The Great Bathroom RENO #3

So last week I told you about the stud where the closet used to be that hung down about an inch. Jonathan came up with a really great solution to that problem! We were planning on putting beadboard on the ceiling anyway, so he suggested we just get some boards and nail them up to the existing studs to “drop” the ceiling about an inch…clever, clever! So we spent for-ev-er at home depot picking out what could have been every 2x3 they had that was even remotely straight. We searched for the studs for a while, eventually found and marked them, and then placed the “false studs” up.

 

Then we were ready for the beadboard. We borrowed a friend’s air compressor and nail gun…and that’s where the fun began! This was a GIANT air compressor. We couldn’t even hope to get it out of the back of the jeep, much less up the garage stairs and then up the stairs in our house…so we just left it in the jeep, albeit unconventional… it seemed to work fine. My bright idea was to run the hose up through the window – genius! Tying off the hose with the cord from the blinds…Jonathan’s idea (I was not a fan of this idea, but I guess it worked ok). As you can see, we were very successful with the beadboard ceiling. I think it looks great! And look at that wall we had to surround…that took brains, people!

  

And now to catch you up on the current status of the project…we have added 2 more coats of joint compound to the new sheetrock and corner(waiting 24 hours and then sanding in between each coat), and we have putty-ed and primed the beadboard ceiling. Jonathan is painting the ceiling today with a  white semi-gloss. Last night, we went by Home depot to pick up a sample of the wall color we chose…you’ll just have to wait and see what it is! Any guesses??? The next step is installing the shower. We have one picked out, but we are still making the preparations for it…we have to move the drain! I’ll keep you updated on everything in current status from now on since I have caught you up to present time! So…what do you think so far? I’m interested to know who is even reading this, so go ahead and comment!

The Great Bathroom RENO #2

Ok…so the next step was to take out the closet framing. It is still debated who actually came up with the idea, but again….my blog ;) “We” thought it would open up the room a little more, and it also wouldn’t be as crowded in the doorway. 

So all we needed to do was just take out the sheetrock around the doorway and the pry off the studs that framed out what used to be the closet door. Easy enough, right? Yeah right, nothing is that simple! Getting the sheetrock down was great fun, and is really a great way to get out any pent-up frustration you might have!

          

Then came the studs …until we got to the very top 2x4 on the ceiling. It was attached to studs on both sides, and hung down about 1 inch from being flush with the ceiling. Ever-positive me just said, “oh, its fine, we’ll just paint it white…it’s the ceiling, no one will ever notice ” Jonathan did not agree. He wasn’t very happy about it and so he starting brainstorming a “plan.” More on that later.

We knew we would need to replace 2 small sections of sheetrock where the closet had been attached to the wall, so we made way to many trips to home depot and back to figure out exactly what we needed, and then I started to measure/cut. 

The sheetrock is where I really began to shine…my crafting abilities kicked in at that point. Jonathan stood in awe as I cut ever-straight lines of sheetrock! We measured/cut/measured/cut for the next little while, and then screwed in the semi perfectly cut pieces. 

AND THEN CAME THE JOINT COMPOUND. 

Maybe the lowest point of the bathroom project so far…when I had to kick Jonathan out and do it myself. Again, I have instinctual crafting abilities and am generally laid back, so I was great for spreading and evening out the compound, where as it frustrated the tar out of J. 

My finished product doesn’t look to impressive in the picture, but believe me it was truly a work of art (especially after I waited 24 hours for it to dry and then sanded out the imperfections! wink, wink.)

And that, friends, completes our first “constructive” step of the project!

The Great Bathroom RENO

BACK STORY: Jonathan and I officially bought our house on April 15, 2008. Since that day, we have planned on eventually renovating our master bathroom. The bathroom still has the original fixings from the mid-seventies, including cracked tile and a very dirty cabinet and shower. Needless to say, I have not been interested in using it until we renovated.  We have talked through it several times, and have even had someone come out to give us an estimate (eek!) but did not officially start the project until 3 weeks ago. 

We "disagree" about what was the final push that sent us over the edge of getting started, but my reasoning is better this is my blog so you get my version:

Since the great Atlanta flood of the fall of ’09, we have had one water problem after another. We have come up with solutions to most of them, including cleaning out the main sewer line (may blog about this at another time), getting the roof patched, playing in the crawl space,  and re-caulking the tub. After all this…renovating the bathroom ourselves is a piece of cake…right? RIGHT?? Well at least they gave us some confidence **life lesson#1 - gain confidence in the little things!

And so it begins…

Saturday, January 23, 2010. The 22^nd annual Polar Bear Run at JFBC (our church). We had volunteered to help out with registration that morning, and so we were up at the convenient time of 4:45am. By 9:30 we were done. We stopped by McDonald’s Home Depot and grabbed a couple of sausage biscuits crowbars and headed home to get started!

I guess I don’t know how many details you people want, but by the end of the day we had successfully:

-tried to turn off the water

-got frustrated at how hard it was to turn off the water

-finally turned off the water

-wondered if we should continue this insane venture

-unhooked the sink

-tore out the counter top and cabinet

-chipped away the floor tile

-emptied and removed the toilet

-removed 2 inches of concrete off of the subfloor

-began breaking the shower tiles (WAY harder than the floor... Jonathan had words with the tile on the shower)

-carried multiple containers of tile/concrete downstairs to the garage

-went out to dinner and wondered what we had gotten into

-watched a movie

WHEW! I know….we pretty much rock. I know you are all enthralled at this point, but you will have to wait for the next post to see any further destruction progress.

Stay tuned!

Here goes blogging...

Well here I am. I've been a blog-stalker - wait that's a little harsh - casual random blog reader for quite a while, and always wanted to start one. I've been a little intimidated, but I have decided to take the plunge. So here you go, read as you wish. I will try to update as often as I can, but give me some slack, because as of now we are still living "primitive" at home (no cable, no internet) so I am slightly limited in my updating abilities.

So...I've been typing a line and deleting it for a whole minute now, so I think that's a sign that I'm done... for the first post anyway. Stay tuned for updates on our most recent PROJECT at home!