Bathroom – Anything Boys Can Do…

February 2, 2015February 17, 2015

Bathroom Before and After

Today is a snow day. It was the first day in the new house where we’ve actually had a significant snowfall, and therefore the first where I actually had to shovel. It took me about 1.5 hours, because there was so much of it down, but I have to say, it felt like a good workout!

I’ve been meaning, for the last few days, to post the before/after shots of the bathroom, so that you can see just how much of an awesome difference it is. Take a look:

I still have a couple of bits and pieces to put into place, like a mirror and perhaps a cabinet over the toilet, and some sort of decor on the far wall. Plus, I’ll need to add a shower curtain (right now I just have a vinyl liner in place). I’m really happy with how it turned out though – it’s a classic look, with the travertine, that won’t become dated quickly, but with the neutral colour palette, the paint colour could be changed at any time to give it a totally different feel.

Thanks to Brandie for coming over this weekend and painting the trim, while I was doing some work in the kitchen!

Also wanted to update you all on the status of the fireplace. The house came with a wood burning fireplace that had an insert installed. The insert, unfortunately, was not up to code. My fireplace guy, Mr. Hartt, said that they called them “slammers” in the industry, because back in the day (probably the 80s) when this was installed, they’d slam them into the fireplace without any proper chimney liner, etc. This created, over time, a very dangerous situation because they creosote would build up inside the chimney and create such heat and potential for massive chimney fires – some even got so bad that they’d explode and blow the chimney or the insert right out. Well, I had the thing removed, and when he pulled it out (a bill that was over $400) he uncovered the fact that in order to install it originally they’d smashed the firebox out. In order to restore it, that has to be rebuilt, or I could choose to have a different insert installed with a proper liner, or convert to an electric insert, or a gas insert. He said that would run in the $3800 and up range. I chose to go with the $2200 rebuild the firebox and replace the damper option… he’ll come back in March to complete the work. The problem is, the Insurance Company is pretty hard nosed about this – they want to make sure that they’re not insuring a home that has a huge potential of burning down (if I were stupid enough to use the fire as it was).

The fireplace is just one example that I’ve found, in so many examples in this house, where things were done in half measures… not done properly. I’m fixing that, but it’ll take a while! Oh well… lots more content to write about.

January 23, 2015February 2, 2015

It’s almost a bathroom!

It’s been a busy and tiring week, but the result is that my bathroom is almost done! On Tuesday night, I got home from work and had dinner and then started to tackle the grout in the shower. Started at about 7. Had to run out between 8 and 9 to pick up more grout at Lowe’s, and didn’t pack it in until after midnight… and I still wasn’t done. I learned an important lesson: when you are grouting, work on only a small area at a time. If you leave the grout on for too long (more than about 15 minutes), it hardens and you have to scrape it off. That really sucks!

On Wednesday, Jim came and routed the floor and sanded the drywall. When I got home, I finished the shower and the primed and painted the walls where the toilet and vanity would go so that Jim could install them an Thursday. That all came together well.

As of now, there are only a few things left to do: finish painting, touch up a few spots of grout, and caulk. Here are a couple of shots of the pretty new fixtures. They’re the Ashfield line by Pfister in Tuscan Bronze. I love the water pump-style handle! I promise more photos soon, when it is all done.

Also today, the Gord’s Basement Waterproofing guys were here for the second day digging down as far as the weeping tile on the side of the house to waterproof the house. Jim said that yesterday, they had to jackhammer down about 2 feet, because the ground was so frozen. They were finished by 2:45 this afternoon, and for the most part, you would not know they’d been here, they left it so neat. Now I’m confident that I can have the basement finished without worrying about dampness or leaks.

Ok, that’s it for now!

January 18, 2015February 17, 2015

Can A Girl Get Some Insulation?

Hi friends! It’s been a little while since I’ve taken the time to post an update, so I will try to give you some of the highlights.

First, I can’t believe how poorly insulated this house is (and I dread the first gas bill!) I mentioned before that there was none downstairs – just paneling over cinder blocks, but upstairs, too! I took ripped out as much as I could of the kitchen last week, and the walls were plaster over this gypsum stuff, which is basically layers of compressed brown paper – like a thick cardboard box.

It had a foil back. And then there is a layer of tar paper on the block wall. Here’s a photo, after I ripped most of the wall out.

I salvaged one upper and one base cabinet (after scrubbing it thoroughly – you can see how much mouse poo was beneath it) and have taken them downstairs for storage in the laundry room.

I found some Melamine Paint at Home Depot, which I have always found to be the best product for cabinets, and I am going to paint them white, so that they match the washer and dryer.

I’m back to work now, so Jim does the work during the day (check out my beautiful shower) and I clean at night.
I swear, I have not done as much vacuuming and mopping floors in a lifetime as I have here! We’re constantly making messes and having to clean it up.

I have also hung new blinds in all of the bedrooms… got a great deal on Levolor blinds from Lowe’s, and had them delivered for free. Three blinds cost less than two would have elsewhere!

