything seemed fine, until Dr. Love took a shower in the tub and noticed that the caulk was splitting from the tub edges...that is bad news because it makes a home for bad things like mold, bleckh.

Long story short, the pros are coming back out this Friday, they are bringing a lot more caulk (they say the sides of our tubs are super deep), and they have graciously offered to re-do the entire thing for free. We insisted on paying them for the re-do (I mean it's $45, I don't even know how they make money off of this), but they refused and said that they want to give it another go to ensure that we are happy with the results. I'll let you know how the re-do goes...if all ends well, I will gladly share the name of the the company we used! If not, I'd rather not disparage them publicly :). After all, they have been extremely kind, professional, and accommodating. 

Lesson of the day: Even pros can have caulk problems...

On an entirely different note, Dr. Love and I went out to dinner on Sunday and it was the first (and only, thus far) day that I put makeup on my post-chem-peel face (pic below). I had on the thinnest layer of mineral powder I have ever put on my face (I use Priori CoffeeBerry and love it), a bit of bronzer, zero concealer, mascara, and lip gloss...seriously minimal summer makeup...and I felt fresh and great! Less makeup = happy Paris :)  Looks like the procedure pain, zombie face-melting, allergic reaction, and subsequent itch/burn was all worth it...round 2 in 3-4 months....

Hope you guys have a great rest of your day and are enjoying your summer!

x

What You Caulking About?! Part Two

Hi friends!

In the past week, a few of you have asked me for an update on the shower re-caulking project. I'm sure when you asked, you expected that I would have a glorious story to share about how the project left the shower looking sparkly and new again.

Well, unfortunately, that is not the case...but worry not! The problem is not that the process failed, but, rather, that Dr. Love and I failed to complete the process. Yes, I know, I first posted about this project three weeks ago (Jeez!!! I hadn't even realized that we started the project so long ago!), but life happened.

Dr. Love has been super busy with work and, as a result, was both unable to complete the project himself and also unable to share his vast amount of caulking knowledge with me...that is, until tonight! Tonight, I get schooled on caulking. Tomorrow, it's me against the tub in a caulking face-off...kind of like a cockfight, but the legal type...so I guess we can call it a caulk-fight.

In the meantime, please enjoy the beauty that we have lived with for the past three weeks...

And, yes, we have been showering in the guest bathroom and running across our upstairs hall naked daily for the entire neighborhood to see...I guess not everyone is suffering from this project completion delay after all.  Remember friends: there is no satisfaction greater than giving back to one's community...naked.

What You Caulking About?! Part One

Today's post starts with a confession...I love bleach. I know bleach emits toxic fumes. I know toxic fumes are bad for my health, but...I also know that cleaners with bleach leave my sinks, bathtubs, and toilet bowls shiny and clean. What can I say, I am was a bleach-iever.

Why past tense? Well, it turns out bleach doesn't leave every surface shiny and clean. In fact, sometimes, it strips all the goodness away. Sad, but true.

You see, when my husband, Dr. Love, and I got the keys to our new place last August, the first thing I did was spray all of the toilets, sinks, and bathtubs with my bleach cleaner. Oh, and I sprinkled Comet Bleach powder (love that stuff) all over the surface of our master tub.  Actually, sprinkle doesn't fully describe what I did. I basically shook that container of bleach until nearly 1/3 of its contents were in my tub.

After a good long rinse, the master tub (and the other surfaces) looked great...or so I thought. It wasn't until after our first shower that I started to notice something happening. It seemed like the tub was getting more and more stained each time we showered.  The tile caulk was no exception. Its appearance was no longer white and smooth  either.

So, what did I, a staunch bleach-iever, do? I doused the master bath with more bleach. Bad idea.  Within a week, our once crisp white tub had turned into a moldy, crusty nightmare.  Pictorial evidence (not for the faint of heart) below...

Ewwww, right?!?!  Turns out, the tub's anti-slip surface coating and the caulk between the tub and tiles didn't fancy bleach as much as I did. In an effort to disinfect my new tub, I had managed to disintegrate the coating and caulk. Not cool.

Flash forward moooonths later ('cuz that's the way we roll), and it was finally time for Dr. Love and I to talk about the caulk.  I assure you, this conversation was far less awkward than it sounds.

Basically, we both decided that it was time to fix up the bathtub that I had all but destroyed. We took showers in the guest bathroom for a week to let our bathtub fully dry, Dr. Love conducted some caulking research (again, far less awkward than it sounds), and we headed to our local hardware store to pick up the necessary supplies (more information on research sources and supplies later).

As you know, I had a big client matter (research/draft demurrer and motion to strike) last week. Well, most of late last week, this weekend, and this morning were devoted to working on that matter, with the exception of two very important breaks:  the one I took on Friday to celebrate a friend's successful thesis defense (woohoo, Dr. Molly!!!) and Sunday night's Game of Thrones episode.  Best.Show.Ever.

While I was up to my neck in work, Dr. Love decided to get started on the tub. First step...remove existing caulk...

The de-caulking step took a good 5-7 hours...not sure if that's standard, but I suppose it's not that crazy for amateur DIY-ers. Needless to say, this project is not a one day job. More pics and info. regarding the process, supplies, and tips later this week.

Until then, I leave you with one simple, but poignant, thought:  Don't bleach your caulk.