The Return of the Bathroom

*peeks out from behind rock* Uh, hi? I've really sucked at keeping up with all this new house transformation business.

But anyway, the bathroom is DONE! (mostly)

You may remember that it looked like this when we bought the house:

Well, now it looks like this!

  It took a bit longer than anticipated and it's still not 100% complete - the above toilet cabinet we bought we previously purchased and returned by someone else, therefore missing parts when we bought it (nice job with your product inspection, "big orange box store"), so that's not up yet.

I also need to purchase some decor for the bare walls and some coordinating towels. I could easily use towels we already own - but they are green and brown, the matchy-matchy color freak in me would go absolutely bonkers about the green towel hanging in the blue and grey bathroom! Darn OCD tendencies!

We got our first experience laying tile floor. It went ok, considering we had no idea what we were doing! It's certainly not perfect, but it's functional and looks pretty nice.

We had a vanity purchased, but then there was a plumbing placement problem and we had to return the one we already bought and get a different (and more expensive.. *sigh*) one. But it's in now and looks great! Design standards have apparently changed since our last bathroom remodel, because the vanity is now at kitchen cabinet height. That seemed REALLY tall at first, but the more I stand by it, the more I like it.

  ANOTHER snag we ran into was the mirror. We purchased a mirror that ended up to be too large, so we returned that (are you sensing a theme here?). Bonus is that I snagged a nice decorative mirror from Target on clearance and I like it was better than what we originally bought anyway!

  Pretty much the only thing we did NOT return was the toilet. Hence the probably not so clever title of this post, "The Return of the Bathroom"... get it? Huh? Not funny? Oh well, I tried.

Renovation: Mission Complete!

It's done! It's DONE!

Ok, not completely.. but pretty darn close. The only thing that's missing is one handle on the linen cabinet because the holes were incorrectly drilled. But other than that - DONE.

On to the pictures:



Look at all this fantastic storage!!!

Renovation: Days 12-14

Our counter top finally decided to make an appearance! It's a lot darker than the tiny 2''x2'' sample at the warehouse... I hope it grows on me.

Here's a few pics:


We're just about done now. Jamie and I have to stain the door, paint the trim a second time and wait for the linen cabinet to be made. The linen is being custom built by our contractor, so I'm not holding my breath on getting that anytime soon.

Renovation: Day 11

Day 10 didn't bring much, so there's no pictures for that. Day 11 was very productive though! We're getting closer to completion, basically just waiting for the counter top (still!). We even have a door now so I can be done being pee-shy.

Here's the whole whole room so far:

The vanity (still needs hardware and top), medicine cabinet and light:

Our fan was also installed:

Last but not least, the pretty shower curtain I picked out! I love it:

Renovation: Days 8 & 9

Day 8 brought grouted tile (which I LOVE!)


... and it also brought paint - which is rather hard to see in this picture!


And guess what? I can pee in my own house again! Our brand spankin' new Kohler toilet was installed today (Thursday). You can also see the paint color (Behr Belvedere Cream) better in these photos - it's a bit darker in person.



It's looking as though everything should wrap up next week. The main factor in when it will be finished is dependent on when our counter top decides to show up. It's taking forEVER.

Renovation: Day 7

We've got tile!

This post basically speaks for itself. Tomorrow they will be doing the grout.

Renovation: Day 6

The bathroom renovation took a break over the weekend, but was back in full swing today. Monday brought on the finished drywall and work on the office wall.

The office wall is coming along very nicely. I'm starting to believe that it will match when all is said and done!

Apparently, the vent that was running into our office wasn't correct (you can see it behind the ladder in the above photo). It was heating/cooling that room and the finished portion of the upstairs - that's why the upstairs wasn't getting the proper heat. So, that vent will be patched up and a new vent was put into place on the opposite side of the room.


I spoke with the contractor today. He told me that he plans to start laying the tile tomorrow, grouting on Wednesday and the plumber should be able to come install the toilet and whatever else he needs to do on Thursday. We'll be able to paint over the weekend --- this is if all goes as planned.

