Through the Eye of My Camera

BATHROOM³ REMODEL: April 2012

Although the plan has been brewing for quite a long time, I have finally begun swinging the hammer, and essentially – there is no turning back! A couple of years ago I had bought a new sink, but ended up returning it and I am glad I did. My tastes have changed along with my color palette. The plan is back in effect now because the tub needs to be recaulked, the floor is utterly ugly and the sink leaks. So now I smell wet wood (particle board) and rather than just fix it, it’s time to replace it.

So, here’s the plan…recaulk the tub/shower, paint the upper walls, wash the tile, replace the door knob to match the already installed, dated, but in great condition accessories, replace to two cabinets in the corner with a tall unit on legs, replace the sink and cabinet to match the corner cabinet – also on legs (this will thwart any future water damage), new faucet and new floor and baseboard. The goal is to keep the cost under $1000 and with part-time construction, a reveal date of April 22^nd or not to exceed the end of April. I need a reality show or someone from a reality show to come and do the work and maybe even pay for it! I just hope that overall, the end results are similar – if not better than my bathroom¹ remodel. Bathroom¹ is in the upstairs apartment that I redid in November 2002. Bathroom²is the loo at the cabin and I didn’t do it all myself – I did a lot but I did have help on things I couldn’t do - like construction! Okay, let's be honest, all I did was the tile!!!

Now for the colors: Not really sure yet on the floor…have to shop and see what’s available in a one-piece sheet good. The baseboard will be ceramic or wood...most likely wood due to the cost and wood will keep it simple; also to be determined once the overall décor is complete so it can be a potential statement piece along with…wait for it….the light fixture which I am totally going to pimp out and make it look like a chandelier. The cabinets will be brown/black and they are from Ikea along with the faucet. If there’s one thing I have learned through the bathroom^{all numbered}remodels, is that if you buy anything from Ikea in the plumbing department, you have to buy EVERYTHING from the plumbing department at Ikea!!! The faucet will match the shower faucets and the pulls on the cabinet and be stainless…but I will have to be okay with that. The tile will get a good scrubbing and remain untouched, while the upper walls will be painted a green that I have elsewhere in the house. This green just happens to match the shower curtain which will become a neighbor to a new liner. The hardware is antique brass and looks like it did when it was first bought back in the 70’s and my parents spent too much money then on it – so it is staying! Plus, my Dad mounted it into 2x4’s for stability…so why mess with something that’s not broken! The new door knob was hard enough to find in antique brass. The towels will bring the color into the room from a fall palette of brown, green, rust, gold and a hint of burgundy. Time to buy some new towels!!! I may or may not replace the wall art – but that’s the frosting on the cake. And we all know you can’t frost a cake until the cake is cool.

The first project, once the project was back to a reality was to get it all down on paper. This included measuring, remeasuring and measuring again. It included listing all stock item numbers and their location with Ikea, printing the color palette, and measuring one last time. It also included a to-do list in the possible order of what needs to be done and then a quick trip to the store for some demolition tools and caulk. I have a date planned to go to Ikea and on Saturday April 14, 2012, I took a hammer and a pry bar to the baseboards after practicing the removal of a couple of pieces the day I bought my demolition tools. Within a few minutes…18 to be exact, all the tiles were down off the wall and posing for their exiting photo shoot, then boxed up ready to say their final farewell. Only one tile broke, but they are all going into the garbage. There will be a few more tiles to remove once the vanity comes out and I’ll be super curious what is behind the corner cabinets as far as tile is concerned. But, I made sure I found a cabinet that is a bit bigger than what I am removing to cover any potential problems…and when it comes to problems, I am far past certain that I will have some!!! Until then, so far – so good!

Sunday April 15, 2012: I took down the shower curtain rod to clean it and to remove the hooks that “were” part of it. Now I will be on a quest to find shower curtain hooks that fit over that rod…which I will do “prior” to rehanging it…just in case! I removed four screws from the base corner cabinet and thought the piece would lift out. Well here I go with the crystal ball moment – WRONG! Problem one encountered as anticipated and the thing will not budge. I think I might just be done for today!!!

Monday April 16, 2012: New day! Had a nap! Have some energy! Me and the pry bar did a number on the corner cabinets and finally got them out. Now I know it was the tile that was what was holding them in place…only a couple of burps or hiccups on this demo and over the top giddy that the new cabinet will cover them. I’m looking for 19 5/8 on the width and 15 on the depth to cover this ruins – I do believe that I got it covered! This was however a great accomplishment! A quick sweep of the demo dust and the cabinets are on the porch – when my parents installed them back in the 70’s, both my parents and cabinets thought they were in until the end…well, the end has come!!!

