Renovations...tiring but satisfying

[southernlady]

Today's update: FINISHED scrapping the gunk off the hardwood floor. My body hates me. Can't decide if my hips or my hands hate me the most. I sat in a hot bathtub for about 30 mins already.

Dh cleared the hardwood from around the toilet flange. We have to get under the subfloor but we are finally seeing the last layer here. We've been using a Sawmax to cut the wood so we could pull up that section. The deepest it will cut is 3/4 of an inch and we are dealing with 3/4 inch hardwood. So it works well.

 

[southernlady]

Got the subfloor up around both toilets...and FOUND the failure in the pipe. Now, remember this is cast iron we are talking about. The FIRST joint about a foot away from the toilet has come apart from the section that goes on down. Odd thing was, we were using the pry bar to pull up boards and dh had it against the pipe...instead of pulling up wood, HIS strength (which isn't what it use to be), the pry bar created a depressed spot in the CAST IRON! That should NOT happen. Cast iron will get brittle and break but to act like putty is NOT normal.

Now we are checking to see how the layout will work in that area for the 48 x 48 shower pan. And the heating vent that runs under that section needs to be relocated.

 

[southernlady]

This week we actually ordered the shower pan. We went with one I don't have to tile BUT it is not acrylic...it's kinda like the Corian of shower pans. It's called Swanstone. We went with white...and saved about $300 on the pan between tileable and actual laying the time. The shower pan will be here next week. Because of the heating duct we found and our not willing to mess with it, we went from a 48 X 48 to 48 x 36.

We also got the subfloor...cut it today and dry fitted one of the pieces. The other piece will be a 48 X 48 section that will avoid any line under the shower pan. @Munchkin I mentioned to dh we needed to use the Red Guard on top of the subfloor to protect underneath and the edges. Told him it was cheap insurance. He agreed.

 

[Munchkin]

This week we actually ordered the shower pan. We went with one I don't have to tile BUT it is not acrylic...it's kinda like the Corian of shower pans. It's called Swanstone. We went with white...and saved about $300 on the pan between tileable and actual laying the time. The shower pan will be here next week. Because of the heating duct we found and our not willing to mess with it, we went from a 48 X 48 to 48 x 36.

We also got the subfloor...cut it today and dry fitted one of the pieces. The other piece will be a 48 X 48 section that will avoid any line under the shower pan. @Munchkin I mentioned to dh we needed to use the Red Guard on top of the subfloor to protect underneath and the edges. Told him it was cheap insurance. He agreed.

I love Swanstone. I would have just gotten the whole shower in Swanstone. Neat, clean, and waterproof. And yes, you can never paint too much with that membrane!!!

 

[southernlady]

I love Swanstone. I would have just gotten the whole shower in Swanstone. Neat, clean, and waterproof. And yes, you can never paint too much with that membrane!!!

Well, we looked at it but at over $2k for the entire shower AND the fact that I have a window in an odd place (swapping it from an OLD weight window to a waterproof vinyl one) tiling the walls made more sense. The back wall of the shower would cover 80% of the window but not 100% even at the two heights available). The shower will be too close to the window to keep it there and it's on the back side of the house, 2nd floor, and hidden for the most part. Closing it in wouldn't work as we can't match the vinyl siding currently on the house. (Project in the future is to swap THAT for hardiplank siding). Sooooo replacing it and then tiling around it...and adding a couple of niches in the process.

Tiling doesn't bother me as I do very well...dh handles the cuts, I lay the tile. We even have a tile saw.

 

[robs477]

Hi Liz, been watching this thread for a while. I too have done every single thing that a human can do regarding remodeling, construction etc, many times over, including doing the build-out on two commercial restaurants I previously owned, so I hear and feel your pain and your joy which is all rolled in to one!! It really is very tiring, BUT very self gratifying to know that you can do that all yourself and have those skills, AND save a dump truck full of cashola along the way!!..BUT...still...very tiring, you just have to pace yourself as I'm sure you both already now.

 

[southernlady]

Hi Liz, been watching this thread for a while. I too have done every single thing that a human can do regarding remodeling, construction etc, many times over, including doing the build-out on two commercial restaurants I previously owned, so I hear and feel your pain and your joy which is all rolled in to one!! It really is very tiring, BUT very self gratifying to know that you can do that all yourself and have those skills, AND save a dump truck full of cashola along the way!!..BUT...still...very tiring, you just have to pace yourself as I'm sure you both already now.

Yeah, we know about pacing ourselves. Unfortunately this week, I am acting like a slug...having an asthma attack makes breathing an issue. One of our contractor friends came in for a few hours today to help dh with installing the second ceiling exhaust fan. The one for the full bath side wasn't big enough for both baths, so buying a light/exhaust for the shower side made sense. As a result, we discovered mold on the ceiling plaster so guess what gets replaced now? Yeap, the ceiling. Gonna do a bead board ceiling. But *I* had to stay away while they kicked up plaster dust, insulation, wood dust, etc.

Ken wasn't expensive, and it was a big help. He's mostly a landscaper but has done other things...in fact he and Jim replaced the attic louvers that were encouraging "bats in our belfry" last summer to ventilated soffit. Outside is a curved arch...so he put it inside the frame and was able to keep it rectangle. And able to staple it in. AND it matches the current soffit.