"Make sure you use the right bathroom"...

...were the words my daughter said after she posted these "signs".  I guess there is a certain 6 year old that is very concerned about where the boys go and where the girls go in this household.  I guess I better keep any guests informed on the situation as well.  I'd hate to see what happens if someone uses the wrong room.

Bathroom Progress

I am going to have a lot on my punch list for the bathroom.  I am over halfway there but to the untrained eye, the bathroom looks "finished" for now.  A closer examination shows plenty of painting touch-up, glueing down of the sink, re-sealing, fixing the curtain and a shelf and countless other small things to do to call the job "complete".  We have guests this weekend so I won't be able to complete things for another week.

The new vanity for the bathroom (as well as the sink and the fixtures are all from Ikea.  We love the look of the Ikea stuff but don't love putting it all together.  I am also not so sure Ikea is the best choice for "built-in" items for an existing home that is almost a hundred years old.  I'll have to blog separately on the blumbing and cabinetry "issues" I had to get to a finished state. 

One of the "big" decisions about the room was a curtain that will cover our linen closet.  I wanted to choose something that would set the tone for all of the colors in the room.  I wanted to go with something a little wild but since I added my wife to the decision making process on this one, we ended up with a compromise.  I am ultimately happy with it, it is just not where I thought I would end up. 

When we installed the vanity, due to the fact that the plumbing already existed and was in a fixed position, we had to install the shelves on the right side of the cabinet.  We had hoped to have them on the left, facing the door.  This is one of several compromises we had to make because we were working with existing conditions in the bathroom. 

I am happy with the final look of the room and it is a massive improvelement over what it used to look like.  One big missing item is a shelf that I wanted under part of the mirror, over the toilet.  Unfortunately, Ikea is out of their Lack shelf.  I am inclined to purchase the concealed hanger and wood separately and make my own but I guess I am a little exhausted right now and can handle being a little patient for now. 

Basement Bathroom in Progress

The bathroom renovation is moving along at a pretty good pace with only a couple minor “challenges”.  

After a little sanding and extra drilling, I finally have the door reversed and it swings the way that I want it.  Of course, the door frame was not square so flipping wasn't as easy as I had hoped. I am glad this is done.  Its a detail I am not sure others will notice but having the door swing up against a wall as opposed to into the middle of the space is a big deal to me.  I just wonder if I really should patch the hinge and latch "holes" that are in the jamb.  It's a kind of funny reminder to just leave them there.   

I stripped the adhesive off the floor but I can’t make a dent in the existing paint.  My hopes for a stained floor are pretty much gone right now and instead, I will be painting them a dark brown.  Phasing the painting, patching of the walls and vanity installation is going to be key at this point.  I will try and get a coat on tonight and another first thing tomorrow so that I can work on it by tomorrow afternoon.

One of the tedious jobs I tackled was re-painting the ceiling grid.  It was rusted (due to some past leakage) in areas and needed some sanding and new paint.  It is a small detail that some folks might not notice but it makes a big difference to me.  I also installed a ceiling tile in the shower (it had been missing since we moved in.  I saved a small stash of tiles when I demoed the basement ceiling and they do come in handy.

Finally, I installed the mirrors this morning.  I used a mirror adhesive and mechanically fastened the mirrors to the wall with the most ridiculous system I could devise.  The adhesive goes on with a caulk gun and it is workable for about 5 minutes.  I have plenty of friends that have had nightmares with the adhesive but since this is not the main bath and I will eventually have a large shelf beneath the mirrors, then hopefully I won't have any issues.  So far I love the look.  The only problem is that the walls are crooked in this room (which made the door a bitch to install when I flipped it) but it also made it so I couldn’t butt the mirror up against the corner as it created a gap.  I installed it with a slight gap instead.  I don’t think it looks too bad but it is a noticeable detail that I am not sure I could have gotten around. 

In the next day, I hope to finish patching the walls and begin tackling the vanity and sink.  Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly but I think I know better than that.  

A New Project

Part of my bargain with my wife, so that I wouldn't get any grief when I built the pergola (she was adamantly against that project), was that I would re-finish the basement bathroom in time for visitors that will be arriving in 10 days.

For a small room it is a somewhat ambitious job: new vanity and sink, new mirror, new shelves and bath accessories and new paint and flooring.  I started demo a while ago by removing the old flooring and the misc. existing accessories.

The floor was originally vinyl tile, glued down.  It came up pretty easily but the adhesive did not.  I purchased some adhesive remover and now await a day when the family is out of the house so I can finish the stripping and get the floor ready for a new concrete stain.

Another aspect of the room that I finally get to tackle is the door swing.  I have been bitching about it for years but have never done anything about it.  Down came the door.  Now I just need to figure out how to re-hang it.