Tuesday April 17, 2012: The much anticipated Ikea shopping day has arrived! The weather is perfect for boxes to be transported in the rear bed of the pickup truck and Carlo needed to go to Bass Pro Shop…win – win! I had the ever popular list but I still had to decide between three different sink models; two of which I already own – one upstairs and one at O’Wich. Then I have to decide how far from the wall it will be…10.5” or 16” – eeny, meeny, miney, me – which sink model will it be???

Ikea didn’t open until 10:00 but I went in at 9:45 and sat on some comfy furniture until they allowed the shoppers in. As I headed to the Bathroom Department I found some awesome cute storage boxes that will fit in the cabinet and hold my makeup and stuff. Then I picked out a faucet. Of course the one I wanted was not in stock and the one I got cost twice as much, but again, needed to stick with the Swedes for the plumbing to avert any future plumbing issues. Then I browsed the sink displays…the one with the side faucet was a bit too small; I think the medicine cabinet would over power the size of the side faucet sink – so that model got the axe. Then I looked at a wider version of the model we have at the cabin and although I do like it, I just didn’t like it enough to pick it for home. This model got the axe too. I decided to go with the same sink that I have upstairs…it has clean lines and a simple design and will fit in to the bathroom perfectly…model three came home with me. I also got the same sink cabinet as upstairs except in the black/brown finish and the tall three-piece corner unit. I bought the aluminum leg/stand and think that the choices I made are perfect! Next shopping trip is for the floor and the Menard’s ad that came in the mail said they have remnants on sale. The piece I need is just about 6.5’ x 5.5’, so I popped a tile off the wall, hoping to match it without too much of a design because the tile has enough going on as far as design is concerned! I measured for baseboard and will be checking that out when I hit the store. Maybe tomorrow!

April 18, 2012: After work I shopped for groceries and more stuff for the bathroom! I got a new liner and rings for the shower curtain and then I schlepped off to Menard’s. I got some painting supplies, tub to floor caulk, a mini shop-vac and the vinyl flooring sheet. I had found two great options online; however they were special order and would take 3 to 4 weeks. I opted for one of two in store choices that I liked and went with the color named Tan Concrete. It matched the tile the best…although the tiles are becoming a huge hindrance. On the way out I couldn’t resist a frame and a piece of art that was on clearance - it is awesome. The style of the artwork may not match the design of the bathroom, but it certainly will add a huge pop of color for the room - HUGE. Once I was back at home, I was looking for an envelope and found some other art pieces I had copied to consider framing. I think I just found the art for the other wall. Another productive, lucky day for me!

April 19, 2012: Today I removed the tub caulk and washed the shower walls and tub down. Although there are some issues that were behind the caulk…I removed them and set the fan up to dry it all out. I also spackled the holes in the walls and removed the threshold. These chores sound as if they were simple enough but the challenges were still there…I broke my nails, cut my hands, got drenched from the splashing water, and thought the threshold removal was hopeless since I couldn’t get the hinge pins out to remove the door. But alas, I wiggled the threshold out and luckily did not need to remove the door! These chores took up most of my morning and I now realize that this is turning into the longest (and hardest) bathroom remodel ever!

April 20, 2012: The preparation continues! Picked up baseboard from Menard’s this morning and already have to go back to pick up some sort of cap piece because the baseboard is not tall enough to cover the ceramic baseboard remnants that I removed. Picked up a couple of other odds and ends and headed home to remove the sink. Carlo had to help turn off the water supply and remove the lines from the faucet. The source of the water that has been ending up in the basement has been discovered and it was actually worse than I had expected. For whatever reason, the trap fittings were barely even touching let alone connected…so every time I used the sink, it drained to the cabinet below, then to the floor below the cabinet, then into the structure of the house, then to the ceiling of the basement and finally to the basement floor! Thank goodness this was occurring on the first floor over an unfinished basement or this could have been way worse! Carlo put the sink and water worn vanity outside and I cleaned up the mess that was under the cabinet! Here’s hoping the fan helps dry things out, otherwise the new floor placement will be on hold.

I painted the walls and still love the green that I have used elsewhere. I washed the tiles, lifted the radiator enough to get metal legged blocks from under the legs – and then the radiator hit the floor. Nothing drastic, like a boom, but enough for me to check out if anything bad happened from the basement end of the radiator! And luckily…everything is okay. Actually, this is going to work out perfect if I can get "someone" to push the radiator up from the basement, I can slip the flooring sheet underneath…hmmmmm! The rest of the day I spent scraping and cleaning and lastly scrubbing the floor. Tomorrow is slated for a r-e-a-l-l-y—b-i-g—d-a-y!!! And I think the fan worked!

