Constructoland

Okay – so I was a little bit in denial about the plumbing. Somewhere in my mind I knew that when you have the walls open you are supposed to replace all the old pipes and yet it wasn’t until the walls were actually open that I realized – yes indeed- It would all have to be re-plumbed.

Chris, the fellow doing the remodel next door- showed me the pipes he’d pulled from that house. They were 115 years old and almost entirely blocked with rust. We held little sections up to the sky and saw only pinpricks of light. He also showed me a lead p-trap? that sat just under the bathtub. It looked like a teakettle and he speculated that there was all sorts of unsavory goop in there. Chris cut it out to send to a fellow who collected antique plumbing. (And I think I’m weird)

Plumbing Tip- Change out your old damn plumbing

DAY 1- window moving.

The Wilco fellows arrived on time and were nice. They helped me move the tub. And then spent the rest of the day making loud noises behind the closed bathroom door (closed to control the dust.) It was beastly hot.  But they persevered.  Window move successful.

Day 2-
They installed exterior siding and primed it. They finished putting wiring for the sconces. and installed a nifty electrical boxes the for the plug and light switch. The boxes have a screw on the left hand side that allows them to move forward or backwards to be flush with the wall finish. After doing a tile Job where the boxes were not flush and had to be fiddled with endlessly- I love these. Go buy some.

Siding Tip- Prime exterior wood on both sides. If water ever does get behind it, the wood is protected.

Floor Removal Tip- When removing a floor like mine ( a board nailed onto a subfloor) - take a circular saw and set it for the depth of the board. Then cut the floor into squares and pry these up with a pry- bar. –Trust me- this will save lots of heaving and swearing.

I met with Primo the next day- he presented me with the bill and then sighed as if deeply pained. He came in under budget- which made me happy.

There is always a moment of hesitation before the actual demolition.  I stood looking at the old bathroom. It was still a bathroom. It still worked. It was not yet a mangled heap.

I shut off the water and removed the sink, then eagerly ripped open the hated box that protruded from the floor. It seems somebody replaced the sink drain and rather than take out the old one they just put a new on in front of it. I am very cross with this long ago person.

Toilet Removing Tip- Since I am not a hulking and strong, I buy cement mixing tray and lift the toilet onto this. It only needs to be lifted a few inches and when it inevitably pukes water- it will do so in the tray and not on you. Happiness.

I then removed the medicine cabinet and started ripping out the drywall.

Drywall Removing Tip- use a knife to cut corners and along edges of wall you want to keep – this will keep paper from tearing where you don’t want it to . ALSO- It is easier/ cheaper to install whole walls of drywall so just remove the while wall (unless you are doing a very small patch).

I was lucky enough to have a neighbor doing a kitchen remodel so I put all my debris in their dumpster and paid a portion of the dump bill.

I marked all my measurements on the studs and on a diagram to give to the Wilco fellows. I adjusted various measurements ¾ of an inch to account for the ½ cement board and ¼ tile walls.

The plumbing atrocity was a drain installed in front of an old lead drain that was defunct. I was appalled and gratified that it was indeed an atrocity. I called the plumber.

Get a notebook where you have all your information. Yes- it makes you vulnerable to catastrophic notebook loss, but whenever I use various pieces of paper half of them disappear.

Planning upfront will always save time and hassle later. ( duh- right?) But recently I did a job where some tile wainscoting intersected with the light switch at the worst possible place on the pattern. I had forgotten to account for this ahead of time.

I went to Rejuvenation- a local reproduction lighting company that also specializes in vintage bath stuff, furniture and high priced gorgeousness. I measured their sconces, their sinks and medicine cabinets to get a sense of what’s normal. I had a general idea of where I wanted to put things but it’s always helpful to see what things looked like installed rather than just pulling a number out of book.

I decided the sink would hang 33” off the floor. The sconces 52” from floor and 5.5” on center form the edge of the medicine cabinet (which is 47 from floor to its bottom edge)

The window itself would be 30” from sill to wall.

Ordering Tile-
Do this right away- since lead times vary.
I decided on a sea foam green field tile 3X6 from a local tile company. And then figured I’d buy cheaper black accent tiles from Dal. However I began to cruise the Revival line at Missiontilewest.com and it was so lovely I could not resist. I tried to purchase some accent tiles locally but it was much cheeper to order direct form Mission Tile west and have the tile shipped. I saved about 25%.

Tile Buying Tip- If you are ordering tile at a local store- find out if it is cheaper to order direct form the manufacturer.

Hiring Help-
I decided to hire someone to move the window- patch the exterior siding, frame the medicine cabinet and install two boxes for sconces.

My usual handy man just retired so I looked for people on Angie’s list. I am now a big fan. I met with several prospectives and decided to work with Wilco Painting and Construction. The owner, Primo, arrived in his Wilco uniform t-shirt and presented me with a folder of testimonials and information on the company. Throughout the presentation he’d pause and sigh deeply as if depressed and incapable of continuing. In spite of this worrying proclivity, I liked him. He was fond of repeating the phrase. “You’re going to be very happy with the job we do.”
I know this is a blatant sales technique but it worked.

The birth of a bathroom part one:

Planning and Demolition
We’ll start at the beginning.
The house was built as a duplex in 1908. I have owned it for eight years and lived there for three. It is packed with lots of tasty architectural details, natural woodwork, little balconies, a fireplace, a butler’s pantry, and tons of built-in nooks and window seats. I love this house but I don’t love the bathroom.

Bath Grievances listed.

1. There is a weird box protruding from the floor. It forms a pedestal for the pedestal sink and presumably hides some sort of plumbing atrocity. To make matters worse the foot of the pedestal sink is not centered on the box so the sink appears to totter at the edge.
2. The tub, a 60 inch clawfoot, juts into the room, so that the bathroom door connects with its metal hulk and evokes a baritone gong.
3. The toilet is lazy.
4. The flooring is vinyl laid over particleboard.
5. All the trim is pressboard and likely to swell and buckle.
6. The medicine cabinet is not centered on the sink, which is not centered on the box. Thus adding to the general aesthetic of wrongness.

Okay its not hideous. But after doing several tile-heavy bathroom renovations I am eager to upgrade.

In planning a new layout, I see three options. The window and door are centered on each other and roughly centered on their respective walls. There is 24 inches between the wall and the door where the tub will go- not enough for a standard 30 inch tub.
I can. . .

1. Keep the clawfoot. ( I decide against this because I dislike having a plastic curtains on all sides and it makes the room look smaller/ messier.)
2. Put a freestanding tub centered on the west wall- (I could only find one company making a tub like this and it was very modern and plastic.)
3. Move the window 9 inches towards the eastern wall and make room for a corner tub that will be built into the wall on two sides and have a rounded back- (this type of tub was popular in the nineteen twenties and thirties)

I go with option three, which is unfortunately the most grizzly and invasive option.

Several things happened simultaneously to start the renovation.

1. the attic tenant gives notice they will be moving out and leaving their bathroom free and clear.
2. I found a corner tub in the fancy boutique section of the Rebuilding Center, ( boutique section means no bargains, no whining, just pony up the money.) It was $400 and it was battle scared. It had rust and chips. It weighted several hundred pounds

Four hefty fellows put the tub in the back of my pick-up truck. I drove it home and then immediately climbed in the tub and sat imagining the inaugural bath.

I told my live-in boyfriend that the pieces were falling into place. I was going to start the remodel.

“I like our bathroom,” he said.
“But the box? The gonging? The vinyl?”
He frowned “You’re going to destroy our home aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I am.”