The Bathroom Destroyer

I'm more or less finished demolishing the bathroom (no, not that way - I mean breaking out walls and stuff like that).

The bathroom has been about 8 colors over the years. Beige, something blue/green, fuchsia (didn't come out in this picture well), green, another shade of green, tan and another shade of tan. Whatever color I pick makes 9.



I also found all 3 major types of wiring used during the 20th century. Exciting stuff, I know... up there with Sheldon's enthusiasm with flags on this week's Big Bang Theory. Knob and tube, ungrounded, and romex.



Here's how everything looked after I finished destroying everything in sight.



The flooring mystery is solved. Linoleum (not pictured) on top of a layer of linoleum that was removed, on 1/4in plywood, on top of 12" vinyl tiles that look like wood, on top of actual wood. I'm taking it down to the tile that looks like wood level and then installing pergo. Not enough time to strip the tiles (they're REALLY on there) and refinish the wood below that's in unknown condition.


View looking towards where the vanity will go. This used to be a closet, now the space to the right will be a linen closet using the original entrance from the hall. The chair came free with the house. What a deal!!!



Looking towards where the vanity will go. I'm not sure if the wiring to the sconces is live or not... don't think it is, but I'd rather not find out the hard way. I'll deal with it when I do the rest of the wiring (vanity light and an outlet in that area. I'm still debating on whether to add an exhaust fan or not, but I probably will.



This is the scenic view looking back towards the shower/tub and window that's no longer there. I took all trim and the window out so I could scrape however many layers of paint off and restore the wood. The trim appears to be chestnut and I haven't looked at the window yet. I had no idea, but it's double hung. All 4 weights had broken ropes and I'm not sure if the top part of the window had moved at any point during my or my parent's lives until today when I took it out.

I've learned a few things about past construction methods while doing this. Technology aside, they were missing a few things like insulation in exterior walls and fire blocking. It's not like I expected to see fiberglass in there, but at least something. They weren't exactly big on attaching door and window frames to studs or any structure at all.Both items are held in place only by the casing. What surprised me was to find an electrical box and studs built to the same sizes ours are now. I'll be modernizing whatever is exposed but not tearing anything apart more than it already is.
Moving forward I plan on finishing the woodwork, framing out the wall between the closet and bathroom, replacing the window in the kitchen now that one finally came in, and rebuilding the bathroom. The job isn't done yet, but the end is in sight at least.

Great big, scary update... coming soon!

Plaster and lathe wall demolition. All three major types of wiring used during the 20th century. Layer upon layer of paint removal. Double hung windows. All that, and more coming soon on (hopefully) later today's update!

What I've Been Up To...

The last month (technically since the beginning of the year) has brought a lot of work, but none of it on the house we live in. I've spent most of my time working on the rental, which I'm hoping to have on the market within 10 days or so.

A lot of the work has been incredibly boring, and things that pictures don't describe well. For example, cleaning windows that most likely last saw windex when I was in high school and adjusting doors so they can open and close freely again. As of today, the living room and dining room are complete.


The fixture in the dining room still needs to be adjusted to the right height and I need to get some candelabra bulbs for it.


The living room looks a lot better with new lighting, blinds and the ugly old furnace removed from in front of the fireplace.


Behind the furnace and some sheet metal was the cast iron fireplace surround. There was probably a center piece, but it's long gone. One of the bricks was loose, but there was nothing behind it.

A new window is on order to replace the old, rotten one in the kitchen. As boring and hard on the eyes to look at, the kitchen will remain more or less unchanged aside from new blinds and a coat of paint. Bigger changes are coming later, and a 1/2 bathroom will be added under the stairs in space the pantry occupies right now. Today I fixed the last of the plumbing leaks, so water has been turned back on.


At some point I'm going to need to do something about the outside... a new coat of paint is in store for the place sometime soon. I'm not going to be doing this since I'm not a huge fan of hanging around on a ladder all day and the person next door shared the name of the painter he went with and how much it cost him. The brick path in the picture above is old. Exactly how old, I have no idea but from the 3in of dirt that was sitting above, my guess is that it's been covered up for decades. The brick matches what was used around the bottom of the foundation.

Major things still left to do are finish up putting in new blinds, finish redoing the bathroom, put new flooring in the laundry room, do some painting and redo the landscaping. At least the yard is small so that won't be too much of a chore!