April 21, 2012: I decided to start working...very early…like 2:00 am. I started with the laundry – even though the laundry is not part of the remodel…I still needed clean clothes! So, while I was downstairs, I worked on cutting the flooring. The old saying of measure twice cut once was thrown out the window and edited to measure 27 times and the do it again before even coming close to any sharp cutting object. I did make an awesome pattern then I drew directions to my pattern and after 4 hours of futzing around with the tape measure, I took the scissors to the flooring. It sure looks good lying in the basement – I just hope it fits!

I decided to take a little nap when Rick arrived for his Morning with Mom! We put the vanity together and then Carlo arrived to change out the water valves, which were corroded. Things kind of went downhill from this point. He brought copper, thinking I said copper when all I said was plastic, which resulted in trip one to the store. Once he got back he replaced the valves within a few minutes. They started to remove the toilet when they determined the bolts were spinning…in the plumbing world this means the bolts, which are mounts that anchor to the flange that then hold the toilet to the floor were moving – obviously not connected to the flange, at least not properly. So Rick made trip two to the store to get new bolts as Carlo sawed the one off. We lifted to toilet to find a shit load (yes shit load) of water under the toilet, under the tiles and amidst a bunch of goop (plumber’s putty). The goop seemed to be what was actually holding the toilet in place. This is now turned into the headache of the remodel. The flange is corroded and this will make for a difficult toilet placement. Rick then made trip three to the store for a retro fit flange – make that two retro fit flanges, just in case! We set the fan up to start to dry out the floor. This has all happened since the toilets were replaced a couple of years ago, which is very disappointing that someone you hire can do such a shitting job (yes shitty)! While the man-power was all gathered for the day, we partially put the flooring in. The guys boosted the radiator from the basement as I attempted to slide the sheet underneath. Did not work…"higher" – "we can’t, this thing weighs 4,000 pounds". Attempt two…"higher" – "we can’t". Then they lifted it with 2x4’s and it worked perfectly – for me anyway…they still had heavy applications to apply! So the flooring is under the radiator and they let it down. The radiator grabbed the flooring and shifted it – they then, manually, lifted it again but I needed it to be higher so it was back to the 2x4’s and viola – it fit like a glove! Once the floor dries out and is cleaned up – the rest of the flooring will roll out to a beautiful new floor! Rick and I put the corner cabinets together as Carlo caulked the tub. I am checking things off my list like crazy! Rick and I had a few problems with the corner unit – like the directions sucked! I know I made a mistake in altering them, but overall it looks good – standing in the dining room! The toilet is in the hall and the rest of the house is a flipping disaster! I can’t shower...and for the use of the loo – that takes a trek downstairs and that alone is a gigantic inconvenience! Imagine doing the pee pee dance down a flight of stairs…it’s harder than you think!!!

April 22, 2012: After believing the floor was dried out and disinfecting the area, I finished laying the flooring…it looks awesome! Carlo came over to install the toilet and it seems to be functioning properly and without leaks! A super big “yay” should be noted here! We decided to move the storage unit into the bathroom to free up the space in the dining room. Since it was too heavy to lift, we used the moving men pads – and the metal legs snapped. Did I mention this is the longest ever remodel or the fact that troubles continue to arise??? If I did not it is worth mentioning; I know I did...so I am mentioning it again because I think it's certainly worth repeating! Now the legs did not snap off, but they certainly did bend. We did end up carrying the unit in – the Grandfather clock was close to an accident waiting to happen and the cabinet was almost – yes almost – too big to make it into the room. We did get it in and it was mounted to the wall. This had its own series of problems…too short of screws, unable to get anchor mounts into the wall (because we couldn’t move the unit) and then the final problem is that we cannot get it level. Now the levelers are on the bottom of the metal legs, but we cannot get our fingers under there to raise them. Carlo’s solution is using a lift to hoist the entire unit the ¾” of space we have and hope that we get it level. Right now, it doesn’t look very good. Then we hung the shower curtain on the mounted rod and that turned out good, after we had to redo it since it was on backwards! After Carlo left, I felt that this project was overwhelming and not going according to plan. So, I decided to tackle the door knob replacement. This went well. Very well. Extremely well – even though I had to adjust the jamb opening, but at least I knew how to fix it. Incredibly well. I nailed the threshold back in the doorway and even that went well. Very well. Extremely well…until I tried to close the bathroom door – ball jam! The threshold is up the thickness of the flooring and now the door does not close. But the knob locks! This is turning into the worst idea, e-v-e-r!

