Renovation - bath, sinks, floors and beyond

In the last couple of months, I've been nesting - no, not that kind - I mean looking around the house to see all the things I've meant to do in the 18 or so years we've lived here. Once we had the conversation about never moving except to the graveyard, it just makes sense to fix things the way that pleases us (me).

Here are my projects:

Paint the downstairs woodwork.Replace the stairwell broken spindle before someone falls through it.

Paint the last unpainted bedroom (removing the old intercom receiver - why didn't I do that in all the rooms? The only one that works is the one in the kitchen. It doesn't function as an intercom, but does play the radio.)

Remove old, ugly wallpaper in the two upstairs bathrooms, paint a neutral color.

Remove the old, ugly countertops in said bathrooms, replace with Simplicity, by Corian (a couple of bucks cheaper than the regular Corian.)
Replace the old faucets (those really ugly ones with plastic "crystal" handles) with faucets with only one handle. (I really like those - you only need one hand to get the right temperature water - you don't have to put the book or the baby down to wash your hands.)Home Depot.

Have the kitchen Corian cleaned and polished. It is the 3/4" Corian which they don't make anymore. This was probably installed 25-30 years ago. Home Depot.

One of the young men who installed the bathroom countertops came back on a Sunday to do this. He also recommended we round the square edges of the kitchen countertops - which I hadn't noticed but were just the right height to catch a grandchild's head. He charged $150 for the whole job, which took hours, and was the best bargain of my renovation saga. He did bring his 3=year-old son for me to entertain, though.

Replace the garage door with a steel one. The salesman neglected to notice that the new door didn't meet up with the control for the electric opener, which left us without a closeable door over the holidays. If you use Welborn Overhead Doors, beware of extra charges.

Install Travertine flooring in the upstairs bathroom which has had damaged lineolum under carpet since we moved in. This is an ongoing production since the hardibacker underfloor is 1/2" and the Travertine is 1/2" (adding up, surprisingly, to 1").

The installer didn't have a transition piece ("they didn't tell me to bring the right size") to go from the tile to the hardwood floor, so I'm now waiting for the installing company to come view the job. I have also noticed that the tile doesn't lie flat and they may have to come tear it out, install the 1/4" hardibacker board, and reinstall the tile.

Since the floor is now an inch taller, the doors don't fit, but I don't want to get them cut before the floor issue is solved. Fortunately, we only have family scheduled to visit, so they won't mind (too much) the open air quality of the bathroom. Home Depot.
I ordered, and paid for, this installation on November 5, and after several phone calls ("we had to special order it, even though we told you it was in stock" "it's just been delivered and we'll install next week"), I called to complain and ask them to repay me the interest they would charge for the same length of time. Which they did.

At the moment, I'm waiting for the plumber to come fix the leak in the downstairs powder room (which Byron says can't be updated because he loves the dark wallpaper and three-toned accent painting on the vanity). He has agreed to replace the really fancy faucet with some plain brass ones. These are promised to NEVER need polishing. I'm going to have the equally fancy and impossible to clean ones replaced in the master bath, too.

Now all that's left to do is re-organize the office - turning it back into an office/bedroom - that's going to take awhile.