What projects do you have planned for this summer?
Last year I learned how fun it was to take a funky little back bathroom that looked like this → and turn it into the story image above. That project was kicked off when I fell in love with the hand-painted sink with peacocks on Amazon, realized it would look great in the back bathroom and ended up designing everything around it.
We were able to do most of the work ourselves, meaning I had bright ideas and whenever it was practical John made them happen on the physical plane. He put together a box frame with measured cut-outs for the sink and new faucet out of scrap wood from the garage, which I took to the local counter-top guy who talked me into using an inexpensive piece of scrap laminate he had left over rather than ordering a whole new sheet of the laminate I truly desired. This saved so much money I didn’t really mind. John was able to do the plumbing and electrical work which also saved a lot of money. Add a new light fixture along with some new accessories and fresh towels and that tiny space perked right up. That remodel came in under $500.
Now comes The Big One, that main bathroom remodel I’ve been putting off since we moved here in 1990. I so wish I’d taken pictures of that original 1970’s Master Bath. The walls were plastered with a style of wallpaper my seestah calls “Country Duck” and adorned with twin brass swag lamps hanging from gold chains over the vanity, which women were apparently supposed to sit in front of whilst applying their lipstick. Good gawd it was hideous. (And believe me, I know fully well how hideous my current choices will appear to future folks. What’s wrong with a plain white sink?) I rented a wallpaper steamer, rid myself of the hanging lamps, did a too-quick paint job that hasn’t held up, bought some new towel racks and that exhausted my efforts. Other projects just kept pushing to the forefront, and I’d ever so much prefer to spend time outside gardening and clearing brush. But this house will either be rented or sold in the next five years, so one really does need to have a decent master bathroom.
So now...it’s time to get some work done inside. And once again, it started with falling in love with a hand-painted sink, this one with hummingbirds.
While I had to cross a lot of my dream-bathroom features off the list (good-bye, deep soaking tub! Never mind, built-in heater and exhaust fan!) due to champagne tastes on a beer budget, the one thing I’ve always wanted to do is get rid of the horrifically ugly drop ceiling with its thick lumpy acoustical tiles that collect dust and spiderwebs.
Removing it and replacing it with drywall is way beyond my capabilities and, due to John’s nerve-damaged shoulder, impossible for him to do that much work reaching up overhead. I started calling contractors and drywall folks a couple weeks ago. Most of them didn’t call back — it’s their busy season, and they don’t have time for little bathroom project. Three months out was the earliest I could even get someone to come take a look (and have a good laugh). But Tuesday night a young drywall guy who works full time for his father-in-law’s company and does his own jobs on the weekends offered to come by and see if he could do it on his own.
We removed a couple of the panels and he was pleased to see good strong studs beneath. If I would be willing to remove the panels, dismantle the metal framework and do all the follow-up painting he could start this weekend (this very weekend!) and possibly finish it in one weekend; two at the most. He warned that the work would be very messy, but it was good to start with the ceiling first. And he bid a very fair price.
I may not be good at construction or detail work, but I’m very good at destruction, which is what I spent all Wednesday doing. Removing the panels was easy, but because of the various rodent droppings, dust and who-knows-what-all-else I wore goggles, a respirator mask and gloves.
As I removed one panel over the bathtub out dropped a dessicated mummified rat. We haven’t had a rat in the house since the first year we moved in, so that was quite the old grandfather rat.
Removing the metal framework was a bit tougher as the support strips were nailed into the drywall. Mindful of my inherent clumsiness I was gingerly careful going up and down the ladder weilding tools.
I pried underneath the metal strip with a screwdriver until each embedded nail worked loose a bit and then pulled it out with the clawhammer. In places the entire rack was supported by hand-tied wires hanging from the studs, which you can see in the middle right of the above picture, and each one had to be untied by hand. At one point the entire scaffolding nearly came down on my head all at once but for one loop of wire still holding it up!
The countertops will be replaced with lightweight laminate, as the underlying cabinets are too flimsy to support anything heavier and I’m not up for the cost of replacing cabinets, which are not a standard size and would have to be custom-made.
There will be a new faucet and light fixture, the walls and cabinets will be repainted in bright colors, and then the old plastic tub will be refinished to a shiny white (thank you, glescagal, for the advice on that) since I really can’t afford to take out a wall and half the cabinets to install the soaking tub of my dreams. I will add a new tub filler with a hand-held shower attachment which I’m pretty sure John will be able to install.
The vinyl floor that has shrunk several inches away from the edges will also be replaced, which will take another professional intervention, but I’ll save that for the very end. I figure the whole thing will be done some time in 2022. Wish me luck!
I just wanted to mention that I thought the walk-in shower was too stained and grotty to keep, and as I was looking into what a new shower liner would cost I ran across this youtube video on how to clean the worst walk-in plastic or fiberglass shower without chemicals, using just boiling water, baking soda and vinegar. I was doubtful but spent three hours one afternoon scrubbing it and the glass doors, and they did come out looking like new, though the shower doors are still hopelessly 1970’s. But, more money saved!
pNut’s also got a huge structural outdoor project this summer, but I’ll leave it to him to tell you about that.
What projects have you got coming up?
What do you want to talk about today?
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Kitsap River and Charles
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Memorial for BruinKid
Visitation
Thursday, June 14, 2018 | 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Rose Hills Mortuary
3888 Workman Mill Rd, Whittier, CA 90601 | (562) 699-0921
Funeral Service
Friday, June 15, 2018 | 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Rose Hills - SkyRose Chapel
3888 Workman Mill Rd, Whittier, CA 90601 | (562) 699-0921
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RLMiller
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pico
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Netroots Nation 2018
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