This day is just about done for me. I am glad I can use the toilet. I need Tylenol. I need a good sleep. I need a shower!

April 23, 2012: At 9:00 am Carlo showed up with the tool that saved the day…the hoist! We tipped the cabinet to the side to slide it under – although the legs continued to bend and make cracking noises – and then Carlo cranked it up to the soffit. He was able to lower the right side levelers and then lower the cabinet…it was level! The wall is certainly what is not level, but I don’t think anyone will notice it, unless you look for it now that you’ve read this!!! I must say that of everything I have ever purchased from Ikea, this storage cabinet is amongst the worst. The directions sucked, the shelves aren’t stable and then as previously mentioned, the leg unit it crappy! But now that it is mounted to the wall, I don’t foresee any problems with the unit. But I would never recommend it to anyone who thinks they might be interested in it. I give it one * for overall appearance only – (and that one * is quite generous for an over priced cabinet that sucks!) That wraps up construction for today! I am hoping this will be done by next Saturday since we missed yesterday’s deadline…I suck at being a contractor!

April 24, 2012: The morning began with a trip to Menard’s for more supplies. I had to get the additional woodwork to cover the (unremovable) adhesive from the ceramic baseboard and anchors to hold the vanity to the wall. I also needed adhesive to hold the sink to the vanity. Carlo came over with manly tools and nailed (and glued) the baseboard in place. I must admit that it looks great! We got the vanity in and then the sink, but the plumbing parts just wouldn’t match up. Seems the parts I picked up were not the right ones. Looks like tomorrow will be another trip to the store…I think I’ll stay local and try Ace!

April 25, 2012: No work day! However, this means the sink is still not connected – O’Wich living - city style – and the house is still in shambles. It’s a major mess! Imagine a bomb, a small bomb, but a bomb nonetheless, having fallen in the center of my dining room and the rubble of it all has piled up in the middle of the room (actually on the table) and the rest has outlined the room…hence, my shambles – hence, my major mess!

April 27, 2012: Carlo came over right after work with a bag of plumbing supplies and added the contents to the previously acquired bag of plumbing parts we already had. Like a huge gig saw puzzle, he put these parts into a shape that somewhat resembled a drain system. I cut the pipes to their proper sizes and made another trip to the store for a flexible pipe to join this concoction together. On goes the water…no leaks for the water feed – GREAT! Air blows from the faucets as expected – GREAT! The slow flowing water makes it through all the connected pieces and there are no drips – GREAT! Just as the water flow is through the maze of pipes and enters the drain we have a leak – NOT GREAT! Apart it all comes and the pipe which is original to the house, coming through the wall, attached to some big deal of a pipe inside the wall, is damaged. It is soft and crumbly and turning to dusty mud (literally) every time it is touched. This actually might be the source of the bad leak into the basement – there is apparent water damage that didn’t just happen overnight and this pipe has been dissolving over many years. So initially needing to fix the leak needed to happen with or without a remodel project on the To-Do List! This is the worst set back ever. Not sure how to fix this disaster, this work day and this project of the day draws to an end as Carlo decides that a plumber is our next step – GREAT!

April 28, 2012: Contact was made to a plumber and he DOES NOT work on the problem my drain has…hmmm, but he will look at my furnace replacement. Not that my plumbing problems will be resolved anytime soon…but I did research the problem and it seems this is common. I shared my research with Carlo. Here’s hoping the McGuyver in him will rectify the problem rather than wreck it! I have faith in him!!!

April 29, 2012: Sick of looking at the mess, I decided it was time to clean up the dining room. Ahhhh, much better!

I missed my short term deadline…after tomorrow I will miss my overall deadline and somehow managed to stay on budget. I did over estimate but not by that much – here’s the breakdown:

Sales tax: 59.52 / Miscellaneous: 53.14 / Painting supplies: 20.82 / Décor: 55.45 / Flooring: 117.94 / Furniture: 273.98 / Plumbing: 219.59 – For a total of $800.44, $199.56 under budget! However, we are not through yet – this might need editing!

After seeing this photo, I decided that I r-e-a-l-l-y hate this mirror!!!

