September 15, 2010

Bathroom Renovation: Neglected But Not Forgotten

We have two house projects going on. I've already updated you on the HVAC system. Remodeling our tiny second bathroom is the other. We actually started the bathroom first. As temperatures climbed however, we figured we'd better get the HVAC unit in. That project turned out to be huge and hugely time consuming, with a lot of work on our part. So much so, that we set the bathroom remodel aside until we could get the HVAC in (hopefully this weekend???) Even though there are some things we still want to do in regards to insulating the house, we can at last get back to the bathroom.

Here's what we have done so far.

The first thing was to remove the toilet and sink. Otherwise there was no room in the bathroom for a ladder! (Overhead view of this tiny 5' 9.5" x 4' 7.5" bathroom at the top of this post.)

Next was to install an overhead light / vent fan / heater.


Ceiling source heat is not my preference, but for this, it was the easiest and most economical option. We've already appreciated the ventilation, because this is the only bathroom with a shower.

The moulding was added because there was no way to install it from the attic. In fact, there is no attic access in the addition. DH had to cut a hole larger than the fan in order to attach it to the ceiling joists. The moulding covers what's left of the gap. I've filled in the nail holes with wood filler, and will paint it when I paint the ceiling.

Next ...


... was to pull out the vinyl flooring.


Hardibacker board was then installed over the subfloor. This will serve as a base for the tile I plan to put down.


Because we are replacing the wall sink with a corner pedestal, some plumbing work will need to be done.


Also, the old drywall tape is peeling off, so it will need to be removed and new applied before I can paint the ceiling and wallpaper the walls.

This is how my bathroom has looked all summer! At least we can take showers. Hopefully I'll have better progress to report soon.


Bathroom Renovation: Neglected But Not Forgotten © September 2010 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/

10 comments:

Nina said...

That's a lot of work, but you will be so satisfied when it's done.
Our whole house is a reno-in-progress. My tiny sewing room was emptied this spring so my sweetie could find out what was behind the ancient panelling and crumbly walls. It's still that way, with nothing done because other things like fixing some joists and putting in new plumbing ended up taking precedence.
Right now, I'm trying to convince my son, the expert wallpaper remover, to strip the paper layers off the bathroom because I'm so tired of the dirty, unwashable 1980's peach colours. Oh for a layer of clean, white, washable paint!

Theresa said...

Well, it hardly looks truly neglected, just momentarily interrupted. Once you two are back on it in full force it will go quickly, I'm sure!

Woolly Bits said...

luckily all rooms in the house are done, apart from the occasional lick of paint (no wallpaper in this house:)). though when you have a house - there are always some repairs, somewhere. and usually they come up unexpectedly and let a small repair job swell to a major overhaul:(( on the other hand we'd love to have more space and were thinking of buying the neighbour's old shed. unfortunately he didn't agree to sell it - yet... well, we're patient:)) if it doesn't work, we just have to make do and wait until DS will live on his own.... I would like to have a separate shower somewhere myself, but unfortunately it was either bath tub or shower - so we went for the former. we'll live - at least we have one of them:))whenever I have wishes like that coming up in my head, I try to reason with myself by thinking that we have far, far more than so many other people elsewhere - usually that works quite well and brings me down to earth again to appreciate what we have:))

Cynthia said...

Hey, Leigh, I've been thinking about your HVAC system and your hopes that it will resolve the moisture issue. Unfortunately they only remove moisture when they are running, so it might not work for you since you keep your thermostat set high. We are considering installing a dehumidifier in one especially damp area in the house, since our HVAC maintenance guy said the other alternative was to set our thermostat at 75 or lower!!!

Mama Pea said...

You two have so much going on (and have accomplished so much!) it's amazing. Not only practically re-doing the whole interior and infrastructure of the house but getting so much going outside to improve the environment, start animals and grow your own food. Again . . . amazing.

Do we have unfinished remodeling projects? Oh, yeah. Sigh.

JoyceP said...

Oh! I know you can't wait to get this project finished! So some things take longer than others to complete. Taking one step at a time as you are able is just fine, Leigh. I think you are doing great.

Leigh said...

Nina, you sound like us. Before we bought this place, we looked at some older homes that looked pretty good. On closer inspection however, all the updates were primarily cosmetic and not structural. So, I reckon it's better to get the important stuff right the first time.

Theresa, "momentarily interrupted," I like that! Makes me feel better about it. Actually we finally got the AC up and running for the first time today. There is still some ductwork to be insulated, but Dan has to take care of some of the plumbing before he can finish that. At least we'll be making forward progress again.

Bettina, right now I can't imagine being down to only maintenance repairs! You're right though about even seemingly small projects rapidly becoming much bigger ones. I hope you get your neighbor's shed. More space is always appreciated, especially for us fiber artists. :)

Cynthia, I'm curious as to how well all that will work out. We used the old AC unit last summer, kept it set fairly high, and were comfortable. A good dehumidifier may help a lot though. Theresa recommended on on the HVAC post. Ours puts out so much heat that it is counterproductive for our purposes. I'll be interested in what you decide and how it works for you.

Mama Pea I have to confess that in the middle of a project, it seems endlessly frustrating. Now that the HVAC and ductwork are done, we have a wonderful sense of relief and accomplishment! That will last until we're in the thick of the bathroom work. :)

Joyce, thanks! I'm pleased to announce that just today we got the AC running! You're right about taking it one step at a time. It helps so much to just focus on the task at hand.

upinak said...

Hey Leigh... depending on if we stick with the house, we are going to be be doing a whole reno on it.

HVAC is a for sure thing. It does work, but it does have to run non stop. So if you have a very wet area.. you may want to just get a dehumidifier on top of it. The house we are buying is very tight.. so the HVAC AND the dehumidifier will be needed. If you have a older home that isn't as tight, I would say only use a dehumidifier.

We have what we are doing in this order:
1. take everything out of house
2. strip bathroom and kitchen
3. HVAC
4. patch all holes and redo drywall
5. paint
6. put up new cabinets and counter tops and put in tub
7.put old cabinets in garage
8. put up any and all tile (weekend job)
9 have carpet and laminate put in (the only thing we are having installed)
10. put in the hard wood flooring
11. Put up new TV (hubby is demanding one)
12. move in

Hopefully will take no more then a month. If everything goes right.. we close at the end of the month. Keep fingers crossed and say a prayer please.

Robin said...

How exciting! We haven't even started on ours yet.

Leigh said...

Upinak, your list is huge but to have it all done before you move in will be a real blessing. Our house is about 90 years old and even the inspection didn't reveal all the problems. Then our homeowners insurance company jumped in there with a list of demands (or else,)with deadlines, which forced our hand on some projects we would have done differently if we had time to do them ourselves. Like the roof.

Our climate is a mix of humid and dry, hot (up to 100F) and cold (can get down to teens). Wood heat in the winter helps with the humidity then, summer of course I do canning, so we have humidity in the house even when it isn't humid outside. Summer temps in the house didn't get above about 86F, but my current dehumidifier produces too much heat to be useful. If the AC can't do the job next summer, we will look into a nonheat producing model!

I hope your reno goes according to plan! I'll be interested in your progress.

Robin, for all our progress, I feel like we havn't started on ours either. And then I walk by the room. :o