The Bathroom Remodel

What started it all. A simple light fixture had simply fallen out of the simply ugly bathroom. Eli and I looked at each other and said, "Well, I guess it's time to start this project now."



You can tell we hadn't really planned for this yet...the shower curtain is still up, the newly installed blinds are still in use, a toilet was available...



One little tug...



And this happened! What?!?!

Okay, for those who hadn't seen the bathroom before, I'll post a few pics that we took at the closing.



This is the bathroom we're talking about. I guess I didn't really go into detail with the pics. (We were mainly so excited to have a whole house that was all ours!!) The countertop is actually a new stock formica countertop from Home Depot. The previous owner installed it before he put the house on the market. Unfortunately, he didn't really care that it was 2" too long and 1 1/2" too deep.



This picture doesn't do the ugliness justice, either.

And look at that floor! I actually wouldn't mind the floor...until you look closely and see that it 1)is laminate and 2)has an "interesting gold" marbling effect. Oh the 70s. Anyway, it kind of gave me the idea for the new tile we're putting in. Black and white with a little vintage. I call it an homage to the house. :)

Going back to the other pic...



We have a plastic "tile" shower surround. Isn't it lovely? It really doesn't look bad in this picture. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of it not connected to the tub, completely soaking the drywall (without a moisture barrier) behind it, and the TAN glue that was holding it in place. Wait...what's this?



I sure do! You can see the glue, but you can really see the mold by the tub. (Um, sorry to all of our friends and family who have showered at our house. Free showers at the end of the reno!) All of the brown going halfway up the drywall is just soaked. Unfortunately, without any type of moisture resistance and a proper install, the surround unattached itself from the tub and let the water get soaked up by the wall behind it. More on what we're doing for this problem later.



Back again to this. Notice the panelling. I love it. But not this horrible beat-up mess that is going on in here. And you can't see it here, but there a fantastic floor to ceiling cabinet behind the door. The cabinets are the only thing that will stay! Are you ready to see what's going on now?



This is when we took down the huge mirror. That is some awesome wall paper and a few holes.



This soffit came down. Why? Because we figured out that it was there for decorative purposes only. Yeah...it took Eli only a few minutes to remove that big ugly beast and it made the vanity area feel huge! (I don't have a picture of that...I'll have to go in there this weekend and snap a few while we're working on the next stage - installation!!)



Eli is admiring his handiwork. He got it out pretty easily. Smile, honey!





The cabinets are in pretty good shape. They have good lines and now that they've all been sanded and primered, I'm so glad that we didn't replace them. I picked out some plain brushed nickel knobs to replace the old semi-brass-now-black hardware.

And the cabinets were only messed up in one place.



And Eli quickly fixed the drawer support.



Drawer support? I'm not totally down with the construction/remodel lingo. Whatever. You know what I'm talking about. (Or that's at least why I have illustrations so that you can figure it out.)

This is the new sink and new fittings from the previous owner. Almond? Really?



It was already rusted, though! How did that happen?

More cabinets.



It looks like I actually do have a pic of the big wall cabinets. I love them!



And a gorgeous helper pup :)



Look at that face!!



And because I can't have one without the other...



He always finds a spot where the sun is shining through the window on the carpet. He'll move to get in the perfect place, not leaving Mr. Wishbone far behind.

Okay! Enough gratuitous cute pup pics. Back to the bathroom!

Eli took out the surround quickly, too. We had a feeling that we would have to replace the drywall behind it, so there was no need for being delicate.



Easy peasy.



This is after the surround, drywall, and tub were taken out.



The plumbing was horrible!



See the little board kind of holding some pipe up? Handyman Eli has since replaced, fixed, and redone this mess. We now have plumbing with just one handle! And it came with a fancy new showerhead, too. (More pics on that in another post.)



See ya, linoleum.



See ya, toilet.



See ya, jank plumbing.



Hello, mold and moisture resistant concrete board!!



Hello, new drywall and sanded and primered panelling!



Good to see you, cabinets! Pleased to meet you, four outlets! Don't worry...the bottom of the cabinet will also be replaced. We might have had a slight issue when we turned off the water. Not to worry, though!



It will be beautiful. And without ugly patch tape.



But complete with cute husband hineys. (Sorry, hun. I had to!)

This was a pain.



That's more concrete board, carefully cut and installed with my help.



We put this stuff down to help level out the floor for the tile, but also to keep it from being so cold. The tub was previously installed on the concrete foundation and it was quite chilly all the time.

That's all for now. I should see some tub installation this weekend, as well as some mud and tape action. Hopefully tile is next, but not before I convince my mom to come over and help me paint. :)

xo!
S