Bathroom Remodel, Part 2...Now With Pictures!

Hi.

How ya doin'?

I thought I would provide you with an all-access pass into our master bath. I know, it's what you've always wanted. Just don't make a mess (insert hysterical laughter here). I'd be more nervous about it if it wasn't already better than it was before. I hate the master bath. Like I hate squash. Seriously gross.

Here is Jeremiah choosing which tool to use next on his mission destroy bathroom. Using some of my tools. That's right. I have tools. And a hammer. Which I may or may not have stolen from work accidentally. And which I just realized could probably be grouped in with the tools and need not be mentioned separately.

Here's where my new tub will go! Please ignore the dog, scale, and boxes of contact lenses. And there is a HUGE window above the tub. Jeremiah is going to be tearing out the cheap-ass blinds and I'll be frosting the window like I did here: Part 1 and Part 2. I'm excited to get the light and not worry about having people see me tinkle. Or bathe.

Below is the shower. Taken apart. Because we found mold. That we sort of knew was there. So Jer is taking it apart, re-sealing & caulking everything. How fun for him.

I figure that the yellowed strips are probably a sign that they are old, cracked, and not keeping the water where it should be. And that's my hammer.

Some of the damage caused by the leaking shower. Stupid shower. Side note: How do people shower in those stalls? Even the one I had in college was bigger than this. Every time I have to use this I get claustrophobic.

More damage...and a nose-y dog. He's all, "Holy Sheet, thees eeees a mess!"

Seriously, damage. And a question to the previous homeowners: Did you not see the damage? Did you not care enough about your house to FIX THE FACIN' PROBLEM? Okay, so two questions, really.

We're going to be tearing out the floor, too. And all the funky damage underneath, too. This makes me giddy because I DESPISE the linoleum. In the whole house we've torn up linoleum in a bathroom, kitchen, entry, and laundry room. This is the ugliest by far (p.s. If you have this, I'm sorry. It's really not so bad.). And I honestly don't have anything against linoleum. As long as it looks nice.

We're going to put in tile. Ideally I could put in tile planks that look like these: Love you forever, dear wood-like tiles. Unfortunately, I am but a poor school teacher and it isn't in the budget. So we'll do regular tiles in the bathroom - much cheaper. Let me promise you this. Those planks (maybe not that color, but the style) will show up SOMEWHERE in our house. I'd love to have them downstairs or in the other bathroom. Fingers crossed.

Anyhoo, all this is worth it because here is my new tub. In the bedroom. Next to my books and dresser. I haven't been able to wear anything from the dresser or put my undies away for two weeks now.

Here's that sticker price that Jeremiah got knocked down to an even $300. Saved seven hundred dollars off the original $992.00 Whatta man. Whatta man. Whatta mighty good man.

And to top it off, we're trying to decide on paint colors for both the bathroom and bedroom. I'm leaning towards a greyish-blueish-purple. Much more grey than blue. For the bedroom. The bathroom will be lighter. Almost white, but not.

So how are you? You never did say. Working on any big projects at your casa?

p.s. What I'm listening to? Beyonce's Halo. Over and over and over again.

p.p.s. I also want to mention that ideally the bathroom door will be playing a disappearing act and something much better will replace it, as it now smacks into the tub area when it opens and takes up a lot of our bathroom space when it is opened. And blocks the light from the window. The cabinets will be re-finished. The lighting will be changed. Holy Remodel, Batman, that's a lot of crap to do!

Finally! Internet at home!

Here we have our slightly messy kitchen. It does, however, show off the nicely painted new floor and the new microwave. Anyway, no judging. We just moved in.
My ten dollar dining room table that I threw in the back of my Subaru. I found it at a yard sale in the ghetto. Plus, the chairs are so pretty.
Okay, I cropped this picture because I was on the couch and I looked like a slob. Both the couch and tv center thing were donated to me from a friend at work. The tv thing will be sanded and painted. We are seriously searching for rugs!
Okay. This is one room that looks quite different. We've moved the big bookcase from its spot in these pictures to create two smaller rooms. It now comes out into the room. It acts as a divider. We've yet to find a rug for either area.
These chairs, which I love, love, love, were only ten dollars each. They are cute and comfy and if we ever get something we like better, they can head outside.

Chocolatey goodness

I did the painting. I'm quite proud of this. I did the priming, too. On areas where we left the trim (laundry room, bathroom, hall closet) I had Jeremiah cut in. We will be painting (I will be painting) the walls and Jeremiah will be putting up trim. Tearing down the old trim made painting so much easier because I could paint right up to the wall and all the paint that is on them will be covered when we do the wall work. I love, love, love the new floor!

Floored

Carpet - gone. Adhesive - sort of gone. Paint spatters from the horrible paint job - did our best. We rented the sander. We did more of the adhesive/paint remover. We truly did our best. Then we swept, vacuumed, mopped, and finally I could apply the primer/bonding adhesive. I've also included two fabulous shots of our ancient oven and a picture of me reading (probably some warning about chemicals, paint fumes, etc.).

Here we have a gorgeous close up of the CLOCK on the stove and a picture from farther away so you can truly appreciate the ugliness of our stove/oven.

Yep. Dangerous chemicals & paint.
Primer/bonding layer
The Sandman

One sticky and mean motor scooter

Repeat the following phrase: I will NEVER use linoleum anywhere in my house EVER.
That adhesive gunk underneath does not come up at all. We used harsh chemicals. Actually, Jeremiah used the harsh chemicals. I patched up the concrete (wearing a mask, of course) in other spots of the house. The chemicals tore up the top layer of adhesive, but left us with a tacky layer of funk. I checked websites. One stated that this (the laying of the linoleum) is the one time that you hope the workers skimped and didn't do an effective job because it makes tearing it up easier. Yeah, this might be the one place where they didn't skimp on quality. Tons of glue. I've included some pictures of this craptastic process, as well as my handy patchwork. I've found my niche with the patching, I tell ya. I'm the Rainman of patching. Just give me that flat thing, some patch stuff and my ipod and I just go.

The photos show the layer of adhesive, me picking up the adhesive layer after Jer has put the chemicals on it, covered it with plastic, and scraped it loose, one picture of the sticky funky goo, and then of course, my handi-patchwork.

Even more pictures...and some ch ch ch ch cheap vinyl

As Jeremiah tackled the carpet, I headed to the kitchen to try and pull up the linoleum flooring. I pulled it up all right, but it left an ENTIRE LAYER of funky adhesive. This would turn out to be the biggest pain thus far.

More pics

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

So the very night that we got the keys, we started tearing up the carpet. It was in nearly mint condish, but with two dogs, a cat, allergies, and asthma, it simply had to go. When I say we tore up the carpet, I actually mean Jeremiah. I took pictures and sat with the dogs. I did help haul away the padding. Go me. Here are some pictures of the process.