The Second Bathroom

Well, We've been working in the upstairs bathroom, so that's where I'll start blogging.


The room that you're seeing is the small upstairs bathroom. When we first took possession of the house, I could barely stand to look in the room - never mind, use the toilet or sink. The toilet was filthy and it stunk! Everything in the room smelled and was dirty - I don't think that they cleaned in here the entire time they lived in the house! I actually cleaned the basement before I tackled this room. I had to wash it with TSP twice and then rinse it 3 times to get rid of the dirt and the smell.

What we encountered when we first looked!

• The smell! and the grime! - it was disgusting!
• Note the interesting ashtray (the half wall by the tub) - did they smoke while on the toilet or in the tub??
• We had to pull up the floor since it was peeling already and I couldn't get it clean.
• The small mirror - was held in place with 2 thumb tacks
• The vanity doors wouldn't close since they'd bent the hinges impossibly out of whack
• Under the vanity - a serious pile of old mouse droppings
• The 3 holes in the back corner for one bathroom exhaust fan (remember the old game, in and out the window - that explains the ductwork)
• plastic bags in all openings where pipes entered the room - used for insulation? keeping mice out? aesthetics to hide the holes? - by the way, these special plastic bags were painted - for camouflage?
  

What we've done to the bathroom

• first, obviously, we cleaned
• pulled out the toilet, the vanity, the sink, the mirror
• ripped out the flooring and the tile board around the tub
• replaced the old toilet with a new low-water toilet
• patched holes, primed, and painted with a pale yellow bathroom paint
• replaced the lights with new ones
• replaced the light switches and plates
• built a new vanity for the small corner (primed, painted, glued laminate top)
• bought new sink and faucet

What is left to do

• install the new flooring (unless we decide we like the rustic look!)
• install the new vanity
• hook up the new sink and faucet
• put tile board up around the tub and seal it
• baseboard along the one wall
• purchase and install a mirror of some kind
• either fix or replace the faucet in the tub
• do something about the bathroom exhaust fan and the ductwork
• figure out how Jamie can use this room without hurting his neck or bumping his head!

That's all for now! I'll post some after shots tomorrow.