May 1, 2012: Here’s a silly little story for you…after looking at both the actual bathroom and then pictures of the bathroom and also realizing any soap dispenser was not going to fit on the sink because of the medicine cabinet…the medicine cabinet had to go! Not only was it an eyesore, but it was too big both in length and in depth. So I took the cabinet out and I am so glad I did…I would have mismeasured the opening had I gone with the overall size. I schlepped off to Home Depot after work, since they opened at 6:00 and to say I didn’t get any help at the store would be a lie, but to say I got good help at the store is also a lie. I think their motto is “if I don’t make eye contact with the customer, they won’t talk to me.” Sorry punk, you’re not so lucky! All the displays are mounted overhead and out of reach…really???? The size I needed was small that the cartons were marked, since the carton show the size of the mirror. Here’s where I made the first mistake…I gave the punk my tape measure and he told me the size was what I was looking for when he opened the carton and supposedly measured the size of the box. Punk 1 – Chump 0. This purchase along with the threshold I bought added 9.89 to the flooring / 38.00 to the décor / 4.31 to the taxes – whoop! Still under budget, however writing this today has me (currently) one day over schedule!

I evaluated the situation of the opening and found out I needed to cut about a ¼ an inch from each side and a ½ inch from the top. Knowing I do not have the needed tools for this, I called my wing man and he advised that I not touch anything until he can look at it. I heeded his stern recommendation. Within a couple of hours, I was excited that my wing man stopped by to evaluate the situation himself. Before I knew it he took the saws all to the 2x4’s and knocked them out of the way. Wow! However, the box of the medicine cabinet still didn’t fit. Then he took the circular saw to the ½ of an inch across the top and then a one cut shot of a ½ of an inch to the left. Boom! It fit! Four screws later it was secure and some caulk to cover the void between the cabinet and the drywall and I’m in business. When the caulk dries there will be a little touch up of paint and it will look as though the wall was built around the cabinet! Carlo needed to leave and I had to wipe down the entire room because of the huge dusty mess that the saws made. By 11:00 I was finished cleaning and writing this days drama! This has been the easiest of the mini bathroom projects – and the messiest - and once again, I didn't have much to do with besides create it!!!

May 2, 2012: Carlo arrived about 9:30 with more plumbing parts. It took about two full hours to remove the old rotted brass fitting and replace it with a new one. It was touch and go for a bit as I nervously watched him saw part of the wall, part of the pipe, work with a chisel and repeat…it was pretty exciting when the part came out! Yes, exciting!!! Carlo then worked with shaping the pipes from the sink drain to the new wall drain and after some tweaking, a few leaks, some more tweaking, an exchange of parts, a few more leaks, a tightening of the connectors and another tweak – it was bathroom sink in full force!!! Another quick clean up and we put all the tools away. The bathroom is totally shaping up. I am hoping that I will not go more than four days over schedule – I still have to cut the threshold, put the seal up around the tub and against the tub/floor and hang the wall décor. I am planning on getting these things done by Friday, then the only thing I will still need to do is work on the lighting, but that is suppose to be a fun project with Wendy.

I cannot believe this project is finally coming to an end and I appreciate ALL the support AND all the HELP I received – so here is where I admit that it ended up that I really could NOT do this ALL by myself and I am okay with that!!! Thank you!

May 3, 2012: Before I went in the house I cut the threshold…I looked at the written measurement…28¼ inches and pulled out the ruler…measure twice, cut once, measure twice, cut once. I marked the one side of the 2½ inch wide threshold – 28 inches, I measure the other side of the 2½ inch wide threshold – 28 inches, I measured the first side again and then drew my line matching the marks making an obvious mark for the blade – I hate when cuts are a blade off. I cut the piece and entered the house. After putting some things away I was ready to mark for my doorway cut and put the threshold on the floor. OMG, it’s short and it’s short more than a blade…WTF? I measured the threshold – 28 inches. 28 inches??????? It’s suppose to be 28¼ inches!!!! Oh, geez!

May 4, 2012: I went to Home Depot on the way home from work to buy a threshold for the bathroom doorway…sound familiar???? Repeat all of yesterdays journaling except this time I got it right…28¼ inches and it fit perfectly. I made my notched cuts, worried that $30 would soon need to be budgeted for a threshold!!! My cuts were good and all that is left is to attach it to the floor! And I never hit the To-Do list on Friday, which now puts the project over schedule BUT it’s still under budget!!!!

May 14, 2012: After a much deserved hiatus from remodeling, today I hung my artwork, caulked the floor/tub, tub and glued down the threshold.

Review of the project - Time line: Over schedule / Spent: $853.04 + the $30 I owe Rick and hopefully Carlo didn't spend more the $146.96 = Then this project is on budget!!!