All work and no play

feels really damn good sometimes.

Renovations on the bathroom resumed yesterday.  We did some good work for about 12 hours straight. We're working on tiling in the bathtub, and we're nearly ready to lay the one row of tiles it will take to complete the job.

Also, we hung the new soap dish.  I don't know why but looking at it makes me incredibly happy.

I've got a picture somewhere of what the bathroom used to look like...I'll dig it up, but in the meantime, imagine it if you can.  I live in a house built in 1961.  The fixtures in the bathroom probably date back to when the house was built.  Someone had the good sense to not install PINK TILES, and for that I am eternally grateful.  Instead, they used an adobe color.  Not a color I would have chosen, but totally acceptable.  That's the best part - we're leaving all of the tiles on the wall up.

The tub and sink were installed to "match" the adobe color, and they were the color of flesh.  FLESH.  Why, how lovely, your tub matches your skin tone.  Now you can bath and have the comfort of knowing you are partially camouflaged!  The sink was embedded in a cheesy yellowish linoleum top, complete with caulk sticking out all around the sink.  This linoleum top rested on an oak colored vanity that, while actual wood, was thin, flimsy, and old.

Also, it the bathroom was carpeted.  We've got a horrible tan wall to wall carpet (perfect for displaying every black dog hair that rests on it), and the previous owners must have liked it so much they decided to keep laying it right into the bathroom.  Perfect for absorbing the water that you shed when exiting the shower, trapping it, and turning it into mold!

Finally, the upper part of the walls were wallpapered with a lovely small print design featuring hearts and ivy or some such shit.  Around the entire top portion of the room was a wallpaper border showcasing geese.  It tastefully matched the rest of the wallpaper.

Got a mental picture now?  Can you feel yourself just melting into the luxury of such an elegantly designed bathroom?  Great, now get ready to annihilate it.

Renovations began with pulling up the carpet, under which we found a perfectly acceptable tile floor, covered in carpet glue.  They also layed large white tiles around the toilet, which the carpet did not cover.  So I got to chisel those up and still have to deal with scraping the remaining grout off of the lower layer of tiles.

Next came sink removal.  That was satisfyingly easy.  The top of the vanity popped right off and we actually saved the vanity for reuse.  I used a combo stain/gloss coat in a nice deep reddish brown, and it came out great.  We also replaced the knobs with some simple brushed nickel ones.  The drawers still need some attention to make the work properly, but we saved about $500 by not investing in some laminated piece of crap.  A granite top is patiently waiting to be laid on top.

Next was tub removal.  This was a royal bitch...first we popped off a single layer of tiles surrounding the tub, and then Chris sawed through the wall board so we could pry the tub out.  The flesh colored beauty was also cast iron, and had to be sawed in half just to enable us to pick it up and carry it out of the house.

Then came wallpaper removal, and an endless cycle of sanding, plastering, sanding, plastering, ad nauseum, and I'm still not frigging finished.  I started painting before I got it all perfect because I simply couldn't take it anymore.  I'm nearly done now, but not quite.  A word to potential home buyers - don't buy a house with wallpaper you don't like or don't plan to paper over.  One, two, even four walls, sure, but OUR ENTIRE HOUSE WAS COVERED WITH SHITTY WALLPAPER.  About 1/2 of it still is, and I have come to accept that I'm never going to finish the job.

In the midst of peeling/sanding/plastering/painting hell, we cut a hole in the wall to accommodate the new medicine cabinet, and replaced the light fixture.

Then came new, WHITE tub installation.  This wasn't so much difficult as it was aggravating, because after the first try we discovered it was leaking.  I assumed we had bigger problems and needed a plumber's help, but Chris knew better...turned out we didn't screw in the drainpipe well enough.  Another lesson learned - always use the right tool for the job, remember that you already bought the damn thing, and know where it is before you say "fuck it" and use a plier handle to tighten the drainpipe.

So we're probably about 70% through the entire job.  The tile around the tub needs to be laid, as well as all of the new tile on the floor, the medicine cabinet will be screwed in when the wall stops looking like shit, and the sink & vanity go back after the tile is laid.

On a good day, I'll say the work is fun.  It totally depends on the job, my mood, and how defeated I'm feeling by this old house.  Demolition is the most satisfying, hands down.  Repetitive work is hard and frustrating, but hey, I'm a programmer, I sit on my ass all day and so I (sometimes) enjoy having something manual to do.  Tasks involving power tools that have the potential to remove my fingers, and electricity, which has the potential to stop my heart, are terrifying, but that's where Chris really shines, and I appreciate his knowledge and expertise.  But putting on the finishing touches?  Like the silly soap dish?

That shit is priceless.