We pulled down all of the old wall coverings, plaster and lathe, ripped out the toilet, tub, floors, ceiling, walls... everything. What we found under the painted press-wood and wood paneling, was absolutely HORRID!!
I refused to go a day without a functional toilet, since it is the ONLY one in the house. That was my only stipulation, that if they ripped the toilet out, a new one had to go back in right away.
Unfortunately, I was stuck without a toilet for ONE day. My boyfriend and his buddy were ripping up the old flooring, and his friend accidentally put his foot through the dining room ceiling...
which lead to them smashing out the entire dining room ceiling... you know... just because.
And while all of this was going on, this is where the toilet was strategically placed...
We put in all new plumbing, got rid of the remaining cast iron pipes and soft copper, and installed new PVC, copper piping, and Pex.
So, after an extra day of demolition and cleaning, they installed all new sub floors, and the toilet the following day. The tub was not installed until a few *stinky* days later. Needless to say... I made a few runs to the neighbors to use their facilities, fortunately for us, we have nice neighbors!
So, between work, business events, more work, and traveling, the bathroom renovations were at a stand still for a few months. Our bathroom was nothing more than wall studs, a subfloor, a tub and a toilet. I've grown to hate taking a bath, and brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink. We slowly added some insulation and drywall over the following weeks.
Framed out the bathroom doorway, and wall, and ran electrical and plumbing up for the double vanity.
We even had enough room to add a nook for a washer/dryer upstairs. I despise nothing more than walking all the way to the creepy basement to do laundry. It is SO much more convenient to have it located right next to the bedroom. We're looking at the LG washer/dryer all-in-one unit. LG Electronics Washer and Electric Dryer in White
I wanted a shelf in the shower to hold the shampoo/body wash, etc bottles. So, we built one in to the far wall.
So, this is where our bathroom sat for the last 2-3 months, usable, but not really user-friendly.
We recently had my boyfriends sister Lisa, and "The Dude" over to do some maintenance on their cars, and a nice dinner at a local restaurant, and we made a friendly little wager, since they also have a
Bathroom: In the works
The deal is, whoever finishes their bathroom first, wins help on their next big project. So, this whooped our butts into gear since we could REALLY use the help on our kitchen remodel!
We got to work: drywall going up.
Putting up the vapor barrier.
HardiBacker going up in the shower.
Taping the seams for a water-tight finish.
And FINALLY....... TILE!!!!
Neither of us have ever tiled before, but we are both DIY Network ADDICTS. So, we figured after watching 300 episodes of Bath Crashers, we were pro tilers.
Needless to say, we impressed ourselves! But who knew tiling would be so exhausting? I'm sitting here, at my desk Monday morning, after having spent the last 2 days tip-toe'ing around the edge of the tub, bending, twisting, stretching, reaching... I feel like I've just been through an advanced yoga class, my legs and buns feel like spaghetti, but DAMN does my shower look good!
At 1am on Saturday, we finished the first wall... Sunday afternoon (morning was just NOT gonna happen) would start the next wall.
Sunday afternoon.... GO!
By the end of the evening, we got about 3/4 up the final wall, and called it quits at dinner time. We still need to finish the flat wall, the the recessed ledge, and finish the exterior edges with some rounded corner pieces, and the bullnose strips. Then it's grout, seal, caulk, and SHOWER TIME!!
Looks great! But we will still win.
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