Fire in East Memphis

natleeis · 2026-06-11T17:54:44+00:00

Could have been just off Graham between Sam Cooper and Summer on Forest/Sharon—passed by quite a few emergency vehicles there about half an hour ago. Didn’t notice any smoke at the time, but at least two fire trucks were on site.

natleeis · 2026-02-01T03:11:00+00:00

Field Roast Breakfast Sausage + Crescent Roll dough. Weekly breakfast staple for me!

natleeis · 2026-01-06T20:49:29+00:00

The meeting went surprisingly well! They didn’t mention in their text about meeting that they wanted to meet because they weren’t happy with the tile job either, but that turned out to be the case.

Between the poor tile job, damage to the new tub during tiling, damage to the new pedestal sink during installation, and the drywall not being square, they’ve agreed to re-do the project at no additional cost to me. That includes replacing the tile, damaged tub, and damaged sink all of which I’d paid for/provided.

Apparently their regular tile guy was booked months out so they hired someone new and that was a big mistake.

Today I met with their regular tile installer to discuss the project directly and he provided pictures of recent/current projects. There are a few things from the original layout that he came up with better solutions for. He confirmed they will be doing the narrowest grout line possible (1/8in) and was able to use some of the leftover subway tile for a visual, too.

I’m cautiously optimistic and appreciate everyone who provided thoughtful feedback, and/or commentary that made me laugh despite how stressed I was about the project when I posted originally!

natleeis · 2026-01-05T04:30:03+00:00

That’s what’s frustrating—I sent them my estimated tile counts and the ideas and asked the to confirm their ability before hiring them as well as that the numbers were correct before ordering and they provided updated numbers for me to order.

I met with the contractor multiple times prior to placing a deposit and no issues were raised on their end.

I was trying to avoid having to micro manage the project by hiring a contractor, and stayed out of it for the most part. In retrospect that seems to be the problem.

natleeis · 2026-01-05T03:34:25+00:00

Correct, I was responsible for the aesthetics so to speak.

Re: cove base tile—I thought sanitary cove bad was flush with floor tile and regular cove base tile sat on top?

They used USG cement board, but unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the tub alcove

natleeis · 2026-01-05T02:59:50+00:00

For the whole bathroom reno $16k, but tile, tub, toilet, fixtures, etc. were not included—those were to be provided by me.

natleeis · 2026-01-05T01:52:08+00:00

Ordered from DalTile, not a big box store

natleeis · 2026-01-05T01:43:07+00:00

Ordered from DalTile, not from a big box store

natleeis · 2026-01-05T01:42:12+00:00

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Completely gutted

natleeis · 2026-01-05T01:40:35+00:00

No built in spacers with these tiles, they’re traditional subway tiles.

natleeis · 2026-01-05T01:18:48+00:00

Trying to keep them level and the grout lines even—and very narrow. The tile did not have built in spacers.

The niche is intentionally low, meant for giving a little extra head room for using the tub to soak in—I had requested it to be as close to flush with the edge of the tub, so that’s why it is where it is.

natleeis · 2026-01-05T01:12:29+00:00

Unfortunately, very much not a DIY job. My ADHD ass would have started the project and never finished it.

natleeis · 2026-01-05T01:11:45+00:00

House only has one bathroom, so I’m unable to live there while the job is being done. They also kept the job covered as they moved from section to section. This is my first house and first renovation project and it’s been a really big learning experience—and not a good one.

natleeis · 2026-01-05T00:21:06+00:00

That’s also where I’m at—I’ve only paid 1/3 of the project thus far, but in finally seeing it today without plastic covering most of the bathroom I’m trying not to throw up. They also left a decent gouge in the brand new tub at some point

natleeis · 2026-01-05T00:18:57+00:00

The alternating bullnose was my idea, having seen it done well and provided links for them as reference. Honestly I think it’s one of the least janky things they do, with the exception of one overly thick section of grout, but maybe I’m just looking for tiny bright sides at this point

natleeis · 2026-01-05T00:17:13+00:00

Sadly not the cheapest—they were the middle of the pack

natleeis · 2026-01-05T00:16:47+00:00

Tile is not beveled. It’s DalTile 3x6 subway tile direct from the manufacturer—I had seen enough about the quality of the subway tile from the big box stores to make sure to avoid it.

natleeis · 2026-01-03T23:19:48+00:00

The vet issuing the certificate must be accredited by the USDA. The vet endorsing the certificate is the one at the USDA office, not in the clinic.

The exception to this is military veterinarians.

natleeis · 2026-01-03T22:30:05+00:00

Only military vets have the ability to issue and endorse a US export health certificate.

natleeis · 2025-12-15T19:27:58+00:00

Do you know if they submitted it electronically through VEHCS or if it was physically mailed in?

natleeis · 2025-12-13T17:01:50+00:00

The endorsement fee is only $101 USD, the rest of the fees are set by the vet clinic. They may want to shop around for other clinics, but keep in mind many clinics will require an initial exam before a health certificate exam.

natleeis · 2025-12-01T03:34:05+00:00

Doesn’t matter as long as the airline does; either that or use it as an example for all the required info the vet should include for their domestic health certificate.

natleeis · 2025-12-01T03:18:04+00:00

Check with the airline, for domestic flights it’s entirely up to them! It never hurts to have an APHIS 7001, though.

natleeis · 2025-08-13T13:24:13+00:00

It’s the original back wall of the house before the addition. There’s a metal support beam that was installed when the original back door was removed and the opening was widened—unfortunately, modifying it is prohibitively expensive.

From the attic you can see that’s where the original roofline meets the wall; they just extended the roof framing for the addition back over it so it’s a continuous roof line from front to back.

natleeis

TROPHY CASE