Chips, Dents, and Cracks

Wow, I got some of the highest page count number ever on my last post, so I guess interest rates and arithmetic actually are interesting to some people. Cool! But back to our regularly scheduled updates on repairs and remodels, for now.

When we remodeled our bathroom this winter, we went with a company that claimed to offer a "guarantee" of workmanship and said that we could call them if anything went wrong that could feasibly be their fault. They even warned us that the caulk line between the tile and tub might crack and to let them know if it did. And lo and behold, about 6 or 7 months later, this was the line. Note the slit running the whole length of the picture (but don't note that it's a little mildewy--I haven't wanted to scrub too hard and get water/cleaner into the backer board, so it's a little grimy).

Something that wasn't necessarily their fault but that was also bugging us is this little chip in our tub--see it all the way on the left?

We have no idea how it happened--neither of us remember dropping something onto the tub. But it wasn't there on our final project inspection, so obviously one of us must have done something stupid. Nonetheless, it took away from the whole newness of the bathroom. Also it made the tub look dirty because it looked more like dirt/grime then a dimple, so that bugged me too.

With the refinance finally behind us, we made time to contact our remodelers and ask them to come out and fix stuff. They were a little slow to come pay us a visit, but true to their word they did indeed come and not charge us (at least we don't think they charged us--no bill has arrived yet). They decided that instead of using the sanded caulk in light pewter that they had used before to match the grout, they would use something with more silicon that would be more flexible and less likely to crack. We were fine with that, since white silicon is what surround our soap dish, towel rack, and shelves anyway. So after about an hour of removing the old caulk and putting on new, here's the new view:

Notice that our tub chip is missing as well. This wasn't really due to our contractor. We had already purchased this stuff below and were just waiting to get both steps done together so that they would both cure at once when we switched to the downstairs shower for a few days.

It worked pretty well, as the picture shows, on the upstairs tub. So we decided to apply it to a chip in our downstairs sink that's been there from before we moved in. That, however, was not such a great success. I guess the porcelain is more of an off-white than white. You can see it in the bottom left corner of the picture below--a bright white spot that is much more noticeable than the chip itself (we forgot to take a before picture, but the chip wasn't black like the one in the tub--more like a yellowish dent).

Oh well, something we will just have to live with. Turn out that this stuff is pretty permanent. Guess we should have tested it somehow to see if it matched. Not that there are more color choices available anyway.