This is all taking a bit longer than expected, but it should all be worth it when we're done. I just hope my in-laws aren't getting sick of me having to shower at their house every night! We'll have to take them out to dinner as a "thank you" when all this is over with.

In the mean time, I'll be dreaming of the day where I don't have to put my shoes on, walk outside and unlock a door -- all just to pee. That day can't come soon enough!

Renovation: Days 3, 4 & 5

Things are going well with the renovation so far. We have the kitchen back (yay!!), but we're both still sick and, well, sick of the dust.

Day 3 was pretty uneventful. They did some framing and some work on the ceiling to drop it down two inches.

On Day 4, our tub/shower combo was installed and they worked on drywall.


Day 5 brought on all the drywall and mudding the seams. They also started working on the office wall, closing up the former closet door.


I'm pretty excited about our decision to use the whole closet to gain more space. It made the room seem SO much wider!


I've been assured that this won't even be noticeable when they're done. I hope they're right!


If all goes well, I think everything will be done by this time next week! ..::fingers crossed::..

Renovation: Day 2

Day 2 of the bathroom renovation was fairly uneventful. They finished up boarding the floor and did some frame work. They also closed up the former closet door and widened the bathroom door to a legal width.

The view again from the door:
View from the window side of the room:
The walled up closet door:
Oscar isn't sure how to feel about this whole remodel thing:

Speaking of a Mess

So I said I couldn't use most of my house because of the bathroom renovation.

Here's why:


Welcome to "Plasticville".

The only rooms that are semi-usable are the living room and bedroom.

Renovation: Day One

So who knew renovating your bathroom meant not being able to use most of your house? I didn't. My God, this place is a mess and a half.

Day one was all demo, it went well and there was no mold - which with the crappy job that was done in that room before, really surprised me.

Need I remind you what the room looked like before? Click Here

On with the pictures!

View from the door:

View from the window end of the room, you can already see how much wider the room will be:
My closet used to be to the left on this picture:
My old closet floor:
Where the toilet was. Also notice the giant hole in the floor. Neat:
What was the closet door, this will be walled up:

It was decided that rather than keep the closet and have a small closet AND a small bathroom, that we would wall up the closet and build a new one into the corner of the bedroom/office. We'd rather have a larger bathroom than a useless closet. We'll have more closet space if we just build a new one.

It's Gonna Happen!

#36: Complete our bathroom re-model by June 2010

Actually, it's going to happen much sooner than anticipated. The decision was made to hire the pros instead of DIYing, like we had originally planned. Hopefully it's for the best!

The entire layout of the bathroom is going to be changed, walls moved, vents moved, window closed off - re-built from top to bottom, new everything. It's pretty exciting!

It's looking like we're going to get things started in about 2 to 3 weeks. I'm oddly excited, I can't wait to be not grossed out when I want to take a bath (which I've never done in the 3 years we've lived here).

Without further delay, here are the horrendous before pictures:

The view from the door (which is also being moved). This bathroom is mega narrow - I can't even spread my arms apart from wall to wall, I can lean on one wall and put a flat palm on the other.
This is the view from the other end of the room. The wall on the left of the photo is being pushed out - taking space from a closet - to widen the room.


Here the current fixtures. Why anyone would think that chalky blue colored sinks, tubs and toilets were a good idea is beyond me. And the black counter top? Really? Also, I hate oak. I find it's graininess too busy.


Here are some examples of what moisture build up does to dry wall that's not meant to go in a bathroom. The moron that did the bathroom the last time around didn't put in a fan. Genius. It's gross.


And I've saved the best for last. The 5' tall "tile" paneling that is on all the walls. It's black, pink, and purple. Fantastic I tell you.


Needless to say, anything will be better than this bathroom. It's bad, but I can't wait for it to get better.

I'll be posting pictures throughout the re-model, keep an eye out for updates!