Sunday, August 12, 2018

Entryway Bathroom Phase 1

It sort of crept up on me, that we were going to be attacking our bathroom this past weekend. So I didn't have any time to second guess it or talk me and the hubs out of it, we just suited up on Friday and got to demo.


If there is one thing I've discovered in the work we have done around the house it's that I do not have the talent for taking good pictures of houses. So instead of before photos, I took a little video (with some of the demo started).



Here's what I know about the bathroom and entryway. This is an addition that was put on the house in 1958 I believe and instead of blowing out the exterior wall and fully including the bathroom and entryway into the house, they just built a second exterior wall around this addition. So we weren't exactly sure what we would find as we started tearing into the walls.


Friday, demo day, went well with the tub being the only thing we had to call for reinforcements for. We did find the white exterior wall that they put stud on, and also we found out our sink pipe had issues, but all in all we cleaned up from demo and got ready for Saturday.


Here's where I should explain the different Phases for this room. We weren't originally planning on attacking this room yet, but then we got windows. And rolled into the cost of the installation is interior trim. Also, this bathroom had the toilet right in front of the window, making it frustrating to get to. Leading us to get a move-on on the bathroom plan. Phase 1 includes demo of the bathroom (lots of wallpaper on top of wall board glued onto drywall) and the installation of drywall on the window wall. That will allow the window guys to install the window into the final wall. We honestly have no idea when Phase 2 will be accessible, but that will include putting up the other 3 walls, replacing the broken toilet and oversized sink, and moving the washer and dryer in place of the tub.



A couple things I've learned in this process...

  • Demo and rebuilding prep is the job that never ends. Just when you think you've gotten that last bit of drywall or pulled the last nail, you find another one. Even once you start putting up the new drywall, you find another nail in the wall. Never ending.
  • Bathroom-sized rooms are a good size to tackle for a first-time DIY home renovator. I can't imagine the chaos that would have been created if we had done a larger space.
  • Putting new drywall on over 50 year old studs does not create completely flat walls. Which in turns makes a first-time drywall mudder quite exasperated. 
Currently the first coat of drywall mud is drying and tomorrow I will sand it and put a second coat of mud on the joints and screws. Once I'm satisfied with my mudding and sanding job Phase 1 is complete. We will then be waiting for the windows to be installed and waiting for the budget to tell us we can go get a toilet. We have all of the drywall we need for the rest of the room, just waiting to put it up until we know where our holes will need to be for dryer venting, electrical boxes, light boxes, etc. and all of those decisions are dependent on the budget.

Until then, we are a 5 butt family using 1 toilet (which 2 of the 5 butts are inexperienced at "holding it" and 1 is still in the process of being potty trained). Pray for us!

Also, if anyone tries to tell you it is no big deal to do home renovation with children around, call them a liar. Our weekend ended with lipstick all over the other bathroom and 2 children; also, there was fighting that ended with a rock being thrown inside the house creating a facial injury. Yikes! Kids don't fend for themselves well.




Also, the bathroom threw up all over my entryway.


Mrs. Troyer

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