Running Water IS Essential

Well the bathroom renovation (complete gut and rebuild) came along well.  It shouldn't but it always surprises me how much work goes into such a small room.  Arguably the most important room the bathroom really does need to be great.  We put a lot of thought (long drawn out exhausting conversations at 2 am after way too many beers...) into the layout and composition of the bathroom. After all that hoopla we decided to only change small things, like the f*#%ing walls!  But just to keep this rant under control I'll just dish it out bullet style.

• Rip out everything in the bathroom... including whatever is nailed down
• Drywall
• Ceiling boards
• Endless blown-in insulation 
• Illegally hidden junction boxes....
• Sink, tub, and other bathroom fixtures
• Annoying walls
• Scary trap door to the basement (obviously leaving the drop of death open to any unsuspecting victim)
• Layers of flooring, yes layers...

The demolition took a lot longer than it should have mostly because I was working on my own while Jeremy was trying to keep up with seeding here in Saskatchewan.

Now this bathroom being the second to last room to renovate has taken us this long to get to because of all the previous mentioned discussions (aka: arguments).  Although we only decided to make minor changes and keep the existing foot print there is a lot of behind the walls work here.  So here is the bullet version... hahaha, bullets are my thing today.

•  Bury gigantic heavier than hell cast iron vent stack in the wall instead of having it in the middle of the room.  (I had to be on spark watch when Jeremy cut that sucker).
• Move tub and shower plumbing to the other wall, to allow for easier tap access.  
• Re-plumb sink and toilet with bright shiny new pex. 
• Install a fan that actually vents....
• Rebuild trap door 

Now of course without fail I make all kinds of crazy decisions that stretch a simple bathroom drywall job into a freaking Sistine Chapel style job.  But in truth I didn't find it so arduous as there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.  

Once the walls were smooth, perfect, (hahaha) and painted it is time to install the wiring for the heated tile.  It is a lot of work, installing the tile over top of the delicate wiring.  Mostly because I have Jeremy over my shoulder reminding me every tile not to mess up the wires.... But that's over now and I really should move on.

When we installed the tiles in the kitchen we used 1/4 inch spacers that were kinda cheap and not horribly ideal to work with.  Jeremy threw them all away in a fit of rage after we were finished.  I asked him to keep some of them, you know, "just incase".  And of course he didn't. 

Sure enough we decided to start tiling on Canada day when everyone is enjoying a cool beverage near or on a beautiful stretch of water, and every hardware store is closed.  I called everyone in town looking desperately for some spacers and was able to gather a grand total of approximately 40 spacers.  Well if you've never tiled before that just isn't really enough....  Unless your super motivated to get this floor finished!  So working carefully and robbing spacers from one area to the next we made it happen. 

With a couple base boards, and other various finishing touches we completed the bathroom (rebuild) in about two weeks.  I'm very happy with the results and even got to have a shower in the new tub the day before I left on holidays. 

Before

After

 Completion is such a sweet sweet word.  I'm absolutely in love with this bathroom, it is so much better.  If you notice the rug on the bottom right, it covers the trap door and I have another small rolling vanity there with it's own mirror, outlet and light.  The bathroom is functional and pretty, my favourite combination.

With this room done there is only the porch to go.  There is a lot happening in there but for now I'm taking the summer to do my favourite summertime things (essentially finding water and drinking beer next to it).

The Author

The Time Suckers.  I mean adventure seeking hooligans.