Bathroom Remodel

 I loved my bathroom, the beadboard, the wallpaper, the sink, and the red accents.  I especially loved the window and all the light that came into this small space.  I did not like the tub, however.  It was probably original to the house, built in 1942.  The cast iron tub developed lots of rusty spots over the years.  The finish had totally worn off and I rarely used it.  When I had Airbnb guests I did have to get into the tub and the water was always rusty and it took hours to drain.  My brother, Don, spent a night at my house last year and he slept in my storage room and noticed all the old plumbing, the iron pipes and drains.  "It would be easy to re-do the plumbing of your bathroom....I could come and spend a few days and create shower and get rid of the old tub."

I knew I could trust Don's work - he remodeled my sister, Joan's bathroom in 2015 and has since completed six more bathroom remodels for his kids and their new homes.  So Dena and I went on a mission on a snowy Spokane day and looked at tile and she helped me choose a marbly-white subway style tile for the tub.  I originally thought I wanted the octagon tile for the floor, but eventually changed to a large gray tile instead.

So eventually Don put my project on his calendar and he arrived on July 22nd with a car load of tools, floor protectors, sponges, a shop vac, and energy that would last for nine days.

Toilet and sink gone!

Larry was a big help on Sunday attacking the plumbing, demolishing the concrete walls, and taking three loads to the dump!

I invited John, Karen, and Jake to come help get the old tub out.  Look at that Jake, so strong!  He and Larry loaded it onto the truck and hauled it right to the dump!

 By Sunday night, the bathroom was completely gutted to the bare studs and floor.  I took a photo of the drain before we hauled it away.  It collected 75 years of hair, soap, and rusty water!

On Monday, I managed to help Don get the new tub in place.  Not an easy task because the tub is acrylic,  it had to have a concrete pad to keep the bottom in place.  

Tuesday, Don did the plumbing for the shower, put up the backer board and sheet rock.  He also made sure there were extra 2x4s to square the walls up.  It was a long day of measuring and sweating.

By Thursday, the taping and texturing was done, red waterproofing painted on and the floor tiles cut to size!

On Friday we'd finished four rows of tile!

Don finished the tub tile around 2 PM on Saturday.  I did most of the cutting and was happy to do it because I could get wet!  It was almost 100 degrees that day.  I really wanted to take a break, but he insisted on doing the floor too!  We were tired so we went to O'Shaughnessy's for pizza!

Sunday we did the most messy job...grouting!  We had some down time waiting for the grout to dry, but not for long.  I'd stored an old light fixture and had always wanted it put up in my bedroom.  I thought the previous home owner had taken it down when she installed all new light fixtures.  Even that little light project required one or more trips to Home Depot.  

I practically jumped for joy when he got it installed.  We stood back and admired it.  "It's so pretty, I just love it."  Don agreed and said, "it looks just like the fixture in Mom and Dad's bedroom.  OMG, then I remembered I was the happy recipient of this treasure from the family home before we sold it.  I'd forgotten where it came from, but honestly since that day I've felt the light of Mom and Dad shining on both the beginning and ending of my days.

I know Don had hoped to be on his way home by noon on Monday, since we just had the toilet, sink, and door to install.  But, there were challenges with each task, especially the toilet.  After three trips to Home Depot for the right wax seal, Don said, "gosh, I know they sell a wax seal without a flange, but I've never bought one.  We had lots of wax so we squished it all around the toilet and voila it worked!!  He wanted to help take the trash to the dump, but I encouraged him to let me do it.  "I'll be sad after you leave, and I'll need some projects to get me through the rest of the day."  I sent Dena a text, "Don left without lunch, all sweaty..he'll need a shower and a nice dinner when he gets home."

Duane and Colin came a week later and installed the grab bar and I finished the paint touch-ups.

I love the little sign that reminds me how grateful I feel every time I walk into the room.  I'm especially grateful to my talented and patient brother, Don.  He devoted nine days to this project, making two dozen trips to Home Depot, working in the heat of the summer, breathing sheet rock dust and suffering a rash from the insulation.  

For all the parts and pieces, sleepless nights, sweaty days, I can only say Thanks!