25 November 2013

Our second bathroom remodel

Our first bathroom remodel was low-key but our second was much more involved. Because this is what we were facing.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom03_zpsbea887b5.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom01_zpsdfc661e4.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom02_zps51ab4e94.jpg

Yes, folks, that's right. Burgundy corner tub, toilet and sink, burgundy tiles from floor to ceiling and rose-tinted, rust-spotted mirror tiles on every wall - because one needs to see one's naked body from every angle after a shower. Even the ceiling was disgusting. The toilet was encrusted with limescale and the flusher had to be lifted or else the water ran into the tank all day. When we eventually peeled up the smelly vinyl flooring we found tufts of burgundy carpets on the floorboards. The shower heater was from the eighties and when we later removed it we saw there had been a short at one point as there was evidence of a fire inside it.

I couldn't wait to get stuck in and as soon as I had a chance I began chipping off those hideous tiles and the mirrors on every wall.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom04_zps95de99fc.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom05_zpse55651a0.jpg

The plaster came off with the tiles, so we took it right back to bare brick.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom09_zpsf31b3894.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom07_zps76f20032.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom06_zpse946f8bf.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom08_zps33bff43c.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom10_zpsddd17486.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom11_zps8e55cf2b.jpg

We installed a new ceiling right over the old one ...

 photo cantsfieldbathroom12_zps5bf8d49e.jpg

... and Grant fastened battens to the walls and attached drywall / Gib board onto them.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom13_zps87fdaae8.jpg


When it came time to remove the sink we didn't want to go to the trouble of turning off the water, removing the taps, removing the sink, and capping the pipes as we were going to be putting our new sink in a different spot later, so Grant just got a sledgehammer and smashed the sink apart, leaving the taps on the pipes.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom14_zpsfe4f6b1d.jpg

Things started coming together in places - like the ceiling with fresh paint and light fitting. You can see I also sealed and painted some of the walls, even though we still had a long way to go before decorating.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom15_zpsa5368e24.jpg

The bath was next to come out.

 photo 
cantsfieldbathroom17_zps13f102bc.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom16_zps8d04325d.jpg

Hooray, some flooring going down! Even though the walls were nowhere near finished.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom18_zpsef0b44cf.jpg

It was starting to look like a bathroom, even though it was a long way from functional. Did I mention that this was our ONLY bathroom and toilet in the house??

 photo cantsfieldbathroom19_zpse74090c7.jpg

The first of the tiles, and the new shower unit.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom20_zps19ea6296.jpg

I was SO excited when the rest of the bathroom suite went in, after we'd tiled the walls.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom21_zpsff31b6f6.jpg

Grant would always prefer to shower than bath in the mornings so he rigged up some plastic sheeting to protect the tiles and grout which hadn't cured yet.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom22_zps54fbc684.jpg

We chose a big mirrored bathroom cabinet from Ikea.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom23_zps7ed9733e.jpg

I don't even want to talk about the drama that was involved in replacing this window. Let's just say it was the make-or-break point of our marriages, but we survived it. (If you want to read about the drama, you can do so here, here, and here.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom24_zps48312f2d.jpg

Startign to install the crown moulding.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom25_zps071895be.jpg

There was a gap at the end of the bath ...

 photo cantsfieldbathroom26_zps30b1c7e5.jpg

... so we built a frame and walled it in, level with the windowsill.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom27_zps8b06bfe4.jpg

We installed a folding door, which just made sense in such a small room. It didn't block the towel heater / radiator.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom28_zps3443a996.jpg

And now for the grand reveal - just ignore the fact that we hadn't finished grouting the top tiles.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom30_zpsef315499.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom33_zps814bfb81.jpg

The wood-effect blind was actually plastic so it was quite safe in the shower area and wouldn't get damaged.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom29_zps99ab3635.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom35_zps929b4731.jpg

The slate-effect tiles were laminate panels.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom34_zps82f6f008.jpg

A glass shower screen kept things airy and didn't make the room look smaller.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom31_zps289bbbc7.jpg

I hung a little towel rail from the bottom of the wall cabinet, for the hand towel.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom32_zps1f28a9b7.jpg

Did you notice the picture on the wall? I call it my tasteful nude. It's a photo of Noah that I took before we even moved into that house, as I'd already knew I wanted a picture like this in the bathroom. I wanted to do the photos before he was too old for this kind of shot, which is why I took the pics so far in advance. Here are the two shots I took - Grant preferred the one where his face was showing, so that's the one we used.

 photo cantsfieldbathroom36_zps5a856f2a.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom37_zps69086223.jpg

I'm still really proud of our efforts, especially considering we did the whole renovation ourselves, including replacing the window and the plumbing, which Grant tackled. It was blood, sweat and tears, but I'm glad we did it.

Before and after:

 photo cantsfieldbathroom38_zps4e10811f.jpg

 photo cantsfieldbathroom39_zps9eeed595.jpg


Pin It
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...