Finally, this weekend, my friend Shawn came over to help me out for a couple of hours. I was determined to do some major demo in the basement. I’d started to smash off the ugly bricks that were on the walls beside the fireplace, so by the time Shawn arrived the basement was covered in fine red dust. He helped finish removing them and then we ripped the paneling off of the rest of the basement. Shawn also removed the ugly 70s exterior lights that served to light up the “kitchen”, along with the range hood. He also disconnected the stove plug. Then he disconnected the water supply and cut the drainpipe and we pulled out the cabinet and got it into the dumpster. Here is the before and after.

The dumpster will be picked up tomorrow, and while it isn’t completely full, I now feel like we have filled it up enough to get it out of my driveway!

Since my last post, I had a birthday and celebrated with my friends, and then with my family. Thanks to all who joined! At the family get-together, I saw someone who was once a love interest… and it has been over 20 years since I’ve seen him. I was pretty speechless – and that happens almost never! He, of course, is married with children, but it was good to see him. 🙂

More soon.

December 31, 2014February 17, 2015

Meet Stanley

Hey friends and family! Welcome to the last day of 2014. Yup, it is December 31st and it has been a busy and productive week.

Last post, I mentioned that I was heading downstairs to try to get the washing machine hooked up. Well, a bit of advice – especially to you ladies: get a pipe wrench. This is mine.

It’s a Mastercraft (that’s a Canadian Tire brand) and I’ve had it for several years, and I couldn’t have connected the washing machine without it. First, I needed it to turn off the water. The round taps were so stiff that my little lady hands wouldn’t budge them. This isn’t good when you’re trying to disconnect a hot water supply from an old washing machine! I adjusted the wrench so that it was big enough to fit over the handle, and voila, it gave me plenty of leverage to turn the tap off. I also had to use it to loosen the connection on the hose and tighten the new ones onto the new washing machine. Done! The unfortunate thing, which really bugs me, is that only while connecting the washing machine did I notice that it actually has a dent in the front. Shame on Future Shop for delivering me a dented product. Of course, you have to sign-off that the machine was delivered with no damage, which I did, but the laundry room is so poorly lit that I couldn’t see the dent. It doesn’t impact the performance, though, so I’m just going to let it go.

Next in the update department – the stove plug. This thing was a bit of a mess, but managed to chip out the tile to expose the metal plate for the outlet, undo a few screws, and rotate the outlet 180 degrees. Then refastened the screws and done! Made Christmas Eve dinner for my family that night!

On Boxing Day, I went with my friend Brandie to our friend Jimmy’s annual Boxing Day Blow-out. Ok, it was less of a Blow-out/Drunk Fest this year, because 1) Jim moved to Burlington, so we can’t stumble home across the street anymore and 2) Brandie and I both had our family Christmas gatherings the next day. We didn’t stay too late, but it sure was nice to see Jim’s new home, meet BabyMac and see Jim’s kids, Sarah, Wil and Andrew and our friend Shawn and his son Tyler and girlfriend Elora. During the party, I firmed up plans with Jim for him to start working on my Bathroom Reno on Monday.

Here’s a picture of the bathroom before, when it was advertised in the Real Estate listing. Tile from floor to ceiling, very dated turquoise fixtures, etc. Definitely time for an overhaul. I’m happy to jump in and do construction/lifting/tearing out, etc. but I won’t touch plumbing and I won’t touch electrical, so in this case I called in someone who can do it right. Enter Jim. And Stanley. The Stanley FatMax 36″ Wrecking Bar.

I’d been to Lowe’s on Sunday, and Stanley Fat Max tools were on for 25% off, so “Stanley” was only $15. Worth every penny. On Monday Jim and I set to tearing down the bathroom. Here’s Stanley hard at work. Yes, I know, the rear photo in the Yoga pants is regrettable, but let’s move past that… removing those tiles was much easier with a strong wrecking bar! I also smashed my finger pretty good between the wall and Stanley, but it’s not broken. After removing all of those bloody tiles (that’s a plaster wall) we had to put them into contractor garbage bags and take them out into my garage. Thankfully I HAVE a garage. Now I just need to arrange to have all that crap hauled away.

After day 1, we had the tub, plumbing, toilet and vanity removed and all of the wall tiles. Day 2 was another adventure entirely: Even Stanley could not budge the floor tile, which was laid on top of about 2.5 inches of loose cement and wire mesh. Jim had to bring in the power tools – a hammer drill – and basically chisel it out chunk by awful, heavy, nasty, dusty chunk. The entire house was covered with a layer of dust afterwards. Gross. And once again, we had to pile it all into garbage bags and haul it out. Which then makes me shudder at where all of that crap will go after it is dropped at the dump. Land fill. Terrible and wasteful. It makes me want to use only wood in my house, so that at least it could be incinerated. By the end of Day 2, it was looking much better. Here are a few more photos. Now, since it is New Year’s Eve, the work is on pause until Friday. See you then.

Happy New Year!